Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on Sunday, June 11th, I had the privilege and honour to attend the grand opening ceremonies of the new Western Arctic Regional Visitors' Centre which is located in Inuvik. It was a beautiful day in Inuvik with over 300 people in attendance to enjoy the ceremony, the entertainment and the feasting. There are many people and many organizations to thank and I would like to take this opportunity to do this.
First of all, I would like to thank Minister Todd and all the previous Ministers of Economic Development and Cabinets for supporting this worthy project. I say Ministers and Cabinets because this project has been in the planning and development stages for a long time. I know because when I was regional superintendent for the department in 1987, we started talks on the development of this project.
People say that all good things take time and from the building that is there now, it looks like it has been done right. I would also like to thank the various deputy ministers, the assistant deputy ministers and other departmental staff who have been involved in this project. Special mention should be made of John Cournoyea, who I believe has been the only consistent player in this project from day one. John is the manager for parks and visitor services in the Inuvik region.
People in Inuvik, especially the Inuvialuit and Gwich'in organizations, have played key roles in this project. They formed a joint venture to construct this building using Tetlit'zheh Construction Limited as a general contractor. The themes and displays which are in and around the building will depict the Inuvialuit and Gwich'in lifestyles and history. The display designers also deserve credit for a job well done.
I would also like to thank all the people who helped make this special day a success. Mr. Speaker, I seek consent to continue my statement.