Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we sit in this House, we must never forget who we serve. We serve the people on the ground, and the reality is that so many of them are hurting. The reality is that the North is at the bottom of most social indicators in Canada. We are dealing with a history of both past and ongoing colonialism and ongoing trauma from residential schools, and there are so many issues and only limited resources. Often in this House, we feel like we are being pulled in many directions, but government is a large ship, and we all have a responsibility to make sure that it goes in a coherent, strategic direction.

Today, I would like to speak about one of the many issues facing our territory. We are presently in a suicide crisis, Mr. Speaker. We have among the highest rates of suicide in the North. Additionally, we can only do so much with the information that we have, and there is a lack of data on this. Often, when there is a suicide, there are 20 times as many attempts. Additionally, many of our residents head south and they disappear into larger urban centres, where they too often fall to suicide and addictions, and we do not track those numbers properly.

Mr. Speaker, we have a responsibility to do more. We have a responsibility to develop a suicide prevention strategy, working with our Indigenous governments, working with the federal government, and working across departments to make sure that we are getting a full picture of this crisis. We have a responsibility to help those who are hurting, especially those in our small communities and those who have lost hope, Mr. Speaker.

I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Thank you.