Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on June 23rd the federal government completed its second reading of Bill C21 which would make certain consequential amendments with respect to firearms. Currently the bill is under review by the federal standing committee on public safety and national security.
Following Bill C21's second reading, there was a clear public outcry from coast to coast to coast about the negative impacts of this bill on the way of life for Indigenous people many of who are subsistence hunters. The purpose of this bill was to improve public safety and yet the people most affected are the Indigenous people who use rifles and other hunting weapons to provide for their families and communities.
Mr. Speaker, in the NWT we are very aware of the importance of hunting. Hunting puts food on the table for families. It provides healthy, wild, and nutrientrich meat for children and elders. It is a staple, a necessity. Simply put, Indigenous people cannot live without hunting. When the Minister first provided me with the GNWT's position on this bill, I felt it wasn't strong enough. While the federal government has recently made promising amendments to the bill that improve its impacts on Indigenous hunters, the GNWT can still do more.
The GNWT should make it very clear to the federal government that no government, at any time, should be contemplating the prohibition of firearms that Indigenous people use for sustenance. The GNWT must push the federal government to come to the Northwest Territories to talk to Indigenous hunters. They must engage with the people whose very way of life and livelihoods are being impacted by the changes they are proposing.
One of the 19th Assembly's priorities is to advance UNDRIP therefore the GNWT can, and should, do more to protect the rights of Indigenous people to hunt and continue their way of life. Here is a chance to show the Indigenous people of this territory that the GNWT supports their way of life and will fight for their rights on the national stage. And I finished on time today, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Members' statements. Member for Thebacha.
