Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last Sunday, 13 students and three chaperones from Chief Julius School in Fort McPherson crossed the swollen Peel River on their way to Whitehorse, and had to be carried the last few metres to shore. As we speak, those 13 students from grade 6 to grade 12 and three chaperones are landing in London, England on the start of a ten-day European tour. From London, they will be flying to Rome, Italy, arriving at 9 p.m. tonight.

Thanks to the Premier, Mr. James Ross and the District Education Authority of Fort McPherson, the students will have the extraordinary privilege of having a special audience with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican tomorrow. I would like to take this time to thank the Premier and Mr. James Ross publicly for taking the time out of their busy schedule to arrange the audience with the Pope.

The students and chaperones will travel to Florence, Italy, on their way to Monaco, and from there to France, then to Spain before returning back to Canada on June 15th. The students, staff and community of Fort McPherson are to be commended on the extraordinary efforts made to fundraise so that they could undertake the privilege of having their students take the trip of a lifetime.

Believe it or not, Mr. Speaker, those students, their parents, the school staff and the community raised the necessary $70,000 in only nine months. On behalf of the students and the chaperones, I would like to thank corporate sponsors such as Enbridge Pipelines, TransCanada Pipelines, Westcoast Energy, Genesis Exploration, Petro-Canada, Ninety North Construction, Northern Transportation Company, Pentastar Transportation, and also Cal Tire and other corporate sponsors. Without those generous contributions and donations, the people of Fort McPherson would not have the privilege and support for their children to take such a trip.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud of the students...