Thank you, Madam Speaker. Today I wish to speak about the issue that is near and dear to my heart. That is, the unity of my people, the Inuit. The Inuit have always known, Madam Speaker, that there's strength in unity. From the time families had to depend on one another to survive, today that unity is still there and that unity has demonstrated big gains for the Inuit. It has helped to us to achieve the many political gains that we are proud of, including the inevitable formation of a Nunavut government.
I want to specifically mention today, my strong support and encouragement to the grassroots movement to unify the Inuit of Yellowknife, the formation of the Yellowknife Inuit Association. It is in the works, Madam Speaker, and it is exciting to imagine what this organization will be able to offer to the Inuit, their families and their diverse origins.
In the coming weeks and months, the Inuit of Yellowknife will be canvassing to see what kind of organizations they see, what they want the Yellowknife association to be. I have thought about this need for quite a long time, and now, finally, they have time to help foster the worthwhile effort.
This new organization, in my view, can be either a social group, a political group or a combination of both. I will suggest that there is a real need for all of us Inuit to develop a network which provides moral support, a gathering place for our families to talk, to be together, share country foods and to help to preserve Inuktitut amongst ourselves. We have to ensure that the needs of Yellowknife Inuit are considered by our mother organizations, the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated.
Many of us are beneficiaries of the Nunavut land claim, with the hope to return to Nunavut to help out the new territory. I encourage all Inuit, Inuvialuit and Inuinnait to respond positively in their approach. Thank you.
---Applause