Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on February 20^th, 10 students from TSS, accompanied by two chaperones, travelled to Vancouver to attend the Wisdom to Action, Youth-Led Suicide Prevention Programs conference that was held at the Aboriginal Friendship Centre on East Hastings Street. Conference organizers and contributors included the Mental Health Commission of Canada, Dalhousie University, the Embrace Life Council of Nunavut, and the Canadian Red Cross.

The conference was held over two days, February 21^st and 22^nd, and many topics relevant to our youth and community were presented and discussed. The organizers recognize that suicide is a leading cause of death among young people in Canada, accounting for 24 per cent of all deaths. Unfortunately, young people living in communities with higher rates of suicide, such as ours, are more vulnerable.

Youth play an important role in suicide prevention in Canada. They know the pathways to wellness and life enhancement. They can lead programs in their communities that support other young people. They can provide important peer support, formal and informal, and they are advocates for themselves and their communities.

Key presenters were elders who spoke, sang, and drummed, and others who presented youth leadership organizations, such as Jack.org and the Canadian Red Cross. The youth were fully engaged, and here are two quotes I would like to share:

"I learned new things and became aware that suicide comes from a lot of different reasons and difficulties. They can be family matters, school, relationships, work, mental health, et cetera, and to avoid and hopefully stop suicide, we talked in the conference about starting working with families. We also talked about activities to keep the youth occupied and make themselves feel their importance. All in all, the solution is making our environment a happy and healthy community, and, going back to our respective towns, I am hoping and looking forward to becoming a better leader and bringing back the wisdom and knowledge that I gained from the whole conference."

The second quote: "The experience of a field trip to actually get out of the community and learn from another culture was awesome, not just how to prevent suicide, but also have people bring other teachings. Elders spoke of circles, saying, 'Our circles bring us balance by understanding the balance between the spiritual and physical worlds,' and talked about meditation and prayer, finding and doing what we like to do to keep our mental state balanced, and finding out about ourselves for mental and emotional steadiness."

Mr. Speaker, moving forward, the students, with the help of the LKFN Wellness team, hope to create a youth leadership group that will provide support for peers and mentor young people. Attending this conference has helped us inform students that their mental health can be discussed openly and that there are many other organizations, professionals, and caring adults who are equipped to help youth build, sustain, and enhance their mental health. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.