Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to announce to this Assembly that the 2018 Arctic Winter Games, hosted by Hay River, Fort Smith, and the K'atlodeeche First Nation, were an overwhelming success.

That's not just my opinion. I have heard it from many other residents of the South Slave, from members of the various national and international delegations that attended the games, and from the Arctic Winter Games International Committee, who have seen their fair share of the games.

I'm sure the other MLAs who were able to spend the entire week in the South Slave would also agree with me. Minister Cochrane spent time in both Hay River and Fort Smith, and I know for a fact that she was impressed with what she saw. The Premier also spent the week in Hay River, and every time I saw him, it sure looked like he was having a good time, especially when he capped his week off presenting the gold ulus to both of Team NWT's male hockey teams, one of which included his very own grandson.

Mr. Speaker, the success of the 2018 games redefined the very notion of who can host these games. Essentially, the South Slave was a testing ground, used to determine whether or not smaller communities could host the games. Guess what? It can be done, and can be done in spectacular fashion. However, there is one caveat: if small communities want to host the games, they need dedicated volunteers, and lots of them.

According to Greg Rowe, the president of the South Slave Host Society, volunteers are the heart and soul the games. Luckily, the South Slave has a big heart. Between Hay River and Fort Smith, there were 1,500 volunteers. Mr. Speaker, that's over 20 per cent of the combined population of both communities. That's absolutely amazing. Some people were only able to pick up a handful of volunteer shifts, but they did what they could. Some people took leave from their jobs and volunteered full-time. Some people worked all day and then volunteered all evening. It was not uncommon to hear about volunteers putting in 10, 12, or 16 hours a day, every day.

Then, Mr. Speaker, there are the people who put in four years. I'm speaking, of course, of the Host Society board of directors. Without their efforts, the games would have never made their way to the South Slave in the first place. For their efforts, the Host Society was presented with the NWT outstanding volunteer award for a group just earlier today, and rightly so.

So, Mr. Speaker, I ask this Assembly to join me in thanking all of the volunteers for making the 2018 Arctic Winter Games such a great success. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.