Thank you, Mr. Delorey. Item 5, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

Mr. Nitah, your time has run out.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may continue, Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah, for the invitation. Before we continue with item 3, Members' statements, the Chair recognizes that there are a lot of pent-up statements here, so I will exercise a bit of flexibility in the length of the statement, but it can only go so far. Your two and a half minutes could be extended if you are nearing conclusion. Item 5, Members' statements, the honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Item 5, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take this opportunity today to congratulate the Yellowknife Smart Community Society, who were successful with their proposal and have been awarded $5 million in funding from Industry Canada. This will be matching funding. They will have to get out and beat the bushes and raise some money to get this money, but the funding will allow them to help the North become a leader in communications technology in things like phone, cable, Internet, wireless technologies.

In particular, I would like to recognize the efforts of Ben McDonald, who had the lead for this proposal on our city's behalf, and all the people who worked behind the scenes to make this a reality.

I would also like to recognize the Hay River Smart Community Society, who also had a proposal in. It is my understanding it was a top-notch proposal. They had intended to go ahead in either case, with or without the funding. I think that speaks volumes for the people in Hay River.

The challenge is to raise the funding to get the matching funding. Some money has been identified already, and it is quite substantial, $7.3 million in funding from organizations like NorthwesTel, the City of Yellowknife, Outcrop, Storefront, both education districts, the Literacy Council, Aurora College and the Yellowknife and Northwest Territories Chambers of Commerce.

Mr. Speaker, I think the time is now for the GNWT to jump in with both feet and support this initiative. There are no longer competing proposals. Yellowknife is proposing to open the scope of this project to include all Northwest Territories communities.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the Yellowknife Smart Community Society, and wish them all the best.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for finally recognizing me. I thank the Member for Yellowknife South for making his statement very short.

Mr. Speaker, I believe we will have a lot of discussion on the budget in this House in coming days. Today, I would like to take this opportunity to tell my constituents and everyone out there about a very exciting communications tool that I launched yesterday, which is my website. The address is www.sandyleemla.com.

-- Applause

Mr. Speaker, as you are well aware, we as MLAs are constantly bombarded with information. We receive mountains of papers, documents, letters, faxes and a basket full of e-mails daily. We just received one more here.

We may be surprised to learn that some of them are actually really good stuff. My challenge has been to find a way to disseminate and communicate some of that to the constituents, and other interested parties of the public in a speedy fashion.

At the same time, Mr. Speaker, I have often found I am not always able to get a quick input and feedback from my constituents on issues that matter to them. Not as much as I would like to, anyway. After all, Mr. Speaker, everyone else is busy too and I can only make so many phone calls and have so many lunches in any given week.

This website, Mr. Speaker, I must also say has been inspired by a number of Range Lakes constituents I met during my door-to-door campaign. I remember a resident on Finlayson Drive who asked me if you get elected, "how would you keep in touch with your voters?" Another resident on Magrum Crescent told me that although she does not have time to go to meetings, she usually spends a few minutes on her computer at home.

Most importantly, Mr. Speaker, anyone who has visited my website will see that I have dedicated a full section of the site to the kids in our Territory, with a banner that says "kids are the greatest."

In it, I have pictures from kids from not only Range Lake and Range Lake North School, but from Fort Providence and anywhere else where I meet kids throughout my travels. It is my greatest hope that kids from all over the North will make this site a place to visit and to learn about what we do in this House.

I am pleased to report to you, Mr. Speaker, that e-mails and feedback I have been receiving so far show that it is doing exactly what I wanted it to do. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Ms. Lee. That was www.sandyleemla.com, was it?

-- Laughter

Item 5, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I want to show my appreciation to the Ministers and Members who attended my riding. Mr. Speaker, once Session and committee meetings end, it gives us an opportunity to visit our constituents in the communities. It is a chance to hear people's concerns, catch up on the latest news and hold meetings. The pace we have to set at times can be very overwhelming and exhausting.

Mr. Speaker, in my short time as an MLA, I believe I have encountered all of the difficulties that go along with setting up meetings with the Ministers and other senior government officials.

The first major hurdle is always to coordinate everybody's schedule so all the players can be in attendance. Then there is the booking of halls, boardrooms, hiring of translators, coordinating and receiving all required forms and making sure we get approval from corporate services.

We also have to remember that our meetings cannot compete with other activities in the communities or other meetings that are happening. I am sure other Members have experienced the same challenges.

Mr. Speaker, I feel the time and effort that goes into these meetings and visits often goes unrecognized. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to the Ministers and other Members who have visited the communities in my riding.

First of all, I would like to thank the Premier, Mr. Kakfwi, who is probably the only Premier to have officially visited the community of Enterprise in the Deh Cho. Mr. Allen, the Minister of Housing, and his staff who visited every community in my riding. Thank you. To Mr. Antoine and Mr. Ootes for taking the time to participate in official school openings in Kakisa, I would like to thank both of them.

Mr. Speaker, thanks must also be extended to all the government staff who work very hard organizing and setting the travel schedule for these meetings. To the people in the community who set up the halls, made coffee, put up posters and came out and participated. I would also like to acknowledge the Member for North Slave, who took part in some of the meetings on the reserve in Enterprise. Judging from the response in the communities, Mr. Speaker, it makes all of the planning and organizing worthwhile. I look forward to many more meetings in the next four years with the Members of this House in the communities of the Deh Cho. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. Item 5, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the budget speech presented by the Minister of Finance, there is one area I would like to focus on. It states we are on the brink of substantial development for our Territories. I think we must all thank the Good Lord above for putting those resources in the Northwest Territories.

In my region, Mr. Speaker, an announcement was made and a press release was sent out by the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, that on June 16th, the Gas Concession Agreement was ratified by the Inuvialuit of the community of Inuvik, and it was a unanimous vote of the beneficiaries that agreed to the concession agreement.

I must say it has been the development side and private sector that has kept Inuvik and the region going. It has been my experience as a Member of the Legislative Assembly that I have had to bring a lot of bad news to my constituents as a result of messages and actions of this government.

We do have hope on the horizon. I urge, as my colleague for Mackenzie Delta said, this government to help out when it comes to developing our substantial resources that lie in the ground now. We need to be ready for this, not playing catch-up as we have before.

I urge this government to take in the serious consideration of moving quickly in this area. Again, I am thankful for resource development in our region that puts people to work and trains people. I look forward to further working with the government to try and make sure that we are ready to move when the oil and gas companies are ready to move into the Delta. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Item 5, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in his budget address, the Minister of Finance made reference to some of the social problems we have to deal with. One of the main ones being the issue of alcohol abuse. With my statement today, I hope to cast a positive light on how that issue can be dealt with.

During the month of June, Mr. Speaker, high school students in communities across Canada have been celebrating their graduation in a modern way with dry grads. For the first time ever in Fort Smith, the graduates there have decided to have a dry graduation.

-- Applause

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to report that this evening was a great success. After the ceremonies and graduation function, the students put away their formal attire and donned their jeans and shorts and headed over to the rec centre for the dry grad. They had an evening filled with hypnotist shows, swimming, volleyball, bungee, pull-rope and sumo wrestling. There was also an incredible amount of food consumed during the night by these many hungry young students.

After a full evening of activities, at 6:00 a.m. they all headed over to the Western Arctic Leadership program for a pancake breakfast.

I would like to congratulate everyone who was involved in planning this very important function, from the teachers, parents and students who arranged the event to the community volunteers who worked all night; the Fort Smith business community for their many contributions; and of course the students themselves, who took part and made the event so much fun. It was demonstrated very clearly, Mr. Speaker, that you do not need alcohol to celebrate and have fun. I am glad it was a success. I am glad to hear they are already talking about next year's graduation. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. They are indeed to be congratulated. Item 5, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise to talk about an important community event that took place here last Friday, Raven Mad Days. I would like to offer congratulations to Carol Van Tighem, who was the chief organizer, and her cast of volunteers, for what turned out to be a very good evening.

Mr. Speaker, Raven Mad Days started many years ago as a retail sale for just a few stores in town, but it has turned into, over several years, a real street festival. It now takes over more than just a few stores. It takes over the whole downtown.

There are thousands of people out enjoying street performers, musicians, food outlets, and also finding out about what is happening in town. It is an opportunity for groups to demonstrate what they do. For instance, during Mining Week, one of the highlights this year was the mining street as part of Raven Mad Days, which provided all sorts of interactive opportunities for people to find out about mining in the North.

Mr. Speaker, it is also an important fund-raising opportunity for several groups. For the past three years, one of the most popular fund-raising events has been Cops for Cancer, a close-shaved campaign. This national fund-raising campaign started in 1994 when several police officers in Edmonton shaved their heads in support of a five-year-old boy who had lost his hair when stricken with cancer.

Today, this special event calls upon members of the community to shave their heads or cut their hair and collect pledges to support the efforts of the Canadian Cancer Society to fight cancer.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the 30 people, one as young as five years old, who shaved their heads at Raven Mad Days this year. As you may have noticed, Mr. Speaker, two people who work in this building, Tom and Pam Williams, participated. I understand that they raised, between them, about $3,000 in pledges for this important event.

-- Applause

Mr. Speaker, I think the local hair salons who donate their hair-shaving and dyeing services deserve some mention. They are Essentials, Tangles, and Joie De Vivre. Last year, $27,000 was raised across the Northwest Territories by Cops for Cancer. This year, $19,000 has been raised thus far. I would encourage the public to continue making pledges so we can surpass last year's total. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

Thank you, Mr. Dent, the Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for next year, the Northwest Territories Cancer Society is organizing an MLA challenge, to collect pledges for MLAs to get a head shave or a hair cut.

-- Laughter

Mr. Speaker, this will help to raise awareness and money in communities across the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, as our leader, I hope that you will collect our pledges and participate on our behalf. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.