Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to remind Members that this is National Volunteer Week. Every year it gives me a great deal of pleasure to acknowledge all of those volunteers who do so much to enhance other people's lives. The volunteer sector of Yellowknife publishes a newsletter called "Happenings" and I have borrowed some information from it. For instance, in Canada, 13 million Canadians volunteer their time, thus contributing over 1 billion hours to various organizations and community groups.
Those volunteer hours are equivalent to 617,000 full-time positions which, based on the average wage, would exceed some $16 billion a year. If we were to compare the actual hours of work contributed by volunteers, it would top those hours worked in Canada in leading industries such as mining, agriculture and forestry. Those are, indeed, some very staggering figures. It is almost impossible to imagine what our country would be like without volunteers, were they not such a big part of our everyday life. In Canada, we are proud to be known throughout the world as a caring society and it is certainly fitting for all of us to honour our volunteers who are largely responsible for giving Canada this fine reputation.
For most of us in the north, however, we usually just have to walk down the street in our community to spot many of our volunteers. They go about their lives quietly doing, without fanfare, and believing in what they are doing. I am told that this year, Helene Usherwood, a resident of Yellowknife, is the winner of the 1995 outstanding volunteer of the year service award. This is a prime example of volunteer spirit. Every year MACA presents some very deserving volunteers with this special award. I believe Ms. Usherwood is being honoured tomorrow at a volunteer reception. I offer my sincere congratulations to Ms. Usherwood and would like to recognize the many, many, many local volunteers who richly deserve our acknowledgement during this special week for the very real difference that they make to all our lives. Thank you.