Mr. Speaker, let me start by quoting the mayor of Rae-Edzo, Mayor Dan Marion. I quote: "This is truly a marriage made in heaven.' Approximately five years ago, my friend and the president of the Rae-Edzo Dene Band Development Corporation, Charlie Charlo, had a dream to see our people own and operate a modern fully-equipped grocery store. Unfortunately, Charlie was unable to see the results of this dream, as he passed on almost two years ago. Even so, the corporation continued with this quest, and over time were able to receive funding from CAEDS which allowed the corporation to hire the expertise of my colleague, Seamus Henry. With his assistance, they were able to convince the NWT Development Corporation, the Department of Economic Development and Tourism and the banking community to provide assistance and funding to see this project get off the ground. However, this project still was not able to fly because of the need for professional management, which was not available in my community.
Again, the Band Development Corporation and Seamus went knocking on doors. This time, they went to the Yellowknife Direct Charge Co-op. The response was overwhelming, and in a relatively short period of time, the Yellowknife Direct Charge Co-op and Rae-Edzo Development Corporation had signed a management agreement to be the general managers of a now store and provide training to our people who would be working there.
This proved to be the final piece of the puzzle required to make this proceed. All the lending institutions were pleased to see this come together. Construction started in November of 1995, as well as the training package which was put together by both Aurora College and Arctic Co-operatives Limited, in training local, unskilled residents to perform duties in the new store.
Mr. Speaker, on April 14, 1996, the doors of the Charlie Charlo Centre and Tli Cho Co-op were opened to the public, and the dream of the late Charlie Charlo has become a reality. Mr. Speaker, however, the story does not end here. Of the original 11 trainees who started the program, 10 graduated and seven currently hold full-time jobs.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my Member's statement.