Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize all of the people in the gallery who are from Tu Nedhe. I cannot see anyone that is up there, so I cannot recognize anybody specific. I would suggest maybe we place a mirror on that wall, so there is a reflection of the people who are here. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in support of Mr. McLeod's statement on the review of the Arctic Winter Games, I would like to ask the Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Antoine, if all communities in the Northwest Territories have the facilities and resources available to them to truly partake in tryouts for various sporting events, and have any chance of success? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, all of the communities in the Northwest Territories generally have very good infrastructures. We have schools with gymnasiums that could be used for various indoor sports. In most of the communities the outdoors are beautiful and should be utilized for sports and other activities in both the summer and winter. There are communities in the North that have arenas for ice skating, hockey, figure skating and broomball. These are the different facilities that most of the communities have. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Although there are certainly facilities in most of these communities, the second part of the question is do they have resources available to them that they can utilize? When I speak of resources I am talking about supporting coaches, financial resources, equipment, and so on.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister, during the review for the Arctic Winter Games trials and the whole Arctic Winter Games, and the question of our participation in it, as part of the review, can the Minister also look into the smaller communities, particularly the communities in the Sahtu and others that are not participating, to see if the resources available to every small community are sufficient to truly participate in the sporting arena of the Northwest Territories? I am not only speaking of the Arctic Winter Games. I am also speaking of the Canada Summer Games, or the Dene Games, and so on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The question implies that there is going to be a review. I think the honourable Member for Deh Cho has made reference to it in his Member's statement and in the question there is the implication that there is to be a review of sports in the North.

I would say right now that yes, being a new Minister to this portfolio and being interested in sports, along with the concerns that are raised here in this House on sports and recreation in the communities, including the small communities, it is very important to me.

I will review how Municipal and Community Affairs is involved in the development of sports in the communities and we will certainly look at all aspects of that. I will share the information I get from the department with the Members of this House. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As you know, if you are young, you do not have much patience. When you want something, you want it right away. I imagine there are many young people out there who have not qualified for the Arctic Winter Games or other areas who want to see some action.

Can the Minister commit to some sort of timeline? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, sports development in the North is ongoing, with the help of the Sport North Federation. In consultation with the communities and the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, they sponsor different programs throughout the year.

The Arctic Winter Games seems to be the focus of concern here. The process has run its course, and we have selected athletes to represent us at the Arctic Winter Games.

These games occur every two years. This is the beginning of the life of this new government, and we will try everything we can to review how selections have been done. We will endeavor to look at how small communities participate and have a very thorough review of how this was done and see how we can make improvements. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe this is not the first time this issue has been raised. There have been problems with resources available to the smaller communities for sporting facilities, operations, maintenance of sporting facilities, and participation at the territorial level in sporting events throughout the Territories and Canada.

The aboriginal communities have had a problem for a while. For that reason, they are looking at the aboriginal sports circuit. Will the Minister give the House a status report on that initiative? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is an aboriginal sports circle that was established in 1999. It is meant to promote and enhance community wellness and cultural awareness through sports and recreation.

This encouraged aboriginal youth in the Territories to be more involved in sports. MACA has provided a total of approximately $125,000 and a number of in kind services towards supporting the establishment of the aboriginal sports circuit since its inception in December. MACA will continue to assist the aboriginal sports circuit to establish their operation and develop a business plan. Thank you.