Shane Thompson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This morning after becoming aware of this spill, ENR compiled a "what we know" information sheet, and it is being sent to all Indigenous and community governments, partners, in the area. We are currently communicating with Indigenous governments in the town of Fort Smith to enhance monitoring of the water in the Slave River to track any potential impacts of upstream incidents. This is a precaution as we do not expect to see any changes based on the monitoring that is occurring in Alberta. We will continue to work closely with our Indigenous governments and communities.

M...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in the House to speak about a respected elder who passed away in Fort Simpson. I am lucky to be able to use the eulogy provided by the family. Those close to her knew her as Dinah.

Mr. Speaker, Diane Edwards made a difference to the people she touched, loved, and worked with. Diane Mary Edwards was born on November 1st, 1946, in Fort Liard. Her parents were William and Marguerite Edwards. After finishing high school at Akaitcho Hall in Yellowknife in 1968, Diane moved back to Fort Simpson. She was an active member of the community. Sports were...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, water is life for Indigenous peoples who have relied on it since time immemorial, for residents who rely on it today for clean drinking water, and for the thousands of species that live and thrive in our North because of it. I rise today to speak on a disturbing issue that has come to our attention in the past 24 hours. I was shocked to learn that one of the largest oil sands spills in Alberta was reported in February, and I was disappointed that we were not informed by Alberta as per our Bilateral Water Management Agreement.

According to media reports...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on February 28th, the NAG council stated it was continuing with its mandatory COVID vaccination policy. The NAG council stated the priority is the safety and wellbeing of all 5,000 athletes, participants, coaches, and chaperones participating from 756 nations. This includes elders of the Mi'kmaq host territory who have shared that they are not comfortable with unvaccinated groups coming into their territory. NAG council indicated they respect the territories of the nations and wishes of the elders. So, Mr. Speaker, I also respect the wishes of the NAG...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can confirm that both the Arctic Winter Games and the Canada Winter Games did have the policy in there. But on November 18th, 2022 the international committee, in conjunction with the host community, decided to withdraw or revoke the policy for mandatory COVID19 vaccination reports, as well with Canada games on November 23rd, the host society and the Canada games council revoked it there. So in my conversations with both ministers, both societies in Charlottetown, PEI and Fort McMurray, both ministers and the host society said that that was the public...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today it saddens me to stand in this House and speak about the passing of a wellknown man from the community of Fort Simpson.

John Moreau was a hard worker, told it like it was, and was an honest businessman. I watched him work and his commitment to his work was excellent. Nothing was too small or too big for him to take on.

John was born and raised in Winnipeg, a '50s greaser that use to race Tbirds down the Pembina Highway. John was always a very independent man who raised his children with his wife Louisa, who were married for 54 years.

John was an avid...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I agree with the Member's frustration. When I heard about the vaccine requirements being dropped, I did reach out to both ministers and had that conversation and the international committee and saying hey, we had a process. We, in the Northwest Territories, to select our teams had to follow the process that said you had to have vaccination requirements done and report it in. That didn't happen. They changed it and so we weren't able to do that. So unfortunately, we as a government don't intervene, but Sport North and the TSOs have that ability so we...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was getting jealous of Minister Archie in answering all the questions here, so I appreciate the Member from Hay River South asking the question.

So some good news for the Member, and hopefully it'll be the last time he has to talk about COVID in this House here. We don't require any COVID vaccination requirements for sporting events in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to wish you a belated Happy Birthday yesterday. I heard you turned 29 so Happy Birthday.

Today I'd like rise in the House to speak about the Dene drums in the Gahnihthah film that got selected to be part of the Yellowknife International Film Festival, the Swedish International Film Festival, the Berlin Short Film Festival, Dawson City International Short Film Festival, Brooklyn Film Festival, Los Angeles Skins Film Festival, LA Documentary Film Festival and the Skabmagovat Indigenous Film Festival in Finland.

The film is a short documentary about...

Short, Mr. Speaker, we're hoping to have it something here in the House by the end of this session. Not this Assembly but the end of this session. Thank you.