Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to speak to a new program that has recently been launched in the city of Yellowknife. This program is called Common Ground, and its purpose is to help the most vulnerable citizens find employment and lift themselves out of poverty.

Mr. Speaker, this initiative is being led by one of my constituents, Michael Fatte of Lutselk'e, who is a founder and lead coordinator of Common Ground. This program is aimed to hire homeless and the marginalized people to pick up the litter in public areas around the City of Yellowknife, which uniquely positions itself as a single solution for two major issues we have in the territory, homelessness and littering.

Mr. Speaker, this is truly an innovative program that has been tried, tested, and successfully adopted within numerous municipalities across Canada. It really is a win-win scenario, and it helps provide a small income to homeless individuals and helps keep our streets and environment cleaner. It also provides an opportunity for public perception of our most impoverished citizens to be enhanced.

Mr. Speaker, it is programs like this which I believe our government should be investing and promoting on a territorial-wide scale. While this program is currently in a pilot stage in Yellowknife, I see great potential to expand the scope into other communities. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I urge this government to work with the City of Yellowknife on securing a long-term funding for Common Ground, and to begin working with other communities on such programs in order to both maximize a number of honourable people employed, as well as grow a cleaner, litter-free environment in our territory.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the City of Yellowknife, the Yellowknife Women's Society, and Michael Fatte for their work on this program because their time, effort, and funding of this initiative has made it a reality. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.