Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last fall the Minister of Health and Social Services tabled his department's Child and Youth Mental Wellness Action Plan for 2017-2022. This is work I am very interested in, work that is very important to people of my region. Mr. Speaker, I have spoken many times in this House about mental health, mental healthcare, and the need to enhance suicide prevention programs in our communities.

As you know, when it comes to mental health, our small and remote communities have unique challenges that demand targeted solutions. For example, we are less likely to have resident healthcare workers, and it is much more difficult to access specialized care. While the close-knit ties of our communities can be a strengthening asset, they can also sometimes make it harder for patients to maintain their privacy, Mr. Speaker. However, we are not alone in facing these challenges. Mental healthcare and suicide prevention are two areas where we can learn a lot from our fellows in the circumpolar world.

I believe that, as our government develops its youth-focused programs, it could benefit greatly from observation of and engagement with some of these international initiatives.

For example, Project CREATeS is a project shared between Canada, Finland, and the Inuit Circumpolar Council.

Mr. Speaker, CREATeS stands for Circumpolar Resilience, Engagement and Action Through Story. The plan is to engage youth, elders, and other community members in digital storytelling workshops, helping youth to engage with their traditional cultures and to establish historical records that will keep those traditions alive in the years to come. Mr. Speaker, sharing circles will also provide a critical after-care component.

Mr. Speaker, nation-to-nation collaboration doesn't just mean partnerships between federal governments. It can also mean partnerships between settler-colonial and Indigenous governments or between Indigenous governments. Mr. Speaker, I would like to see the GNWT join the Yukon and Nunavut as northern territories to encourage collaboration and care across our borders. After all, the borders between territories, Mr. Speaker, are not borders between Indigenous groups.

I would also like to see the Government of the Northwest Territories work to engage with Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and other Indigenous governments in the Territory. Any initiative that brings youth and elders together to engage community care is a good thing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.