Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon. I, too, would like to add my comments to salute International Women's Day. I look forward to the events that are going to take place at the great hall later this afternoon to help us celebrate International Women's Day.

There isn't a day that goes by that we don't hear in the news or read in the newspaper, special events that are taking place across the world and in our territory that put forward the great achievements that women do make in the areas of commerce, industry, entertainment, research, medicine and sports, to name a few.

We have women in every walk of life who affect our lives daily and who are to be looked at as role models and examples. There are the Mother Theresas of the world who look after people who can't look after themselves. We have the Sister Sutherlands of the Northwest Territories. I would like to pay a special contribution to Sister Sarazan who many of us in the Northwest Territories owe a great deal. She was a teacher of ours many years ago. She taught us to respect others as well as to be good students and turn around some of what we learn in school to help better the communities that we live in. She passed on several years ago now. Her memory is still fresh in many of our minds.

The Madam Curies of the world of research; the Florence Nightingales of medicine work in the hospitals and research labs to make the world a better place. There are countless unsung heroines among us who are not only working for the benefit of women, but the benefit of all human kind. I owe a special thank you and recognition to my grandmother, with whom I lived for many years. She taught me to respect other people. She was a kind and gentle lady who lived into her 90s before she passed on from this earth. My mother is still living and taught me the good ways of life. My wife of almost 30 years now, Mr. Speaker...

---Applause

Unfortunately, my wife and I were never fortunate enough to have daughters...