Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, family violence commonly happens in a family situation, where there is a relationship between two people. What needs to be understood is the personal wellness of individuals caught up in the cycle of violence. Often alcohol is a major contributor to the incidence of violence and the debilitating legacy of intergenerational trauma because of residential schools.

Mr. Speaker, family violence rates in the Northwest Territories are appalling and at crisis levels. Therefore we made it a part of the mandate of the 18^th Assembly.

In 2013, the Northwest Territories' rates of family violence was cited by the Coalition Against Family Violence at nine to 12 times the provincial average. According to Statistics Canada in 2013, the rate of violence against women was nine times the national rate.

In 2014, 75 percent of reported intimate partner violence victims in the three territories were Indigenous, according to a study published in 2016. In 2014, the GNWT reported that 95 percent of those involved in the child welfare system are Indigenous children.

Mr. Speaker, I understand that we all made family violence a priority and will make efforts to address the crisis, particularly developing a plan and allocating resources and personnel and mobilizing to address the crisis.

Mr. Speaker, I have seen some efforts, and I am hopeful that more concrete plans and actions will be undertaken. Programs such as the New Day Program were changed, and the Domestic Violence Treatment Option is somewhere in the department, prominent program initiatives that gave people hope that, yes, the government is doing something.

Mr. Speaker, the government must at least throw a meaningful lifeline to the issue of family violence. I will have questions for the Minister later in the House. Mahsi.