Joe Handley

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me a great deal of pleasure to recognize my constituent, Major Karen Hoeft, as we all know a very passionate advocate for the homeless, the poor and I think generally all people that have personal challenges in their lives. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The next meeting of the Economic Measures Working Group is scheduled for June 6th and I expect at that time or shortly following that meeting we should be able to come to an agreement on how we move forward with this. Mr. Speaker, I might mention that there’s a Sahtu implementation committee meeting as well that’s currently scheduled for September in Colville Lake. By then I hope we have the agreement. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to take this opportunity on this Year of the Veteran to recognize the veterans who are here with us today. Mr. Speaker, with us are Ruth Ann MacEachern-Spence, a World War II veteran;

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Mr. Dusty Miller, World War II veteran;

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Mrs. Ethel Wilson, World War II veteran;

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Mr. Gordon Carter, World War II veteran;

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Mrs. Jan Stirling, a veteran of Korea;

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Bishop John Sperry, World War II veteran;

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and Tom Eagle, peacemaker.

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Mr. Speaker, if there are other veterans that I can’t see but are here, I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to provide Members of the Legislative Assembly with a short update on a number of important initiatives we have undertaken since the last sitting of this Legislative Assembly, initiatives that strengthen our partnerships both within and outside of our territory.

This is an interesting time in Canadian politics. It's a time that brings forth both opportunity and challenge for our territory. As we witness the political situation in Ottawa, we must continue to focus on partnering with the federal government in areas of importance to this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It has been difficult to schedule the meetings. This one is scheduled for September 15th in Colville Lake. It involves Canada as well, so I will, Mr. Speaker, aim at having this agreement in place and ready for discussion at that meeting. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There was a meeting that was held in November 2004, November 16th to 18th, to discuss a three-year economic measures review. The Sahtu chose not to attend that particular meeting. Since that time, the Sahtu and Gwich’in representatives met on December 8th to discuss economic measures. There was a further meeting held on April 19th of this year with a follow-up conference call on May 10th. So, Mr. Speaker, I think this issue is being followed through with the Sahtu through the number of meetings that are being held. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, 2005 has been designated as the Year of the Veteran. This is an important declaration that pays tribute to the courage and sacrifice of our veterans. As well, 2005 is also the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, including the recent anniversary of Victory in Europe on May 8th, VE Day, and in the Far East on August 14th, VJ Day.

The Government of the Northwest Territories is pleased to join all provinces and territories in recognizing the significant contributions of veterans during this 60th anniversary year. It is an opportunity for our government, in...

Mr. Speaker, yes, I will commit to making every effort I can on behalf of the GNWT to do that by September. Of course, we have to have the Sahtu representatives and the representatives of Canada also on side, but we will make best efforts to do that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I am very interested in who the new ambassador will be. The announcement is, I understand, to be made in the next week or two and I have been working very closely with the Consul General. I might add that this is the second trip that the Consul General has made since his appointment several months ago. He was here in November and he is back here again, so there is definitely very much interest by the American government in the potential for tourism, mining, diamonds, oil and gas and so on in the Northwest Territories. We want to keep up that relationship....

Mr. Speaker, I would be pleased to do that and in fact Mr. Speaker, I did go over to Sir John Franklin High School yesterday to take part in the orientation for the students and the introduction of this virtual consulate. I did take the opportunity, even though I didn’t want to hone in on the students' projects too much, to send a message to Ambassador Cellucci and I did, while waiting there, get a reply from him, as did a number of students.

Mr. Speaker, I think all northerners, if they have questions and they want to make their views known, should access the site; it is there. I don’t have...