Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on this last day of this Session, I would like to take this opportunity to highlight something very positive that is being done by the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce, under the able direction of its president, Ms. Tracy St. Denis and her hardworking board members.
On Thursday, March 2, 2000, dozens of the chamber members will be travelling to Rae-Edzo on a customer appreciation trip. A bus has been arranged to transfer the members on the infamous Highway No. 3 to Rae-Edzo. There will be a reception hosted by the chamber and a presentation to the residents of Rae-Edzo.
The main objective of the trip, Mr. Speaker, is for the chamber members to go to the community and show firsthand how much they appreciate the business our friends in the surrounding communities bring to our city. It may be the chamber members will get an earful as to what we can do better. In the end, I am sure this will be a good thing for everyone involved.
I know the business community in our city is very aware that our friends across the North spend money on a wide array of goods and services in Yellowknife. The residents of Rae-Edzo are some of our best customers. Mr. Speaker, the goods and services include professional services such as hiring a lawyer, accountant, or an architect, or more simple things like eating in our many restaurants, taking in a movie, or buying many different things in our stores, both small and big, including, as Mr. Lafferty informed me, fuel for residential homes.
I can also advise you, Mr. Speaker, that the chamber will be making four trips this year to the communities surrounding the city of Yellowknife. I would like to commend the Chamber of Commerce for taking an active role in this way. I am not able to make this trip, as I will be tied up in committee meetings for the next two days. If I may, Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of all Members representing Yellowknife, including yourself, to say thank you to our friends in Rae-Edzo and all other surrounding communities near and far for buying our goods and services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.