Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I've said before that a house is not a home. A home is a place that assures us safety, individual and community health, a platform for participating in community, and is embedded sustainably into the fabric of an emerging North and provides reliable comfort. The focus of a home, Mr. Speaker, is the person.
Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights argues that housing is a human right that underpins an adequate standard of living throughout all stages of life with focused attention on mothers and children. Article 21 of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples distinguishes the right to housing as an integral part of the Indigenous right to economic and social development consistent with their unique cultural character in the context of self-determination. A home is not a big box commodity available to those that can afford it. A home is fundamental to the dignity and worth of every human life that is free of poverty, underdevelopment, and discrimination.
Housing must support and express the diversity and richness of our communities and cultures. Canada's 2017 National Housing Strategy begins with the principle that every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable home grounded in the principles of inclusion, participation, accountability, and non-discrimination. It is intended that housing program should align with sustainable and accessible communities, climate change, the needs of the most vulnerable, and the values of Indigenous self-determination, reconciliation, respect, and cooperation.
Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories is at a fork in the road, and it is time to prioritize housing NWT residents. We need to look at the barriers NWT residents face to access affordable housing. We need to actively set up partnerships to build housing, and we need to ensure trauma-focused client service is there to support the GNWT's efforts to house Northerners. Housing is theme that permeates the priorities of this Assembly. It shows up as affordable homes and the reduction of core housing. It shows up by enabling seniors to age in place with dignity. It shows up as the container for childhood development and as economic benefit retention in home construction. It shows up in the adaptation and transformation of climate change impacts. Housing is critical to building a North that provides a secure and healthy home for us now and into the future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.