Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Good morning, Members. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Manitok Thompson will be absent from the House today to attend the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards in Calgary and present an award this evening. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Morin. Ministers' statements. Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure to advise this Assembly that tonight, in Calgary, our honourable colleague, Mr. Stephen Kakfwi, will be honoured with a National Aboriginal Achievement Award. Mr. Kakfwi is receiving a lifetime achievement award from the Canadian Native Arts Foundation, recognizing his role as a passionate and effective advocate for aboriginal people, for his role in the development of the modern theory of the inherent right and, in general, as a defender of the rights and interests of all people north of sixty.

Along with Mr. Kakfwi, another Northwest Territories resident, Mr. Kiawak Ashoona of Cape Dorset, is also being recognized for his lifetime of achievements as an artist whose work has not only gained regional and national attention, but brought international recognition to the north as well.

I am sure I speak for all Members and for citizens in the Northwest Territories, in congratulating Mr. Kakfwi and Mr. Ashoona on these honours. While the awards are for individuals, I believe we can all share in the pride of this evening's presentations and celebration, and in the honour and distinction these two citizens bring to the north. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi Cho.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Morin. Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Ningark.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good morning, Members. Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise my honourable colleagues, through you Mr. Speaker, that a resident of Pelly Bay, Thomas Suvissak, who is originally from Pelly Bay, has been one of the volunteers within the community in trying to help people with social problems. Thomas Suvissak from Pelly Bay is one of the community members who has been volunteering to help the people that have been in need within their community.

Every year in the north, we hear of young people committing suicide, particularly in the Nunavut area. It is not our fault that these things happen. Although we would like to help young people as much as we can, there is not much we can do when they succeed in the attempt.

Mr. Thomas Suvissak from Pelly Bay, will be going to Repulse Bay and he will be walking in trying to help people, particularly young people, and their parents. He will be making an attempt to walk to Repulse Bay from Pelly Bay. He would like to seek some support from our Members and from us because we all know that what we do in life is sometimes very difficult to achieve. When we support each other, things can happen that would be good for the people of the north. This is what he told me he would be attempting to do, from Pelly Bay to Repulse Bay. He will be making the attempt in April. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (Translation ends)

Members' statements. Mr. Rabesca.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to talk about an organization in my home community that has gone from the brink of poverty to a reorganized, prospering, aggressive operation. Mr. Speaker, a couple of short years ago, the Rae-Edzo Friendship Centre was having financial problems. That of course came from the severe cuts that were introduced by the federal government. It got to the point that this organization had a difficult time to find a payroll for the remaining staff or to find the volunteers to help with bingos.

The board realized the need to reorganize and were able to do this with as little pain to staff as possible. It has taken about two years to rebuild but they are now working for the community and providing many excellent programs for all ages. They will be expanding their services in the near future to include bus service to and from Yellowknife for passengers as well as freight. They will be supplying all local businesses with freight shipped out of Yellowknife, mail and courier services, all on a daily basis. Other areas that they are working on include an Internet service centre, which will allow members of the community to come and use the centre's computers and to surf the world by web or to find information they require, along with the ability to provide computer instruction, as well as for the general public to have access.

Mr. Speaker, the Friendship Centre has also recognized that, in ways, bingo is a form of addiction and is slowly removing itself from operating bingos and moving towards more community-orientated groups, still providing addiction counselling services, and now are starting to provide other very important services that are also helping the residents of Rae-Edzo.

Mr. Speaker, this organization is becoming a very positive figure in the community and also within the region. It is good to see that, with a bit of imagination and hard work, an organization like this can come back and provide some very interesting and helpful services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Rabesca. Members' statements. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Members' statements. Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, once there was a man who had a very huge thought. That man's name is not important but, for the record, his name was I. C. Clearly. However, he was rolled over and smitten for coming up with that original thought. What was that thought? The thought was that good government should be accountable to the people; good government should be answerable to the people and good government should listen to the people. When word got out that his idea was beginning to gain a following, the leader of the cult, known as Fiscally Cat, became angry. He ridiculed I.C. Clearly every chance he got. When I.C. Clearly presented petitions supporting this thought, Fiscally Cat dismissed them as rhetoric, and he stepped up his campaign of ridicule towards I.C. Clearly. He called I.C. Clearly a fearmonger. He blamed him for evil incarnate on the earth. But I.C. Clearly continued his one man mission and the masses began to see that the ideas warranted discussion. Fiscally Cat became outraged. He called on his minions to attack the character, the clothes, the thick accent, anything, to discredit I.C. Clearly.

Finally, in frustration, Fiscally Cat asked I.C. Clearly to explain his thoughts and ideas. Fiscally Cat still did not understand the ideas, thoughts or concepts represented by I.C. Clearly but realized his campaign of marginalization was not working. All it did was help propel I.C. Clearly to myth-like status and I.C. Clearly was prepared to be a martyr for his thoughts. Fiscally Cat enroled McGill Mole and Cloyed Coland to run interference, but it was too late. The masses sent in more petitions, letters and faxes. Glasnost was breaking out all over Fiscally Cat land. Perestroika took hold and I.C. Clearly finally won the day. The moral of this tale is that when they laugh at you, ridicule you and show you no respect, remember, I.C. Clearly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Members' statements. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Members' statements. Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last weekend, we had the good fortune of attending a curling tournament here in town for Members, staff, family and friends. Yes, we do have a few friends. The tournament was lots of fun. Those who did not come out missed some good curling. We have a lot of competitive people here. They did quite well. The way the tournament worked is that there were too many teams to all curl at once, so they had to take turns curling. Once you lost you go into a different category: A, B, C, on up to G. Only the top four divisions: A, B, C, and D won prizes. The winner of the A division was Vera Raschke, and her players were Dean Meyer and Nicole Lajeunesse. B division winner was Fred Behrens, and he had Krista Vivian with him, and Ed Picco played for him in the final. The winner of the C Division... was yours truly, Roy Erasmus. Third was the clerk, David Hamilton

-- Applause

We also had Celine Antoine and Trevor Thompson.

-- Applause

The winners of the D division was skipped by Kat Nicholson and on her team was Joan Irwin, Richard Bargery, and Leslie Straker.

-- Applause

Sounds like a stacked team. As I was saying, Mr. Speaker, we do have a lot of competitive people, but we also had some other prizes. One was for the most hogged rocks, Mr. Floyd Roland.

-- Applause

The man with the strongest arm for sending the most rocks through the house was Mike Kalnay.

-- Applause

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.