Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Because of the swift collective response from this government and the people of the Northwest Territories, COVID-19 has not taken the life of a single Northerner. Sadly, the same cannot be said for Indigenous women and girls. Today, I stand in solidarity with advocate, colleague, and my friend, MLA for Inuvik Twin Lakes in condemnation of the number of Indigenous women and girls who have gone missing or have been murdered in this country. Almost 2,400 Canadians shared their personal, gut-wrenching stories for the June 2019 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls report, believing their pain would spark action and change. One year later, the federal government has announced its response will be late.

Mr. Speaker, we have lost an entire year of action. We must demand change now. While we are focused on the response to COVID-19 and with achieving the priorities we have set out for this Assembly, the genocide of Indigenous women and girls cannot be allowed to continue in the face of inaction. We cannot wait for COVID-19 to end, and we cannot wait for the federal government. We must take action today. There are calls for justice within the report that we can accomplish now. We need to just start, just begin, Mr. Speaker. I am urging the Premier and her Cabinet to take all necessarily steps to start implementing the calls for action without further delay. Examples might include:

• action 1.8, which calls on governments to create specific and long-term funding available to Indigenous communities and organizations to create, deliver, and disseminate prevention programs, education, and awareness campaigns designed for Indigenous communities and families related to violence prevention and combatting lateral violence;
• action 2.7, which calls on all governments to adequately fund and support Indigenous-led initiatives to improve the representation of Indigenous peoples in media and pop culture; or
• action 3.5, which calls on all governments to establish culturally competent and responsive crisis response teams in all communities and regions to meet the immediate needs of Indigenous people, families, and communities after a traumatic event;
• action 5.8, which calls on all provincial and territorial governments to enact missing persons legislation.

Mr. Speaker, this government represents a population that is 50 percent Indigenous. I believe that puts an additional onus on us to show leadership to the rest of Canada on this issue. Implementing the calls to action even in the midst of this pandemic will demonstrate that the GNWT truly cares about the health and wellness of all its residents, regardless of the threat. If we are truly actively listening and want change, Mr. Speaker, then we must respond now.