Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The legacy of colonialism in the North is just our legacy of intergenerational trauma due to the tragedy of residential school and many of the other practices which harm our culture and ways of life but also trauma and harms to our northern environment. Through the past decade, development in the North meant often little care was given to pollution and contaminants from industry which went on to cause chronic and acute illness still felt today and will be felt for a long time into the future.
My constituents of Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh have many of these issues -- illnesses present, especially cancer, which were unknown or rare just a few generations ago. These links, these illnesses, too many examples of neglectful practices from government and industry. We all know the example of Giant Mine just down the road and how it affected the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. But I want to bring forward another example from Lutselk'e that is lesser known outside the community.
In May 1970, a Wardair Bristol Freighter crashed on the ice. It was not a serious crash because all on board survived, but it could not be salvaged because it was firmly stuck in the ice that was about to melt. Therefore, it was left to sink just a short distance away from the community. They know where it is but it's not clear any assessment was done. A Bristol Freighter contains two 300-gallon fuel tanks, along with hydraulic fluids, and parts of that, when degraded, could be harmful to the environment. Because this plane sank in one piece with little damage, the fuel could still be leaking today. The community leaders want to bring these concerns forward and give the task to the GNWT who may need to partner with the federal government to help on this issue.
Like all communities, Lutselk'e wants to know if the territorial government will partner with them and connect them to more resources needed to clean up the surroundings from the harmful legacies of the past. And I will have questions for the Minister of ECC at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Members' statements. Member from the Deh Cho.
