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Good evening, everyone.

It is great to be here at the 42nd annual Geoscience Forum and to see how much this event has grown over the years. First of all, I would like to thank the talented Lee Mandeville for his great performance tonight.  I would also like to recognize the Northwest Territories (NWT) and Nunavut Chamber of Mines and staff of the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment for organizing this important event each year and for the invitation to speak here tonight.

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Good afternoon everyone, and welcome to Yellowknife and to the 42nd annual Geoscience Forum. I want to thank the Dettah drummers for sharing with us their traditional songs, a welcome start to a conference that always delivers excellent speakers, presentations and more.

YELLOWKNIFE (November 24, 2014) – Two employees of the 60th Parallel Territorial Park have received the 2014 Parks Hospitality Award.  Vi and Eric Bartlett received multiple nominations and were acknowledged for their generosity, friendliness and exceptional service.

YELLOWKNIFE (November 13, 2014) – Northwest Territories businesses and entrepreneurs can use a new online database to obtain information on a variety of funding programs and services from the Government of the Northwest Territories and other governments and agencies. Increased awareness of available financial programs is expected to help NWT businesses to better access financial support.

Mr. Speaker, NWT businesses keep our economy strong, employ local residents and supply us with goods and services. Several NWT businesses have been recognized for their success lately and I would like to take this time to highlight some of them.

Mr. Speaker, with viable markets, a healthy stock of freshwater fish, and growing interest, we are working with our partners and the fishers on Great Slave Lake to breathe new life into the Northwest Territories fishing industry. Today, I am pleased to share with Members some of the steps we are taking to encourage the resurgence of the NWT fishing industry.

YELLOWKNIFE (October 30, 2014) – In response to media interest about Japanese tourism statistics and activities in the Northwest Territories, the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment is providing the attached information.

Questions related to ongoing search efforts for missing Japanese tourist, Atsumi Yoshikubo, should be directed to the Yellowknife RCMP.

Media inquiries:

Mr. Speaker, wild fur from the NWT, branded and sold under our Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur Label, is world-renowned for its high quality and obtains top prices at auction. Our trappers are experts in proper fur handling and preparation and have earned a reputation as some of the best in their trade.

Mr. Speaker, in the 2013/2014 fiscal year, there was a tremendous increase in the number of visitors and visitor spending in the Northwest Territories, and today I would like to share details of this exciting growth with Members.

Last year, we welcomed over 90,000 visitors. This is our highest number of visitors in the last decade and an increase of 20 percent from the previous year.

Visitor spending also rose by 24 percent to $132.5 million.

YELLOWKNIFE (October 23, 2014) – Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment David Ramsay today issued a call for nominations for oil and gas development on Territorial Reserve Lands north of 60° in the Central Mackenzie Valley and the Mackenzie Delta/Arctic Islands. All Aboriginal sub-surface lands established pursuant to land claim agreements are excluded.

All nominations must be received by 4:00 p.m. (MST) on November 21, 2014.