Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in 1886 the SS Wrigley, a steam-powered sternwheeler, was launched in Fort Smith and began regular freight and passenger services to the trading posts along the Slave River, the Great Slave Lake, the Mackenzie River, and up to Fort McPherson on the Peel. While people and goods have always travelled along the waterways, the Wrigley connected the North to the South in a way that had never been done before, and ushered in an era of marine shipping that continues until this day. The North as we know it exists because of our marine transportation industry. Not only that, if you consider the role it played in the Klondike gold rush, resource development in northern Canada and Alaska, the DEW line, the CANOL Pipeline and the Manhattan Project, it has also had a role in shaping the world.

Mr. Speaker, this government's purchase of NTCL's assets provides a perfect chance to bring this history to light, to celebrate the people who helped shaped our territory, and to engage our communities and our youth. When NorTerra purchased NTCL in the 1980s, the vessels were renamed in honour of individuals from the shareholders' regions. Now that the GNWT owns those assets, I propose that we rename the vessels to better reflect the entire Northwest Territories.

I am not suggesting that the government strike some internal committee to do this. There are over 130 years of stories about the people involved in this industry, from Fort Smith to the High Arctic and nearly everywhere in between. I would like to see the government reach out to the public and solicit nominations for the new names so that we can hear these stories and celebrate our history.

This also presents a great opportunity to engage our youth and teach them about the history of the NWT. Imagine a student who starts researching this history for a class project, and sees his or her last name, and see the contribution their family has made to the territory. Suddenly, they are interested and engaged. In some communities like mine, the families who have been involved in marine shipping read like the phone book; Beaulieu, Lafferty, Camsell, Bouvier, Loutit, and so on. Mr. Speaker, that is a lot of engagement.

Now, this potential initiative was not my idea. I cannot take credit. There were a few of us sitting around having coffee at the Hay River Museum and Kirk the Hay River Museum manager, suggested it. He thought it would be a great way to recognize our history and pass it on to the next generation, and I agree.

Naming government infrastructure is the responsibility of the Department of the Executive, so I mentioned this to the Premier a while back. During question period, I am going to see if he is on board. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.