Mr. Speaker, thank you. This is carnival season in the Northwest Territories and it comes to life in Yellowknife this afternoon with the start of the 49th Caribou Carnival, Mr. Speaker. I have spoken about these events, with passion I hope, Mr. Speaker, several times in this Assembly. They are tremendously important to me and all of our communities.
In the Northwest Territories, we have so many unique things to celebrate and I think we take a bit of an optimistic view and we take winter as something we actually celebrate through many of our carnivals. The ones here in Yellowknife, like the Caribou Carnival, the Canadian Championship Dog Derby and one of the most wonderful and unique attractions and events that has grown very much from the inspiration of one man, Tony Foliot, is the Snow King Festival, which this year is going to complete it's 9th season.
We have the Cariblues Festival, the Aurora Arts Society, attempting to get a February music festival off the deck. Ndilo and Detah are going to be having their local festivals as well.
These are things that define our community. They define our culture. They are good for our communities and families. They are one of the anchors and I am positive will be a very significant part of our tourism industry as they grow.
Mr. Speaker, I have to save my most sincere message for the volunteers, having been one; I think we have all done our bit for these festivals, it is the volunteers who are the heart and soul of these events. We cannot take them for granted. I am looking forward to things that this government can do in the way of the NWT Arts Strategy that is going to be coming out later this year, hopefully as an anchor that we can use to really build on this and the efforts of the volunteers who deserve all of the credit. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause