Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A couple of weeks ago, we had Youth Parliament here at the Legislative Assembly, and my daughter, Marie Carpenter, was the member for Nunakput. Out of all the topics, the discussion talked about the costs of living in the North. Mr. Speaker, I will read her statement today:
"Mr. Speaker, the cost of living in Nunakput is the highest in the Northwest Territories. Increased fuel prices have affected the cost for food, whether from a grocery store or traditional food harvested on the land.
"Mr. Speaker, the rising cost has been hard on hunters living in Nunakput. Harvesting food from the land, lakes, and ocean is essential to our Inuvialuit way of life and the well-being of our communities. When families cannot hunt, they have to purchase all food from the store. Families simply cannot afford the price increases of fuel, food, supplies, and equipment.
"According to the bureau of statistics, the average personal income in Nunakput communities is not much more than $35,000 a year, compared to the $60,000 average for the Northwest Territories. It is very difficult, if not impossible, for many of my constituents to afford basic food from the grocery stores with such high costs.
"Mr. Speaker, data published by PROOF on food insecurity policy research showed that 17.6 percent households in the Northwest Territories are food insecure, and over the 30 percent of the territory's children live in food insecure homes. Recent studies and news articles across the North have shown that we cannot rely on the federal government's program, Nutrition North, to fix food security issues. We can see the proof of this data each time we go to homes, schools, and health centres in Nunakput.
"Mr. Speaker, focusing on improving these statistics will benefit the mental and physical well-being of families, especially children, in Nunakput. It will overall reduce our government spending in areas such as health, education, and social services. The mandate of this government has called for action to reduce the cost of living and poverty, not to increase it. The mandate also called upon the government to promote the consumption of traditional foods, such as fish and wildlife, to improve nutrition, and to improve wellness and the way of life of Indigenous peoples in the territory.
"Mr. Speaker, food security needs to be the focus of our government, now and into the future. As leaders, we must align our policies with other levels of governments to ensure that our families, elders, children, and youth can be strong and sustain an Inuvialuit way of life by having healthy food options harvested from our land and in Nunakput communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker."