Thank you, Mr. Speaker. International Women's Day for 2001 will be celebrated tomorrow. Around the world, this is a symbol of women's efforts to shape a better tomorrow. In recognition of this day, I would like to acknowledge the significant contributions of helping and healing organizations to community life in Yellowknife that are located in the constituency of Great Slave.

The YWCA of Yellowknife opened in September of 1966, Mr. Speaker. It was a residence for young single women coming to Yellowknife from across the North to take advantage of education, training and jobs. The provision of safe housing for women was a core need then and today, 35 years later, the YWCA still counts safe housing for women and their children as their number one priority.

Related to this, I applaud the efforts of the Member for Frame Lake, the honourable Charles Dent, and the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, the Honourable Roger Allen, for their good work with the Women's Centre, the YWCA and the Salvation Army in making the former detox centre on Franklin Avenue here in Yellowknife available for the Women's Centre Shelter Program. This is an excellent example of enhancing partnerships with the community, about which I spoke last week.

To further support women in crisis, the YWCA and the Yellowknife Women's Centre were instrumental in starting the new Women and Children's Healing and Recovery Centre. This pilot program has been established in Yellowknife to provide support to women who suffer from trauma and addictions. The program includes therapeutic, life skills and literacy programs. They are working with a network of community partners focusing on the daily needs of women and their children and providing a continuum of care. This approach will also serve as a model for all northern women whose lives have been affected by trauma.

Mr. Speaker, the success of the above programs illustrates the benefit of community partnerships and the commitment of women to address barriers that prevent them from participating in community life and programs. Our successes and achievements are best measured with the positive impacts at the grass-roots level. I acknowledge the contribution and accomplishments of the YWCA and the Healing and Recovery Program during International Women's Week. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause