Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good morning. Mr. Speaker, as the first annual NWT Apprenticeship Week draws to a close, I am pleased to announce the designation of a new trade and three new occupations in the Northwest Territories. The Apprenticeship, Trade and Occupations Certification Board met in November to review requests made by representatives of the construction business and the tourism industry to have trades and occupations recognized under our Apprenticeship, Trade and Occupations Certification Act. The board has recognized the new trade of insulator (heat and frost), and at the request of the apprenticeship board, I have recommended that a trade designation order be published. Insulators will now be able to be certified in the Northwest Territories. Occupational certification is a formal recognition of skills. While similar to apprenticeship, occupational certification could be seen as the "younger brother " to apprenticeship. On-the-job and technical training are in the control of industry, rather than government.

As the Members know, this Apprenticeship Week is the first ever held in the Northwest Territories, and earlier, I noted another first with the creation of the Construction Trades for Women Program. Following that theme, it is fitting we finish off the week's activities with the announcement of another first for both the Northwest Territories and, in fact, Canada, that is, the designation of three new occupations under the Apprenticeship, Trade and Occupations Certification Board for certification: furrier, hunting guide and fishing guide. All three are being designated under the Apprenticeship Act in Canada for the first time.

In closing, I would like to thank everyone who participated in the Apprenticeship Week activities in communities throughout the Northwest Territories, and once again recognize the thousands of men and women who work as apprentices and journeypersons across the north. Mahsi.