Thank you, Madam Speaker. On January 9th I was fortunate enough to attend an

event here in Yellowknife acknowledging nine of our future leaders across northern Canada, of which four were from the Northwest Territories. In fact, one of them works here in the Legislative Assembly.

In 2010 was the launching of the first Jane Glassco Arctic Fellowship Program, which included 12 recipients from across northern Canada.

In January this was the second group that were recipients to the program. This fellowship is aimed at young Northerners, especially Aboriginal Northerners, aged 25 to 35 who want to build a strong North that benefits Northerners.

The recipients look for additional support, networks and guidance from mentors and peers across the North as they deepen their understanding of important issues facing their regions, their communities and try to develop policy ideas to help address them.

The fellowship will build on the recipients’ experience during and 18-month-long program of both self-collected and collective sharing of knowledge and skills with the incorporating of traditional knowledge into the research process.

Recipients will then share their research and ideas publically and strengthen their ability to build a healthier, more self-reliant and sustainable North.

These candidates work on some of northern Canada’s greatest policy opportunities and most pressing challenges, including resource developments, climate change, water protection, language preservation, health, education, and leadership in governance. Of our four NWT fellows, some areas of focus will be on indigenous women taking leadership roles, source water protection, housing policy design, and traditional knowledge in northern communities as well as indigenous stewardship in the North.

These fellows develop these research papers with the recommendations that do go to governments and our public.

I will have questions later for the Premier of the government, to see what these recommendations, how they are worked on or how they are pointed to.

Lastly, I wish all the fellows across northern Canada the best of luck and encourage them to continue with their hard work, action and dedication in making the North a better place to live. Thank you, Madam Speaker.