Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with great sadness, I announce the sudden and unexpected passing of a former colleague and dear friend, Chris Szabo, on January 18, 2017, in his home in the Nasksup, BC, at the age of 59.
Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to meet Chris in the spring of 1988 in Inuvik, then later in Cambridge Bay where he was the recreation coordinator. He spent almost three years in this job, until he became the senior development officer for the Kitikmeot region. Thanks to his leadership, he developed the Kitikmeot Recreation Association and connected the community recreation coordinators to Sport North and the NWT Parks and Rec Association, which he helped form.
In 1991 he moved to Inuvik to be the senior recreation development officer, and then he moved to Hay River to the same job, and finally to Yellowknife at the headquarters where he was:
● instrumental in assisting with the Directions for the 90s conference which set policy direction for sports and recreation for a decade;
● instrumental in the development of GNWT's Traditional Inuit and Dene dog mushing coaching series;
● instrumental in the development of Canada–NWT bilateral funding for implementation of the Canadian Sports Policy;
● instrumental in assisting Nunavut with the creation of the sports and recreation branch and the lead-up to division in 1999;
● instrumental with the 1998 and 2002 studies on the social benefits of the Arctic Winter Games; and
● instrumental in the 2000s Direction Conference which helped shape GNWT policy for years to come.
In 2003, Chris was a recipient of the NWT Honourary Life Membership Award, recognizing him for all his great work.
Mr. Speaker, April 22, 2003, Chris and his wife, Jane Wilson Szabo, moved to Edmonton.
During this time with the Alberta government he was a key contributor to the Framework for Recreation in Canada – Pathways to Well-being; helped plan the 2011 National Recreation Summit; attended all six Parks Forums hosted by the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association; and volunteered on a number of association committees.
Mr. Speaker, at this point in time I wish to seek unanimous consent to finish my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted