Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm proud to be a Canadian and a Northerner, and I'm proud of our shared history as a country and many peoples and nations, but not all of our history deserves celebrating. As we share international achievements, we must equally share in the mistakes from our past, and those which are still repeated today. We must reflect on the pernicious legacy of wrongheaded policies that work to victimize and harm the peoples with whom we co-exist.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the wrongs inflicted on Indigenous Peoples and Nations through cruelty of the residential school systems, the all-too-frequent failure to honour treaties, standing by and ignoring third-world conditions which exist on many First Nation Reserves, and the ongoing crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. These wrongs must not be forgotten, yet we must have hope for the future. Governments can learn from mistakes of the past and, in some important respects, the GNWT has made meaningful progress towards real reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples in the Northwest Territories.

This House is considering a concert of bills respecting lands and resources which were co-drafted with Indigenous governments. Well beyond consultation, Indigenous leaders had a seat at the table to ensure these crucial laws respecting what happens in their traditional territories included their values and perspectives.

During recent committee hearings, honourable Members were told directly that this process works and represents a clear realization of reconciliation. Co-drafting can be slow, and it's not without differences of opinion, but if this ensures our government is actually walking the walk when it comes to reconciliation, then it's crucial we continue down this path and invite Indigenous governments back to the table for the development of regulations and other matters arising from these proposed laws. This model of law-making should be celebrated and used as an example in Canada and the world on how to honour and respect Indigenous Peoples, develop meaningful government-to-government relations, and deliver on the promises of reconciliation.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I want to commend this government for establishing the co-drafting mechanism for these laws, encourage our Premier and Cabinet to stay the course, and show Canada and the rest of the world that we can continue to do better. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.