Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this past weekend I was home in Iqaluit and was able to attend two memorable events: the Baffin Regional Inuit Association and their community economic development arm, the Kakivak Association, opened their new office building, the Parnaivik Building.
Mr. Speaker, this is more than a building. It is the fruition of a dream that Kakivak has had for the past few years. In 1992, it was on the drawing board but because of fiscal restraint, the project had to be delayed. The staff of the Kakivak Association did not despair. They redrew their plans and on May 3rd, the building was officially opened.
Mr. Speaker, Pat Agnakak, David Berman and the rest of the Kakivak staff have to be justifiably proud of their new building. It contains their office, along with an incubator mall for new Inuit businesses to begin their entrepreneurship.
Having worked closely with Kakivak since 1992, I know the amount of time and frustration that they faced to build a building that the critics said would not be built.
Mr. Speaker, the manager of the Kakivak Association, Pat Agnakak's father is the Reverend Mike Gardener. Mr. Gardener is officially retiring from active ministry of the St. Jude's Parish in Iqaluit after 40 years of service to the residents of the Eastern Arctic.
Mike is well known and respected all throughout Nunavut and I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and thank Mike for all the years of his devoted service and unselfish devotion to our community and the people of Iqaluit, and his former parishes of Pangnirtung, Kimmirut and Cape Dorset. We all wish him and his wife, Margaret, the best in their retirement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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