Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to say briefly that I want to thank Mr. Krutko for bringing this motion forward. I realize the impact that it will have in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, when we had a discussion earlier, I understood in the whole of Canada, the Northwest Territories had the highest number of residential school survivors in all of Canada. The Northwest Territories has a high percentage in terms of former survivors. Actually, right now, Mr. Speaker, there is about 80,000 survivors in Canada right now and the federal government needs to recognize the significance of the impact it had on our people in our communities and from the early policy of genocide, in terms of assimilation policy is still well and alive today and by saying that it’s a done deal, we’re going to now cut the funding back to community wellness and programs, it’s no longer an issue. Well, I’d like to remind them that I’m still alive. There are a lot of people still alive that have been impacted by residential schools that will not let them forget in terms of a policy that was so ill-conceived and implemented by this federal government that they think they can wipe it off by making payments to the people and forget about it. They should really reconsider this policy, re-implement, reinstate the funding back to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, continue on its work. It should go on for another 100 years, this program here.
So I want to thank Mr. Krutko saying we should not let the federal government get off this easy. We did that for so many years. We were told not to say anything; actually, to be quiet. No longer do they have the rule over us or the strap in front of us and tell us to be quiet and do as they say. We are today a people standing up through the healing process saying what you did was not right and you must be reminded from time to time. By cutting off the funding, it goes to re-victimizing a lot of people in the
Northwest Territories, especially the residential school survivors.
So I really urge the Government of Canada to reconsider, look at the policy the federal government made and see if it really means anything to them or if it was just good words for that year or that month and say yes, we got the aboriginal people on our sides, we can get their vote and keep us in power. They should really consider what they’re saying and really walk their walk in terms of this program that they offered us.
I thought maybe we did have a chance at reconciliation with the federal government and the number of churches we had to deal with, Mr. Speaker. It’s about nation building. Right now with this implementation of cutting out the funding, we’re really going a step back in terms of the good old days and begging for programs that are rightly ours.
So, Mr. Speaker, I also encourage Members to vote for this motion and thank Mr. Krutko for bringing the motion to the floor.