Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the work of the Legislative Assembly is unique. Relatively few people will have the experience of representing the interests of others in this capacity. It is work that can be little known or sometimes understood by the average person who may not need to engage the support or services of their MLA. For this reason I believe that it is very important to find creative ways of providing awareness and engaging our constituents in what we do. One way of doing this is through programs that reach out to the curiosity and eager minds of young people. We have several avenues to achieve that goal and I would like to speak about some of them today.
One example, Mr. Speaker, is our paging program, whereby young people from our respective constituencies have the opportunity to travel to Yellowknife and work in the Legislative Assembly. They see the operation of the assembly and the work of the Members from a unique perspective. There is financial support from the assembly for Members to bring Pages every year.
Another example is the Youth Parliament program. The 5th Annual Youth Parliament was recently convened in these Chambers, and I had the pleasure of observing the work of these young people as they raised and debated issues, made statements and asked questions, and I am sure that this is an experience that they will always remember. This did require the dedication and support of many staff members in the Clerk's office and the administrative staff.
Another example is the work we do as Members in the schools, whether it is job shadowing or visiting classrooms, as I did in Hay River last week to talk about and answer questions about the role of an MLA and the Legislative Assembly.
Another opportunity which exists is that of bringing young people to this assembly, and I am very pleased that the three grade 6 classes from Hay River are here in the visitors' gallery today. These 50 students, their teachers and some of their parents took a bus from Hay River, assisted by the generous support of the Hay River Elk's club. They have had an opportunity to see the sights of Yellowknife. Earlier today they met with the Premier and the Speaker -- and I thank the Premier and the Speaker for taking that time today in your busy schedule -- and now they are having a chance to observe firsthand the work of MLAs in this Chamber. I believe that this experience is very valuable. It has given them a close view of a democratic parliamentary process which, at the very least, is a learning experience and might even spark their interest in community and public leadership in the future.
I want to thank my assistant Wendy Morgan, and Deb Mageean, the assistant of my colleague from Hay River North, for their role in assisting with the logistics of this visit. This is the second year that this annual trek has been undertaken, and we would be happy to share our experience with other Members who would like to do something similar to this. Thank you very much.
---Applause