Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, anybody that was either present or listening to Committee of the Whole yesterday may have noticed that it was basically an extension of a Standing Committee on Social Development meeting here for most of the day. And two of the things that we covered in Committee of the Whole yesterday were reports that were done by the standing committee, but those reports could not have been in the way that they were done without the participation of the residents of the Northwest Territories. They really are the voices of the residents of the Northwest Territories. And one of the things that we have tried to do different this term in the Standing Committee of Social Development is ensure that we really elevate the voices of youth from around the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, one of the things that we've done in order to do that work through our priorities with the youth of the Northwest Territories is to step outside of this building and to meet youth in spaces that they find or feel are safe for them. So the work that we have largely done with youth has not happened in the Legislative Assembly. It has happened in places like a youth centre. Those are places that youth have identified are more comfortable for them. So it found committee members sitting on couches, eating doughnuts, drinking hot chocolate, and being able to hear true, valid, lived experiences from youth from across the territory, not just youth from Yellowknife.
The reason that committee has done this is to capture voices that are incredibly powerful to the work that we do and incredibly insightful and important to the work that is done by our committee.
Mr. Speaker, the voices of youth give our work more strength and more depth and the stories and lived experiences that they have so bravely shared with committee members have truly captivated committee members because they have been honest, and they have been brave. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the youth who have shared their stories and lived experiences with committee members in the work that we have done, but I also want to extend a huge thank you to the staff and the executive director of the Foster Family Coalition of the Northwest Territories and Home Base YK. Those staff members have created a lot of those safe spaces through their existing relationships with youth from across the territory. And I'd like to thank youth for participating and look forward to one day seeing them sitting in these seats here. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Members' statements. Member for Nahendeh.
