Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the Nunakput communities and the Northwest Territories at this time of the year, ice safety becomes more of a concern for hunters and community residents. In 2007, the NWT coroner’s report stated that 18 percent of all accidental deaths were drowning.
Mr. Speaker, responsible federal and NWT agencies report that aboriginal and First Nation communities are more likely to have higher rates of accidental drowning because of living near bodies of water, on-the-land harvesting activities that take them into bodies of water, and retail stores, offices and health centres that are located across bodies of water.
I would like to remind community leadership that prevention is our greatest responsibility, Mr. Speaker. Hunters should notify the RCMP or family members of where they are going on their hunt, or should advise government staff of their travel plans and always go with the buddy system. As well, parents should speak to their children about how dangerous ice conditions are due to the weather. Our freeze-up is late this year due to the rainy weather and it’s just not cooperating. That’s global warming for you.
We continue to be concerned about how many small children are often driving snowmobiles, sometimes with three or four riders on the machine and many others on the sled behind. This is an accident waiting to happen. So please tell your children to be safe.
So, Mr. Speaker, to all residents of the NWT, please be safe on these ice conditions due to late freeze-up. Thank you.