Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to advise this House that as part of the upcoming Cabot 500 celebration being held in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, a group of Iqaluit athletes and cultural performers have been invited to participate in the Labrador Winter Games being held in Goose Bay, March 17th to 22nd. Mr. Patrick Tagoona, President of the NWT Arctic Sports Association, has assumed the responsibility for organizing the team that will participate in this event. With the contribution of $15,000 from the Goose Bay Hosts Society towards the total charter costs of $19,000 and local fund raising, he and other volunteers have been able to raise the necessary finances to attend this event. Each participant is also being asked to pay a $75 registration fee which will go to offset the costs for meals and accommodations at the games. The nine male and nine female athletes will be participating in target shooting, northern games, the labyrinth, snowshoe races, snowmobile races, ball hockey, volleyball, darts and table tennis. The athletes will compete along with 500 other representatives from the 31 communities in Labrador.
In addition to the athletes, a cultural contingent will also be travelling to the games. The cultural contingent will include two drum dancers, two throat singers and four Arctic sport demonstrators as well as four people who will take part in a fashion show. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to wish the athletes every success in Labrador at the 1997 Labrador Winter Games. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
-- Applause