Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I made a couple of statements in this House about some of the great people that we have in Inuvik and today I want to continue that kind of a trend of Member’s statements that I have been doing over the last couple of weeks.
I too was able to attend the Premier’s Award of Excellence this morning and I would like to congratulate all individual and team award recipients. I want to state that their contribution to the government, to the residents of the North and to our culture is much appreciated.
I would like to recognize and appreciate one person in particular. This morning I was very glad to see that Mr. Peter Clarkson was recognized. He wasn’t recognized for only one award, he was actually recognized for two different types of programs that we have been pushing and have been priorities of this government and have been doing really great things.
First off, he was recognized as a recipient for the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Optic Link Project Development Team, of which we have been hearing really good things and has been very innovative and is going to bring us up to speed on how the Northwest Territories does business, not across Canada but across the world.
The second award that he was recognized for is the single window service centres. That in itself has come a long way in helping people in the remote and the small communities get the help, get the support that they need by educating and training these individuals to help our elders, to help those who might have learning disabilities and to help people in the small communities. I just want to recognize Mr. Peter Clarkson for being a reward recipient today of two awards. I am not sure if there is anybody in the past that has been recognized for two different occasions.
A little bit about Peter is he is a very strong community advocate. He has helped with the building, the structure of the Children First Centre and the Midnight Sun Recreation Centre. He has also helped organize the film and photo festival that goes on every year. He is very involved in the community on various levels. At one point he was a councillor and the mayor of Inuvik, and I was very glad to serve with him in my tenure as a town councillor when he was serving as our mayor. Not only that but he does have a compassion for the people in the community, a strong compassion for our elders in long-term care and in the community. He has been known to provide traditional foods to people in the community of Inuvik.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted