Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, during the week of February 10th to 13th, an important community economic development conference was held in Iqaluit. The conference was called Parnaijiit, which roughly translates into people who prepare. The conference focused on community economic development and training for practitioners in the field. The conference was sponsored by Kakivak Association and the Baffin RWED office.
Mr. Speaker, the conference brought together over 60 delegates from across Nunavut. The delegates participated in workshops, panel discussions. We heard from guest speakers and had an opportunity to network with other professionals in the field.
The principal goal of the conference was to look at training and ongoing support for community economic development officers in Nunavut. The Standing Committee on Education for CANDO also participated. They introduced their National Certified Economic Developer Program. Attending the meeting, the CANDO participants also exchanged information and opinions with Nunavut community economic development workers and educators. James Paton of the Government of the Northwest Territories' RWED Baffin office, and a resident of Iqaluit, was selected to sit on the National CANDO Board.
Mr. Speaker, from all accounts, the conference was very successful. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the organizers from Kakivak and RWED for facilitating a very professional and informative conference. Plans are underway to follow up with the Parnaijiit conference in the near future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.