Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I would like to say welcome back to all of my colleagues, and happy belated new year's to my constituents and everybody else listening right now. I really hope that we have a meaningful and productive sitting this session.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to lead up with an event that frightened me and many of my constituents recently. This is the report of flooding in the Taltson River and Slave River areas. Just to lead this out, there was a phrase that my great-grandmother told me, and I want to have that in our thoughts when I say this. She told me that [English translation not available] and the direct translation is "Our land is changing. Our climate is changing." Our land is always changing. In this generation, you may see it, and maybe in your kids' generation. We are still going to see changes, and I think this happening in my constituency is a real concern.
With that, Mr. Speaker, imagine going home today and finding your home flooded in a frozen block of ice. This is what some of my constituents had to deal with recently. For those who live in larger communities, one would simply call up their insurance providers and be held up at a hotel until the problem was dealt with and paid for. My constituents don't have this luxury. I imagine our ancestors would be hurting if they saw this.
Mr. Speaker, by all accounts, thankfully, nobody was harmed in this event, but some of the animals were. However, I want everyone to know of the emotional impact that these losses have caused. I want to bring awareness to the rest of the North that a lot of hard work is now gone because of this environmental event. I really feel for those folks who were affected. They expect their government to assist them in their time of need.
Mr. Speaker, as a whole, the fur industry is nowhere near what it was 30 or 40 years ago. It used to really help out family incomes, and many of our trappers now do not solely depend on this way of life anymore. Nowadays, many of our trappers have other jobs and trap as a way to supplement their incomes. Another thing to think of is that this also affects trading and Metis rights to hunt. They can still use these areas, per se, but what are they going back to right now in these areas?
In closing, Mr. Speaker, I have ended up with more questions than answers around this issue, but it has led me to some larger questions. Was this man-made? Was this natural? Was it a combination of both?
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted