Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to speak about four significant Northerners who have passed away over the past few months. I know that death is part of life, Mr. Speaker, and that there were other Northerners who have died lately, but I would like to take a few minutes to say a few words about several of my constituents, and in some cases close acquaintances.
Loraine Minish-Cooper and Lilly Oldham were both prominent women who made meaningful contributions in their professional and personal lives. Loraine Minish-Copper was a defense lawyer who later went on to work as a Crown Prosecutor and to head up that office. She also served as president of the NWT Law Association and served on several boards including the breast cancer support group, with which she was active until the time of her death in August.
Lilly Oldham worked in the Yellowknife public school system in various roles including as principal of William MacDonald School and most recently as superintendent of French immersion. She was a very dedicated person to our students and to second language learning, and will be remembered through a scholarship fund set up in her name to assist students with post-secondary studies in a second language.
Doug Leonard moved to Yellowknife as a young child and during his lifetime got to know a great many people engaged in several pursuits, as many Northerners do. He worked at the front desk of the Yellowknife Inn and as a journalist and editor of the Yellowknife newspaper. But more significantly, Doug was a writer of songs and poetry. He wrote many of the songs sung by the renowned northern singer, Ted Wesley, and a book of his poems called Echoes of the North was published before he died.
Last week I had the honour of delivering the eulogy at the funeral of D'Arcy Arden. He was a very close friend of mine. At one time we were also partners staking claims together. D'Arcy was best known as a prospector, but he accomplished much more during his long life. D'Arcy was a Metis of strong combination of his two different backgrounds. He was completely competent and comfortable in both the traditional world of the Dene and the 20th century life. He worked hard at a number of pursuits from running a water taxi to being an RCMP special constable, to driving trucks and caterpillar tractors, but prospecting was his real love. He spent many years tramping through the bush and over the outcrops collecting samples and staking claims. In his later years he served on various boards including the NWT Water Board, the Chamber of Mines and the North Slave Metis Alliance.
These were all good people, Mr. Speaker.