...and give credit where it is due. First of all, I would like to thank Ministers Arngna'naaq and Todd for the good work which has been done by Minister of Renewable Resources and Workers' Compensation Board officials to provide timely compensation for the families of the full-time hunters who died tragically in the waters of Frobisher Bay last fall.
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Since not every one of those hunters, like many of our constituents, had birth certificates or even marriage certificates, quite a lot of work had to be done to get their applications in order. Credit also goes to Anne Crawford and Maliiganik Tukisiiniakvik for their very hard work assisting the families. But I would like to commend the Ministers for the fact that interim payments have already been received by the families of the full-time hunters and they are well under way to getting the compensation package finalized.
Secondly, Mr. Speaker, I would like to give credit to Raymond Ningeocheak, who has overseen the implementation of the Nunavut Tunngavik hunters' support program this year with the assistance of his capable director Burt Dean and advice from the hunters' and trappers' organizations and the regional organizations throughout Nunavut. This program has received substantial one-time capital contributions from the GNWT and my assessment is they have done an excellent job. They have recently approved a total of 260 applications to hunters in need of assistance throughout Nunavut and I know this will be a very important contribution to developing the renewable resource economy, which we all so much want to support in Nunavut.
Mr. Speaker, I would also like to thank the Honourable Nellie Cournoyea, Minister of Health and Social Services for the attention she gave to care givers in Iqaluit. Since I have some more good things to say, I would like to request consent to conclude my statement, Mr. Speaker.