Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last week I had the honour to participate in the 2nd National Roundtable on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Winnipeg. This was an important opportunity for the Northwest Territories to engage in the national discussion on how we can take action together to address the root causes of violence against Indigenous women and girls. The core of this roundtable was the families of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Their voices were heard loudly and clearly, and they want action. Violence against Indigenous women and girls remains a serious issue in the Northwest Territories. I was pleased that Premiers, Ministers, and leaders of Aboriginal organizations agreed as a nation to move forward. The Government of the Northwest Territories is very supportive of the roundtable outcomes, which reflect our mandate and the priorities of the 18th Legislative Assembly. The NWT continues to have the second highest rate of police reported family violence in Canada, with 826 cases reported in 2014. Although this is a drop of six per cent over the previous year, it's clear that there is much work still to be done.
All parties to this year's roundtable agreed to action-based collaboration on a number of priorities in the three theme areas of prevention and awareness, community safety, and culturally relevant policing measures and justice responses. In doing this work, our government will remain committed to the principle that the best results are achieved through collaboration, particularly with the families most directly affected by the issue, and the governments and organizations that represent them. The roundtable was an important opportunity for collaboration and we must continue to work on the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls with all our partners across Canada and the NWT. This collaboration includes improving communication and coordination between Indigenous families, communities, victim services, policing, prosecutions, women's groups, anti-violence groups, and shelter workers. Roundtable participants will also work together to create and implement national performance measures to assess progress towards addressing and reducing the socio-economic gaps experienced by Indigenous peoples. Central to this work is the Socio-Economic Action Plan for Aboriginal Women currently being developed by the Aboriginal Affairs Working Group.
Mr. Speaker, the Aboriginal Affairs Working Group is a national forum currently chaired by Premier McLeod, who had a leading role in coordinating and chairing the first ever national roundtable in February 2015. The Aboriginal Affairs Working Group will play a central role in moving the outcomes of the second roundtable forward as this group will monitor progress and identify priorities for action. Our government will continue to demonstrate national leadership on this issue and to play an important role in furthering national dialogue. What was clear from the roundtable last week is that the climate of these discussions has very much changed since Premier McLeod helped to initiate this work a year ago. The inaugural roundtable was focused on the steps that governments and National Aboriginal Organizations could take in the absence of a national inquiry. The roundtable last week took place with the federal government now fully committed to a national inquiry and provinces and territories committed to work with Canada. There is also agreement that the national inquiry must tackle issues associated with the violence being experienced by Aboriginal women and girls. The Government of the Northwest Territories has long expressed its support for the national Aboriginal organizations' call for a national inquiry. We appreciate the federal government's level of engagement with Canadians, particularly the families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, during the pre-inquiry meetings that have been held across Canada. I was pleased to hear the federal government acknowledge the importance of reconciliation and the role of all Canadians in stopping the violence.
It is important that we honour and respect the wishes of the family members of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and that we embrace the philosophy of “nothing about us without us” as we continue to work on this issue. It is those who have experienced the violence that best know the issue, and the presence of family members during the roundtable was invaluable. I was also honoured to be joined by a board member from the Native Women's Association of the Northwest Territories and a family member of a missing murdered Indigenous woman. I would like to thank both women for their courage, strength, and all of the effort they have given to ensure that this event included the voices of northern Indigenous women. I hope that we will see real change as a result of the work in the near future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Ministers’ statements. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
