Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I recently had the good fortune to attend the very first NWT Anti-Poverty Summit. I was one of about 80 participants; participants representing 20 different NWT communities and 29 NWT organizations. This event was organized, planned and developed by two social justice non-government organizations: Alternatives North and the NWT YWCA.
The summit explored the issue of poverty in the NWT, what it is and what it is not, looked at the efforts currently being taken to tackle poverty, which ones work and which ones do not, and determined how we can move forward on anti-poverty.
Attendees heard from well-known advocates and leaders in the field, as well as a federal politician who has a motion to eradicate poverty before the House of Commons, from each other, and, last but not least, from comedian Mary Walsh, a long-time advocate against poverty in our country. It was two days of intense discussion by people passionate about their work and committed to improving the lives of NWT residents who have to endure poverty.
The summit summary, Mr. Speaker, states that eliminating poverty must become the government’s top priority and that everyone must be involved for any actions to succeed. The development of a government Anti-Poverty Strategy called for in the motion passed in this House in February is of paramount importance and it must be based in legislation, not policy. Without an anti-poverty act, we can expect that long-term coordinated efforts and accountability will both be lacking, and the development of any strategy or legislation must involve all parties. It will not succeed if it’s developed in isolation by government.
Mr. Speaker, a report will be prepared with the priorities identified and the recommendations made during the summit. That report will be presented to this Assembly in the near future. It will provide a thorough review of where we are in relation to poverty in the NWT, and it should be a starting point for further work for the next steps.
In May of this year, in a statement to the House, the Premier committed to the development of an overarching discussion paper. It’s now time for the Premier and this government to act on those words and begin the work that will eliminate poverty in the NWT. I will have questions for the Premier at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
