Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to briefly talk about an example of inter-jurisdictional cooperation; cooperation between the Government of the Northwest Territories, the Alberta government, the Town of Fort Smith and some recreational user groups.
Mr. Speaker, Fort Smith is on the banks of the Slave River, very close to the Alberta border. On the Alberta side of the border, we have what I think are some world-class facilities. We have rapids that people from all over the world come to paddle with their kayaks. We have a ski biathlon range that is very near national standards and, of course, our very own nine-hole golf course -- not quite up to St. Andrews, but we are working on it.
Mr. Speaker, a number of months ago, the people of Fort Smith, the user groups, myself and the town, approached Minister Allen and the Alberta government about the possibility of a partnership to further develop the resources that we already have in that part of the country.
The response from Municipal and Community Affairs has been excellent. The Minister from Alberta sent in some senior officials. We have had numerous meetings. We now have a consultant underway pulling together a discussion paper that will lay out, I think and I hope, the plans for what would be a multi-use facility used by Alberta and the Northwest Territories in the community.
Mr. Speaker, this is a tremendous opportunity to demonstrate how we can work together as a community with other levels of government, with Alberta and the Northwest Territories.
We have, for example, an opportunity with the Arctic Winter Games coming up in Fort McMurray, with a small investment from Alberta, to further develop this key biathlon range so that it can be used as part of the Arctic Winter Games in 2004, Mr. Speaker.
We have seen other jurisdictions like Greenland and Iqaluit, where they are splitting the Arctic Winter Games. This would save the Alberta government a significant amount of money and would leave Alberta with a legacy of a world-class facility.
I would like to thank the people of Fort Smith, the user groups who have put in the hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours over the years, the Minister and his department, Municipal and Community Affairs, and the Alberta government for all the support they have provided to help move this project along. It is going to be one we all benefit from. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
-- Applause