Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Forty years ago to the day yesterday, March 3rd, Justice Thomas Berger sat down in a community and listened to his first presentation on the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry, which would become better known as the Berger Inquiry.
Last night I had the opportunity and the honour to attend the packed house at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre and listen to a presentation by Mr. Berger himself. All I can say is, it was amazing.
The Berger Inquiry was way before my time, and the stories that he shared, the information that he mentioned was something that was special to me because it helped guide the history of our territory. He talked about all his travels to the communities, how he played baseball with some of the local residents in some of the small communities, went fishing, took boats up around the Delta, just really great and authentic stories. He also talked about how the Berger Inquiry actually put the North on the map for all of Canada, and there was also a very special moment when individuals who actually did a presentation at the Berger Inquiry actually stood up and got a round of applause from all the people who were in attendance last night. It was very strong and they were very special.
As we all know, the recommendations that came out of the Berger Inquiry dealt with the moratorium to deal with critical issues such as settling land claims as well as putting aside conservation areas. What his report did was helped create the Nahanni National Park and really amazing things like conservation areas before the pipeline went in. The Berger Inquiry set a standard for the Yukon as well as Alaska coming and asking Thomas Berger to come and do the same type of work in Alaska and the Yukon so they too can set aside conservation areas as well as look at how they can make things better in terms of this pipeline and the Berger Inquiry.
I’d like to encourage Members and the public to go to the Prince of Wales Museum. They have an exhibit called Thunder in Our Voices. It’s amazing; it’s part of our history and it’s a great educational tool, not only for Members and residents but even for the schools. He did mention that he spoke to a Grade 10 classroom yesterday, and they talked for about two hours just asking questions. So it was amazing, and I encourage all Members to check it out. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.