Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to join the MLA for Great Slave in acknowledging those working to further Black History Month, both here and across the globe. Mr. Speaker, our territory is home to hundreds of Black individuals living and contributing to our communities. If current trends are any indication that number will only continue to grow as Yellowknife continues to become a truly diverse capital city. In Canada, we often compare our history to our neighbours in the South, and we think we are not so bad. Anti-Black racism exists, and systemic racism in many forms continues to be part of the history we are currently living.

While we celebrate Black History Month in our schools, the NWT has much work to do in acknowledging its histories. For decades, Black and Indigenous people were pushed out of white spaces, with bars and restaurants segregated well into the 1960's. Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories doesn't have a lot of Black history to share, but part of the reason for that is history often has a narrow lens that leaves the stories of minority populations out of it. I hope, going forward, we can frame our territorial history as a place that welcomes everyone.

I'd like to give praise to BACupNorth, the Black advocacy group formed in the wake of global protests and rallies challenging anti-Black racism after Minneapolis police officers killed George Floyd. Every day this month, they have been sharing Canadian Black history and media and regularly amplifying Black Northerners in their endeavours. Thank you for the work they do. They are doing the work to right the history of the NWT. This territory is no stranger to the plague of racism. We must be an ally in this fight, an ally in deconstructing systemic racism in all its forms in celebrating our diversity. Black history month is an opportunity to acknowledge the past, and lift up voices for the future. Thank you to everyone doing this work to make sure our history and our future is both honest and inclusive. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.