Masi. Members' statements. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, [no translation provided].

Mr. Speaker, I am continuing my series of eulogies for people who have passed from sitting to sitting in my riding. Today I have two eulogies. I will first speak of Antoine Michel. Antoine Michel was born April 17, 1953, and passed away July 24, 2017, at the age of 64.

Mr. Speaker, Antoine came from a large family in Lutselk'e, the Michel family, and he also had family in Ndilo and Behchoko. Antoine was a well-known individual in the community; a respected leader and a hard-working man. Antoine was very-well liked in his community and was very helpful to elders. He served two terms as chief and many years on band council. A few years ago I was speaking to an elder. He told me that Antoine was a very capable man on the land.

Antoine is survived by his children Henry, Jason, Delores, Jessie, Laurajane; siblings Rosa, Brenda, Jerry, Belinda, Derek, Norton, Noel; and his beloved grandchildren. Antoine is predeceased by his wife Mary Jane Michel; parents Alice and Joseph Michel; siblings Ernie, Bernadette, and Juliane.

Mr. Speaker, my sincere condolences go out to the late Antoine Michel's children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, sisters, brothers, and all his family and friends. Secondly, I'd like to acknowledge Alfred Lockhart. Alfred was born January 25th, 1943, and passed away August 9th, 2017, at the age of 74.

Mr. Speaker, Alfred was born in Snowdrift River at his grandparents' house Tejean Cassaway. He came from a large family in Lutselk'e; those would be the Lockhart and Cassaway families.

Mr. Speaker, Alfred is survived by his wife Alizette; siblings Joe, Felix, Tommy, James; children Judith Ekecho, Kiana; grandchildren Justin, Ashly Kaydence, Sofia, and Samuel. Alfred is predeceased by his parents Maurice and Judith, and siblings Mary, Michelle, Frank, Tobie, and Emerance. Alfred will be missed by all who knew him.

Mr. Speaker, Alfred was a friend of mine. I visited him almost every trip I took into Lutselk'e. Mr. Speaker, Alfred was a telephone installer, journeyman carpenter, and an outstanding hunter. In Lutselk'e they called him "John Wayne." Mr. Speaker, my sincere condolences go out to the late Alfred Lockhart's wife, children, grandchildren, brothers, and all his family. He will be sadly missed by all who knew him. Both Antoine and Alfred had many friends all over this country. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Our condolences also go out to the families as well in Lutselk'e and surrounding communities, and also the region. Masi. Members' statements. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to speak about a constituent and respected elder who recently passed away this summer, Tommy Kotchea. Tommy was born on July 11, 1937, and was raised in Fort Nelson, B.C., where he met his wife Helen and moved to Sambaa K'e.

Tommy began to work for the RCMP as a special constable at the age of 19. At the time, Tommy was one of the few individuals who was fluent both in Dene Zhatie and the English language. As a result of this, Tommy travelled with the RCMP to do the translations. For 10 years he was the only translator to travel with the RCMP.

In the 1970s Tommy decided to go into business for himself. He operated his own store in Sambaa K'e. This store was just big enough to hold enough food from one charter plane. It made a huge impact on the remote community and the residents from around the area.

To add to Tommy's involvement in the community and hard work throughout the years, he managed Sambaa K'e fishing lodge, where he was an expert guide and a person people looked forward to guiding with.

To add to his work, Tommy worked as a liaison with Northland Utilities for over 20 years with the community. Beyond all his work experience, Tommy was an avid trapper, a great fisherman and hunter. Although he would hunt towards the B.C. border, Tommy did most of his trapping around his community of Fort Liard and Sambaa K'e.

Those who remember Tommy know him as a very kind and humble soul. Tommy loved to joke and was rather funny. He was always kidding around with everybody, but especially he liked joking with the kids and youth. This past summer I had the opportunity to chat with Tommy while I was in Sambaa K'e. During this conversation we were talking about things about the community, when all of a sudden he told me that he broke out of the long-term care facility in Fort Simpson just to come for a visit. Then he said "just kidding" with a big smile. This was his humour.

A couple of weeks before Tommy passed away he went out to a youth camp in Sambaa K'e. He told stories to the children, sang them a drum song, and gave them some words of wisdom. Tommy's message to the youth was for them not to worry about money and not to be preoccupied with material things. Tommy was a father, an uncle, a grandfather, and a husband. He leaves behind four children, his wife Helen, and an entire community of family and friends. We will sadly miss him. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Our condolences to the family as well, and also to the region. Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Delores Betsina; she is the daughter of Antoine Michel, who I just did a eulogy for. I'd also like to recognize her friend, also from Lutselk'e, Linda Case.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Yellowknife South.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the following visitors in the gallery with us today. These are participants in the Executive Leadership Development Program, Canada and the North Study Tour, Canada School of Public Services. Mr. Speaker, we can expect well-informed decisions about the North with these visitors: Louise Metivier, Assistant Deputy Minister Natural Resources; Pierre-Marc Mongeau, Assistance Deputy Minister, Transport Canada; Kathleen Thompson, Assistant Deputy Minister, Public Safety Canada; Annette Butikofer, Assistance Commissioner and Chief Information Officer, Canada Revenue Agency; Daryell Nowlan, Vice-President, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency; Gary Robertson, Assistant Deputy Minister, Employment and Social Development Canada; Pod Champion Andrew Treusch; Canada School of Public Service Representative Ok Kim; Marie Anick Maille, Senior Advisor to the President, Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity today to also recognize a couple of constituents from Yellowknife North. First, I would like to recognize Linda Case, who has joined us here today. I would also like to recognize Shaleen Woodward, who is the ADM for Executive and Indigenous Affairs.

Also, Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to recognize a couple of our Pages from Mildred Hall who live in the Yellowknife North constituency or riding, and that is Adam Abraham and Haylee Fradsham. Thank you to all of the Pages for the great work that they contribute to us here in the Legislative Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take a moment to recognize a constituent, David Wasylciw. Welcome to the House.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to introduce two of my constituents, Janet and George Diveky. They have lived in the North almost all of their adult lives and made great contributions as teachers and volunteers; and their grandson, Graham Diveky-Suchlandt, is one of our Pages. I would like to thank him for being here, as well. Thank you.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, have a couple of Pages who have been with us this week from Inuvik Boot Lake, Kaylin Harder and Isobel Jellema. Thank you for the hard work that you have done this week. We really appreciate it, and to all Pages who have helped us get through the days this week, thank you. Mahsi cho.

Masi. Are we missing anyone in the gallery? Welcome to our proceedings. Item 6, acknowledgements. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the achievements and recognition of my constituent Janet Diveky, who I just introduced.

Janet was recently honoured for her contributions to the quality of our community life with the Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers. The award was bestowed in recognition of her years of efforts in support of the Yellowknife Association for Community Living, particularly her efforts in organizing and staging the annual "Gumboot Rally" fundraiser.

Please join me in offering congratulations to Janet Diveky for receiving this award. Mahsi.

---Applause

Masi. Acknowledgements. Member for Kam Lake.

Mr. Speaker, this summer the North American Indigenous Games were held in Toronto, and the Northwest Territories was well represented by so many talented young athletes. I want to acknowledge my constituent Deanne Whenham for winning the gold medal in 17 and Under Female Golf.

Ms. Whenham is a true athlete, and in addition to this year's games she has represented the Northwest Territories at the 2014 North American Indigenous Games, 2015 Canada Winter Games, and 2016 Arctic Winter Games. Honourable Members, please join me in congratulating Ms. Whenham and all the athletes, coaches, and volunteers who participated in the 2017 North American Indigenous Games. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Masi. Item 7, oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, these past two weeks before attending session I had the opportunity to speak to a number of students returning to school down south and a number of students attending school for the first time. They were all excited about heading off to their new adventure.

I found it interesting, however, some of the students and parents were not well-versed in what they were entitled to receive from Student Financial Assistance as it pertains to travel. With this in mind, Mr. Speaker, I have some questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister please advise us what the students can expect when it comes to travel when they attend school down south? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First off, I just want to say that our NWT Student Financial Assistance program continues to be one of the best financial aid programs throughout this country, and we do assist a lot of students going on to get their post-secondary education.

Now, with travel, Student Financial Assistance will assist any resident in the Northwest Territories who is eligible under the basic grants with travel expenses by air or by land from their home community to the nearest approved institution offering their program. Students are notified of their travel entitlement once their application has been approved. Our student service officers do a great job of informing them of what they are entitled to and work with them to make sure that they get to their institution of choice and also make sure that they get the supports that they need. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.