Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for most of us we have post offices located in our communities. However, some of the smaller communities in the Nahendeh riding, they do not. Four of the communities fall under the Fort Simpson's postal code. Nahanni Butte was one of those communities. Mail would get flown in from Fort Simpson to Nahanni Butte once a week, weather permitting. Once it arrives, somebody had to collect it from the airstrip and bring it to the band office where a staff person would sort it and get ready for residents to pick it.
Mr. Speaker, throughout the years, the community has seen an improved Canada Post service, but they have sometimes gone two or three weeks without receiving the mail. This was an issue, so they wanted to fix it. In December 2021, the band began working to establish a post office in Nahanni Butte. This involved several meetings with the Crown corporation so they could identify what changes were necessary to make the post office a reality. Once these changes occurred, it would mean securing a new postal code. One of the biggest things was to name every street and put numbers on every house. The residents provided ideas for what each road could be named, and council voted on the options. Once the names were chosen, they developed a sign with both Dene Zhatie and English. The house numbers were designed by a local artist Destiny Ekotla depicting a beaver in front of Tthenaago, the sacred mountain which Nahanni Butte lies at the foot of. As Chief Steve Vital stated, these changes were improvement in the delivery of mail and emergency services in the community of 93 people.
Mr. Speaker, the shiny new signage went up in April, giving each home in the community its own mailing address that will make it easier for emergency services to respond to emergencies in Nahanni Butte. As well, it makes it easier for residents to fill out paperwork for things like driver's licenses, insurance, and utilities.
The new postal code took effect September 2022, with the post office outlet situated in the corner of the general store.
Mr. Speaker, each community member will have their own designated mailbox, keys, the post office will hire one fulltime employee to manage the space and pick up the community's mail twice a week from a driver who already does a mail run from Fort Simpson to Fort Liard.
The community's postal code is X0E 2N0 code. They do have their own postal stamp as well. Just ask the Member from Frame Lake who received one of the first pieces of mail from the community. Trust me, I had to drop the mail off with my colleague from the health Minister.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my colleagues to congratulate them for getting their own post office. Thank You, Mr. Speaker.
