Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to recognize a very remarkable constituent of mine, Mr. Robert Alexie Sr. who has been nominated for the Jim Bourque Award from the National Fur Institute of Canada.
This summer Rob would learn that he was a recipient of that award. Robert accepted the award earlier this summer on his commitment in preserving the traditional knowledge and passing it on to the young people. Robert has received this knowledge from his father, in which his young boy Robert would walk ahead of his dad's dog team with snowshoes and clear the way for his dad. Robert credits all his father's learnings have been passed on to him today in which he is now passing on to the younger generations.
The 75-year old gentleman from Fort McPherson has been hunting and trapping along the Peel River since he was a young man. Robert has contributed extensively to the Government of the Northwest Territories Environment and Natural Resources trappers program for young people. He brings them out to his cabin at the mouth of Trail River in the Yukon and shows them the traditional territory that his father and grandfather and his great-great-grandparents harvested in and also the importance of that territory to the Gwich'in people. He shows them the traditional ways to sustain yourself on the land, but, more importantly, how things were prior to the 1960s when people lived there year-round.
He makes the time to attend meetings, workshops and continues to strive for the protection of our land, the Peel River watershed, animals and, more importantly, our environment. He emphasized to the young generations, during the Trapper Training Program, how much of a challenge it is to trap these days and never to forget the importance of education.
Robert Alexie Sr. is a highly respected elder who passes on his traditional knowledge and willingness to all people. With that, I would like to congratulate Robert Alexie Sr. Mahsi.