Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to use my Member’s statement to give thanks to all the volunteers in our small communities and our communities in the Northwest Territories that, with great passion, dedication and encouragement, take their children to sporting events, hand game events, people who take time out to organize the events to get the people and rally around them to cook for young students, young people who play hockey in the hockey tournaments, or to the hand game tournaments, to the drivers, people who put up their place for people to stay. I’ve seen a lot of these people in the Sahtu region where families get together, people come together, they have a

special reunion, they support their kids, they drive on these winter roads that we have for the few months, and people who put up their homes, volunteers who cook in the schools, the refs, volunteers who keep the scores. A lot of these families do it for the enjoyment, but more so for the pleasure of the small children who not very often go to other communities to participate. Some go there for challenging themselves, some go for team competitions and compete against other students, and making friends.

I know when we were young in Fort Norman, we used to travel to Norman Wells in bombardiers to play hockey in an outdoor rink. We were just glad to get to the small community, have hamburger and fries and a can of coke, and play hockey outside, make some friends, jump back in the bombardier and travel all the way back to Fort Norman. We used to do that in the small communities because that would give us long-term friendships with our small communities.

To the parents and volunteers who encouraged us and got us out there, I want to say thank you to those who do this in our communities. I know they come out strong and they’re very proud of their communities. I want to thank you very much, because not too often we say thank you to the hardworking volunteers who make those events very successful in the communities of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.