Hon. James Downey (Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism): Madam Speaker, I am pleased to make a statement today on behalf of the Premier (Mr. Filmon). I have copies for distribution.

I am indeed proud to stand on behalf of the Premier today to indicate to the members of the Assembly and the people of Manitoba and to congratulate the Manitoba bid committee members responsible for securing the 1999 World Junior Hockey Championship.

Just over two hours ago, the Premier and I joined with the Canadian Hockey League and the Manitoba bid committee to make the official announcement: Manitoba will host the 1999 World Junior Hockey Championship.

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The series of 31 games take place in Winnipeg, Brandon, Portage la Prairie and Selkirk. It is expected to provide a $6-million boost to our province's economy and strengthen the determination and sheer talent of Manitobans in our communities which they have shown once again in securing this prestigious tournament. In making the announcement, Murray Costello, the president of Canadian Hockey, cited many factors in selecting Manitoba's bid. He noted the special-event atmosphere built into Manitoba's bid impressed the selection committee, as did the strength and base of volunteer support available in the participating Manitoba communities. They particularly noted the support Manitoba's bid received from all the communities involved. Mr. Costello finished off by saying, and I quote, we believe this should be the most successful World Junior Hockey Championship we have ever held. What a great compliment to Manitobans involved in securing this bid for our community. Canadian Hockey knows that Manitoba can set a new standard of excellence in hosting this major event, and so do the people of Manitoba.

Our province has successfully hosted world curling, the Pan American Junior Track and Field Championships, World Board Sailing, World Youth Baseball and many other national sporting events like the 1991 Grey Cup, that many have said was the best Grey Cup in the history of the country.

This summer we will host the World Handball and Canada Summer Games in Brandon and, of course, just a few months after the World Junior Hockey tournament comes to Manitoba, we will play host to the 1999 Pan-American Games, the second largest sporting event in the world. The only event larger is the Summer Olympics.

Thank you to Canadian Hockey and the International Ice Hockey Federation for choosing us. I know Manitobans will make these organizations truly proud that they chose Manitoba. Congratulations once again to the Manitoba bid committee, Hockey Manitoba, the Province of Manitoba, the cities of Winnipeg, Brandon, Portage la Prairie and Selkirk, the mayors of these communities, Winnipeg Enterprises Corporation and the many organizations who have made a commitment to support this hockey tournament and its related events. We look forward to hosting the very best World Junior Hockey Championship of all time, December 26, 1998, to January 5, l999. I want to congratulate each and every one of the bid committee and, as well, best of luck for all the sports activities that take place in this event.

Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): Madam Speaker, responding to this good news announcement, I would like to congratulate the total bid committee in securing Manitoba as the host for the 1999 World Junior Hockey Championship. We think this is a very, very positive announcement today. We are not aware of all the financial details of the bid proposal and we will obviously be questioning the government on our financial obligations, but the awarding of this tournament is very, very good news for Manitoba communities.

I am pleased to see that the tournament will take place in a number of communities across Manitoba, Brandon, Portage la Prairie, Selkirk. I would encourage the government to look at the recent success in junior hockey in northern Manitoba, the OCN Blizzard with its great team results this year in its first year of hockey. Perhaps with this new and exciting team and this new popularity of junior hockey in Manitoba, in northern Manitoba, the bid committee could be flexible enough to expand some of the sites to be hosted in the OCN community and the community of northern Manitoba.

This is very good news for hockey fans and for our community. It comes on the heels of the Canadian women's hockey team winning again the world championship for the, I believe it is the fourth year in a row, against the very, very competitive American women's hockey team. It also outlines, when we look at the competition in hockey, the changing nature of junior hockey, because we see a lot of our young people now going through the junior hockey ranks, but we see a lot of young people also now going through the high school and university ranks in hockey, whether it is in women's hockey or in men's hockey. So we congratulate the government on this announcement today, and we look forward to being part of the hosting of this tournament. We look forward to more flexible utilization of communities, and we think it is good news for this province.