Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Northwest Territories is home to approximately 45,000 people, with just over half of the population being Indigenous. The other half of the population consists of people who come from elsewhere.
For thousands of years, the Indigenous people of what is now the NWT governed themselves. Indigenous people possessed governmental jurisdiction over lands, including property rights. European settlement, colonization, and commercial interests resulted in the erosion of those rights. Fortunately, those rights were never extinguished, and yet today the Indigenous people are forced to negotiate for much less. This injustice has to be corrected, and it requires this government's support.
Mr. Speaker, the point I want to make is that, prior to contact, Indigenous people survived in the harshest of conditions and governed themselves. It was only after European contact did the tide turn, when the government of the day decided they would make the lives of our ancestors better. In reality, the eradication of a people and a history was nearly realized. A way of life was almost lost, children were scooped up, languages were beaten out of those in residential schools, and communities were relocated for various reasons, all to the detriment of those whom Canada and this government had promised to protect.
Today, many Indigenous people are living in poverty, living with addictions, finding themselves homeless, are being incarcerated at elevated rates, losing their children to the system, looked at as government freeloaders, passed over for employment and procurement opportunities, and being beaten down at every turn. Life is not getting better.
Mr. Speaker, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms allows for special consideration of disadvantaged individuals or groups. Based on that, this government has adopted policies that give priority to Indigenous peoples of the NWT. However, it does not go far enough. We need to extend that same preference to our procurement policies, to our healthcare and housing system, to our education system, and to ensure Indigenous people are treated fairly and provided every opportunity. It is imperative we start to fulfill the promises that others have neglected to do.
Mr. Speaker, when I look around this Chamber, I know all of the Members consider the NWT home, but, when I look deeper, I see those who look at the NWT as more. It is their history; it is their way of life; it is the place their ancestors are buried; and knowing that, one day, it will become their legacy to their children and future generations. Thank you Mr. Speaker.