Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for your indulgence. In the last year, a total of 2,500 business licenses were issued; basically one license for every seven people in the city. This shows that Yellowknife has a diverse economy which gives the city something to fall back on if one part should fail.
The discovery of diamonds and the industries associated with them has added another "facet" to Yellowknife's economy.
The first Canadian diamond mine, Ekati, officially opened October 14th and work has started on the construction of a diamond cutting and polishing plant and a valuation facility. Mr. Speaker, it has to be said that the residents of Yellowknife are involved in the community, its events, and the development of facilities. The community relies heavily on its volunteer organizations to supply services and raise money for different projects and events within the city. Through the efforts of private businesses, community fund raising projects, city revenues and other grants, many first class facilities have been developed. Volunteers are an important part of our city.
A few of these facilities include: the Ruth Inch Memorial Pool, the Stanton Regional Hospital, fitness clubs, the Yellowknife Community Arena, a curling club, a movie theatre and the Northwest Territories' only indoor equestrian facility, Northland Stables. Local festivities and other events are the result of the efforts of many volunteers. Some of these events are known territorially, nationally and internationally.
Within the last year alone, a few of the events that were the result of Yellowknife volunteers included: Caribou Carnival, Raven Mad Daze, Folk on the Rocks, and, of course, the Arctic Winter Games. Recently, the Yellowknife Air Show counted approximately 6,000 people in attendance, making it the largest single event ever in Yellowknife. When it comes to conferences and conventions, Yellowknife has become one of the places to come to. Over the past year, the City hosted 13 different conferences and conventions.
Across the north, Yellowknife is known for the quality of its education. Within the city, our children have a choice of two school districts to attend. Our schools receive money through funding from both the territorial government and city taxes. To finance a quality educational system, a school tax is paid by ratepayers. This tax is the highest in the NWT and accounts for 25-30 percent of the budget of both school districts. Further to this, School District No. 2 has borrowed money to build a new school with financial guarantees from the territorial government through the P3 process.
Earlier this fall, there was a "sod turning ceremony" at Sir John Franklin High School to celebrate the beginning of retrofitting and upgrading that facility of $1.25 million towards the cost of improving Sir John which is expected to be raised through fundraising activities within the district. Within our city, there are ten different schools.
To conclude, Mr. Speaker, Yellowknife is a great city. We have lived through good times and bad. We have much to be thankful for and much to look forward to.
Mr. Speaker, it has been a great pleasure for me to be able to present this paper that was prepared for me to read in Session today, and certainly I must compliment Shannon Graf for the excellent work she has done in the tremendous fashion in which she has researched and put this together. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.