Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as an elected official, I believe it is my duty to utilize every avenue available to speak up and advocate for my constituents. For that reason, I would like to use this time to respond to the Commissioner's address before the end of the 19th Legislative Assembly.
Mr. Speaker, there is only so much time allocated to MLAs to make a Member's statement on each day during session so there is not always enough time to share information with my colleagues. Therefore, I'm going to share my view on a variety of topics that I have not yet had the chance to speak or expand on.
First, Mr. Speaker, I wanted to say that my prayers and thoughts goes out to the people of the NWT and my constituents that have lost family members and friends over the last four years.
Mr. Speaker, when I got sworn in on August 5th, 2021, there were three elders who were here with me in the Legislative Assembly, no longer with us, 99yearold Elizabeth Michele, 94yearold elder Philip Dryneck, and my God sister and elder Maryann Football. It is in their honour I continue the work that I do.
Mr. Speaker, I know how difficult it is to lose people that we love. May the Creator help those that are grieving and help us on our healing journey. As a community, we need to continue working together to support each other so we can move forward.
Mr. Speaker, one alarming trend which I and other people have noticed in recent years is the increasingly high numbers of young people who are dying prematurely. We are all very concerned about what is happening in our communities and need to do more to support young people in areas of mental health and addictions. Our elders say it should be younger people burying older people, but in recent years it has been the opposite and this trend seems to be happening across the entire NWT. This should be a priority of the next Legislative Assembly.
Mr. Speaker, there are some additional points I would like to share regarding the Behchoko fire, which is numbered Z7015.
First of all, Mr. Speaker, this fire was reported on June 28th. However at that time, ECC said it did not consider this wildfire as a threat. I believe that initial assessment by ECC was a mistake because if ECC had addressed that fire sooner, then we could have prevented a lot of damage. Mr. Speaker, the GNWT fire management policy and control burns, the last one that I am aware of that happened in North Slave region was August 25th, has caused the NWT over 4 million hectares of land burned and that amounts to eight times the size of Prince Edward Island.
Outside of Yellowknife, the majority of the people are Indigenous. It is the Indigenous people who have a unique and powerful connection to the lands of the NWT. These lands have sustained us for thousands of years. Mr. Speaker, it's so disappointing that nowadays everything is measured in terms of dollars. We love our land more than money. For us, our land is priceless. We love our land along with all the plants and animals that live here. So it hurts us, it pains us, when we see such a giant swath of land burn due to wildfires. Not only do these fires destroy homes, cabins, and other structures, but the fire also destroyed sacred sites and traditional lands that are of tremendous value to many Indigenous people across the NWT. As I've said before, there are traplines destroyed. There are hunting grounds burned, millions of hectares of animal habitat lost, and countless animals lost in these forest fires.
Mr. Speaker, that is not even truly considering the human impacts that these wildfires have on people. To the communities who have had had to evacuate this year alone, I know of many people who feared for their lives when they had to evacuate. People did not know if they would get out of those situations alive. Also, Mr. Speaker, considering there is zero cell service on Highway No. 3 between Behchoko and Yellowknife, there were several people who failed to receive the emergency alert to evacuate when the wildfire was getting dangerously close to the cabins and homes along the highway. It is in situations like those, when cell service is essential to have, therefore the NWT is in desperate need of cellular service to be installed on that highway. If there had been cell service, maybe people could have prepared better prior to evacuating.
Moreover, Mr. Speaker, when I ran in the byelection two years ago, there were several priorities that I campaigned on which I intended to address upon coming into office. The main issues I wanted to work on was housing and mental health and addictions.
I have worked closely with this government and the Tlicho government to improve programs and services to the four Tlicho communities and other regions as well. Since being elected, Mr. Speaker, I have advocated for a treatment centre to open in the NWT based on the needs of the people and in the regions, for more home ownership opportunities for NWT residents, and for improvements to be made within the child welfare system, among others.
Mr. Speaker, in order to solve the problems facing the NWT, we all need to work together. We need to work together both within this House and with all levels of government, including Indigenous government. If we all work together, then I truly belief that we can all move forward in a good way. Only by working together and supporting one another can we make things better.
Looking ahead, Mr. Speaker, as we near the end of the 19th Assembly, I believe now is the right time for me to formally and publicly announce my intention to seek reelection in the 2023 territorial election as the MLA for Monfwi in Tlicho region. I know there is still much work to do. God willing I will be fortunate enough to be reelected, I will continue to advocate for people and work on the issues that is most important to our regions.
Mr. Speaker, if elected to the 20th Assembly, I will continue to advocate for people's homes to be be repaired, additional housing units to be built in Tlicho communities. I will also continue to advocate and find ways to make life better for children and families, mental health, their mental health and addictions, as I believe we must do everything we can to improve and the quality of life of our future generations to ensure they will have a bright future.
In addition, Mr. Speaker, I want to add that the new collective agreement for the UNW, Union of Northern Workers, must be a good deal for the employees of the GNWT. Our government must look after their employees, ensure that they have fair pay increases because they have to be able to feed their families as well. As someone who worked within the GNWT public service for 28 years, I know that it can still be hard to get by and put food on the table. Even in a dual income household, there are still difficulties people face.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank, with the utmost respect, all of the firefighters, Canadian Armed Forces, first responders, and volunteers who helped battle all of the wildfires across the NWT this summer. I know that I have been critical of the government on several issues but I do not put any of that fault on the people on the frontline. Firefighters put their lives on the line every time they go out in the field. So on behalf of the Tlicho region, I want to thank all firefighters for their efforts in protecting the people and communities of the NWT. Without you, there would probably be nothing left standing across our territories and regions in the NWT.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank all my colleagues for their contributions and collaborations during the 19th Assembly. While I may not have served a full fouryear term, I have learned a lot within the time that I have been in this House. And I intend to continue to cooperate with Members on both sides of the House in the 20th Legislative Assembly. And, Mr. Speaker, I also want to thank all the staff here at the Legislative Assembly who have helped me transition into the position of MLA midway through this Assembly and also to the interpreters/translators from all the regions for keeping our language alive. It is thriving.
Most importantly, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my husband Kevin and families for being there for me. And I'd like to thank all my constituents and residents that have taken the time to share their stories and concerns with me over my term. It is hard to speak of our tragedies and trauma. I really do appreciate that they have trusted me enough to share them with me so I can do a better job. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
