Thank you. Good afternoon, Mr. Speaker. I welcome you and my colleagues back for another productive session. I rise today to give thanks to all the hardworking and dedicated people who have spent the last few weeks fighting fires in the South Slave, dealing with the flooding in the Beaufort Delta, and supporting evacuees barely one year after they coped with the devastating floods.
My heart breaks for the people of the K'atlodeeche First Nation. Not only did they suffer from the flooding last year, with some of them still not in their homes, but now they've also lost significant infrastructure in their community, the extent of which is not yet fully known. Thankfully, I hear several historical and cultural artifacts were spared, items that are irreplaceable, however, people have lost their homes. We can never replace the mementos and the photos, the family heirlooms passed down from generation to generation, and for that I am truly sorry.
This has been a hugely stressful time for all residents across the territory. We are a small community. We all have loved ones, friends and family, that have been impacted by the recent emergencies; emergencies that are only increasing in frequency as the earth's climate continues to change. Storms that once only occurred every hundred years are now coming more regularly, and we must figure out how to adapt if we hope to survive.
One thing about Northerners is that we are resilient, and we are strong.
Do I like that we're constantly challenged by the environment around us? No. But what it has done is given us the ability to persevere when the going gets tough. And it is that perseverance that will help us to adapt to the change around us.
Mr. Speaker, we must stop being reactive to disasters and start to plan more accordingly. The GNWT has a dismal track record in this area, choosing to wait until it is too late and the emergency has begun. The Minister of MACA has told me that his department doesn't have the capacity to deal with emergency situations or project management as it's a very small department. That it is the responsibility of the underfunded communities to prepare and deal with a climate change driven disaster. A scary thought, Mr. Speaker, given the lack of resources and money in most communities.
Mr. Speaker, when is this government going to get proactive and stop leaving our communities to pay outofpocket for situations created by lack of adequate funding or investment in our communities? I would have had questions for the ECC Minister, but he has chosen not to be here today. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.
