Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, back in April, the Legislative Assembly was host to 19 youth from across the Northwest Territories for our Annual Youth Parliament. There is starting to be a trend amongst the youth who have represented Yellowknife South. When they are given the opportunity to speak in this House, to deliver their message to us as MLAs and to the people of the Northwest Territories, they have chosen to speak to the action plan to address the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGEBTQIA+ people.
Mr. Speaker, today is the 2nd Anniversary of the delivery of the final report of the national inquiry. So, Mr. Speaker, I have chosen to take this opportunity to share the words of the latest youth to stand in this spot who spoke to the action plan.
The following words are those that were written and read in this legislature by Nico Morin, who represented Yellowknife South as the Minster responsible for the Status of Women in the 2023 Youth Parliament.
Mr. Speaker, for many years now, Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGEBTQIA+ people have been found victims of numerous violence and abuse cases around the North, but rarely is there enough support for the survivors or their families. Survivors are left with a great deal of trauma to work through which not only affects them but has repercussions on family members who are left with a deeprooted fear of that certain event happening again. This is even more so for families of victims who did not make it, as they are left to deal with that grief as well. As we know, this trauma is especially hard for Indigenous people who are also still dealing with the intergenerational trauma of historical and modem colonial practices.
Missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGEBTQIA+, Call to Action 81, calls on the government to enhance the holistic approach of support to survivors, their families, and friends. This is important because it provides a diverse range of healing methods while also keeping a strong connection to Indigenous culture and medicinal practices.
Mr. Speaker, in the GNWT's action plan in response to the MMIWG Calls to Action, the government plans to provide the Indigenous governments, hamlets, councils, and local organizations, with funding to put in place a comprehensive communitybased victim services program to help provide muchneeded support to survivors of crime and their families. These services are being offered at a community level because communities are best able to identify the uniqueness of their residents.
Today I want to acknowledge that just because a person survives abuse or acts of violence does not mean that their pain is over and that they should be expected to return to a normal life. As the Minister responsible for the Status of Women, MMIWG is very relevant to my portfolio. Creating programs to help victims and their families heal from the traumatic events they had to endure will be greatly beneficial for women, girls, and 2SLGEBTQIA+.
Mr. Speaker, we recognize we need to move on many more calls to action. By addressing the actions one at a time, we can ensure a well thought out response and approach to the Calls to Action and give them the muchneeded attention they deserve.
Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to Ms. Morin for those words and for reminding me of some of reasons and motivations that lead me to run for office the passion that we should never cease to bring to this job and to her courage to take on a topic, one that can seem overwhelming but which will only be solved by each of us giving voice to social change. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife South. Members' statements. Member for Nahendeh.
