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Thank you. I am honoured to be here today on behalf of Premier McLeod and the Government of the Northwest Territories.

Organizers are holding over one hundred Sisters in Spirit vigils across the country today to remember the missing and murdered Aboriginal women of Canada.

This year, the vigils have become an international event with ceremonies held in South America and the United States in honour of their Indigenous women who are missing and murdered. 

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(Click to download slide presentation)


Thank you for the opportunity to speak – and congratulations to the organizers for putting together another successful edition of this long running conference.

We have come a long way since Meet the North was first originated in part to introduce the north and its potential to potential investors in southern Canada.

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Thank you. I am pleased to be here today and to see so many people that have an interest in the sustainable economic development of Canada’s north. I would like to thank Conference Chair Bob Gomes, the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce and World Trade Centre Edmonton for bringing us all together to talk about ways we can encourage and support northern economic development.

Thank you for inviting me to be here today.  I would like to speak to you about the place of the Northwest Territories in the world and how fostering strong relationships has been, and will continue to be, an important part of promoting social and economic progress in the North.

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Good Afternoon, I would like to welcome all of you to the launch of Family Violence Awareness Week.  I am particularly happy to see a number of young people attending this afternoon.

Sadly, once again this week we are reminded that violence against women is a very real problem in our communities. The Northwest Territories has the second highest rate of family violence in Canada and we know that many incidents are never reported.  So it is not a surprise to you when I say we have some work to do.

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Mayor Johnson, MLA Norman Yakeleya, Chiefs, Presidents and Community leaders, ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you this afternoon. In addition to my responsibilities as Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, I am also the Minister of Transportation.

So I would like to start with a story that has its basis – not in oil and gas – but in aviation.

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Thank you Consul General Savone, and Premier Selinger.

Thank you to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, and to everyone who is here today, for this opportunity to meet, learn and share.

I am very pleased to be here in Shanghai to speak on behalf of the Canadian Premiers participating in the Council of the Federation Mission to China.

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I am pleased to be here to talk to you about tourism opportunities in Canada and in the Northwest Territories. I would like to thank the Canadian Tourism Commission for organizing this event and for the work it does to help promote Canada as a tourism destination around the world and especially here in China.

This is a great loss to Canada. Premier Lougheed was a great man and role model to many throughout our country. He was a visionary who believed that by working together, all Canadians could succeed. His tireless commitment to ensuring that Albertans would be the primary beneficiaries of the development of their own resources has been a model for me personally as Premier of the NWT as we negotiate a final devolution agreement that will give our own people control over and benefits from resource development.

I am pleased to be here in Beijing to speak to the Canada China Business Council about investment opportunities in Canada’s Northwest Territories.

The Northwest Territories economy has been built on luxury items – furs, gold and now diamonds. From the earliest days, our trappers provided beautiful, thick furs to buyers all over the world. They still do that. Wild fur from the Northwest Territories is of excellent quality and always in high demand at fur auctions. That makes us an ideal source of fur to supply China’s world leading fur garment industry.