Mr. Speaker, earlier today the Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Employment and Social Development and I signed a Labour Market Agreement for Persons with Disabilities. Under this agreement, the Government of Canada will provide up to $1.25 Million in federal funding each year for four years to the Government of the Northwest Territories to improve employment prospects for Canadians with disabilities and better meet the needs of Canadian businesses.

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Health and Social services is committed to publicly reporting on the performance of the health and social services system and our progress towards achieving the Legislative Assembly’s goal of an effective and efficient Government.

The Department of Health and Social Services uses a number of different reports to ensure we are accountable to this Assembly and to the residents of the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, with its guaranteed advances, prime fur bonus and grubstake, the GNWT’s Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur Program is the envy of the Canadian trapping industry. The returns of this small but dynamic, made-in-the-NWT program to our trapping industry continue to impress.

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate Ms. Simone Gessler, Principal of Weledeh Catholic School in Yellowknife, on being recognized as one of Canada’s Outstanding Principals for 2014.

The Learning Partnership recently announced Ms. Gessler as one of 40 exceptional educators from across Canada. Through her leadership at Weledeh Catholic School since 2010, literacy rates have improved substantially, with 100% of students now demonstrating significant improvements in reading, sense of confidence and self-efficacy, and 70% are reading at or above grade level.

Mr. Speaker, having healthy, vibrant and safe communities is a key priority for the Government of the Northwest Territories. This is why over the past year, we have worked with communities as they developed wellness plans, to set priorities and guide how wellness funding should be directed.

Mr. Speaker, tourism in the Northwest Territories plays a vital role in our economy. Each year, the industry contributes over 100 million dollars in visitor revenue and attracts upwards of 70,000 visitors from across the world. Tourism is also one of the few industries capable of creating economic opportunities in every region.

Yellowknife (February 13, 2014) – Premier Bob McLeod added his signature to those of Acho Dene Koe First Nation Chief Harry Deneron and Fort Liard Métis Local President Ernie McLeod to the Acho Dene Koe First Nation and Fort Liard Métis Agreement in Principle. The Agreement in Principle has now been forwarded to the Federal Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, the Honourable Bernard Valcourt, for his approval.

Mr. Speaker, during December's power outage in the City of Yellowknife it became apparent that communications from the Northwest Territories Power Corporation did not meet its customers’ expectations or its own standards. It is our goal to keep power outages to a minimum. The Corporation has taken steps necessary to improve communication during both planned and unplanned power outages in the territory, and will continue to do so.

Mr. Speaker, the new Highway 4 realignment opened to traffic on January 31^st. Residents now bypass the remediation work underway at the former Giant Mine site and travel on a safer highway with better turns and sight lines. It is an important infrastructure investment toward ensuring responsible stewardship and providing jobs and business opportunities to dozens of Northerners.

Mr. Speaker, thousands of our residents and visitors enjoy the parks and campgrounds across the territory. In particular, the beaches located within the territorial parks contribute enormously to the quality of life for many families on hot summer days.

The 2014 parks season formally opens on May 15 and the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment is making important changes to beaches in Fred Henne Territorial Park and Hay River Territorial Park that I want to share with you. These changes will help to ensure everyone enjoys the beaches in a fun, safe way.