Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First, I'd like to express my condolences to the families in my community and the surrounding communities in the loss of their family members over the last few months. Since I left this House in June, just in our region alone, we have lost a lot of elders, younger people in our region. We just lost another person yesterday.

During this time of loss, families are under extreme stress. In addition to this, they are mourning, they are trying to arrange for funerals, and they are trying to do it in their ways, in their beliefs, in their burial ceremonies that bring them peace, some closure, with the addition of COVID-19 restrictions in place. Never in my life have I ever attended an outdoor funeral.

As we are here, still in phase 2, the Emerging Wisely document states: no indoor funerals allowed; no exceptions for out-of-territory immediate family to attend that funeral without having to apply for an exception and wait for that response. Then, if they get approved, they come to the territory, and they have to wait another two weeks before they can attend a funeral. I find this rule to be disrespectful, no thought of how it affects the grieving process for our people and how families have to deal with this, with very limited mental health while they are waiting. This goes against the sacredness of the ceremony, and the burial process that I grew up with is being disregarded.

Mr. Speaker, what is even more upsetting is we see that non-NWT residents are given permission, given exceptions to work in deemed-essential areas, like the mines, like construction, like infrastructure construction, other private sectors, as well as health. Why is this not considered with the same rules in place for family to attend a funeral, Mr. Speaker? We can go to church now with up to 25 people, with the ability to apply for more seats through the Chief Public Health Officer. This too is not right, Mr. Speaker.

I seek unanimous consent to continue my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted