Mr. Speaker, the Nunavik Rangers are a subgroup of the Canadian armed forces that has existed for at least 50 years and that was a strong presence at the New Year's avalanche in Kangiqsualujjuaq.
In 1994, the Junior Rangers, for boys and girls aged 12 to 18, was established in northern Quebec.
The 14 communities in Nunavik now have their Junior Rangers patrols. They are supported by the Canadian armed forces and by the senior Rangers. In the Rangers, young Inuit learn such skills as navigation, weapons safety, ancestral traditions and hunting.
The Canadian armed forces and Major Claude Archambault last week visited the village of Kangiqsualujjuaq with its mayor Maggie Emudluk to offer praise to the Rangers who participated in the rescue operations on January 1, 1999.
Nakuqmiik to the Nunavik Rangers.