Mr. Speaker, further to my statement from yesterday about ageing school infrastructure in Fort Smith, I want to discuss the student resident building that is currently being used by Aurora College in Fort Smith. Aurora College Thebacha Campus is currently using a former residential school building called Breynat Hall as a single-student resident facility for students attending Aurora College.

Mr. Speaker, Breynat Hall was built in 1957. Given the undeniable historical legacy of this building, it's no surprise that Fort Smith constituents feel uncomfortable, to say the least, with its continued presence in our community, especially in conjunction with its present use and function as a single student residence facility. With residential schools once again coming to the forefront of a national discussion, I want to harness this moment and really emphasize that for many people, there is much pain, trauma, and suffering that's associated with Breynat Hall. Therefore, there's a strong community desire to see it decommissioned and replaced.

Mr. Speaker, all things considered, the reality is that the sad situation in Kamloops, BC has far-reaching effects on survivors, their families, and the communities where these facilities still stand. Fort Smith still has several such facilities remaining. We must address these issues and if means going to the federal government for 100 percent financial coverage to remove and replace these reminders of federal day schools and residential schools, then let's do that. As a government, we need to be doing that.

The same goes for the other former residential school buildings in Fort Smith that I talked about in my statement yesterday. So it's no wonder, then, that both Fort Smith and other NWT residents feel uncomfortable, wary, and off-put about Breynat Hall still standing and in active use.

All buildings that were used for residential schools need to go, period. I am very mindful and concerned about the social and psychological scars which those buildings represent. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Mr. Speaker, everybody talks about healing from wounds of residential school, intergenerational trauma, and colonization. But how can we do that when we continue to maintain the structural relics of the former residential schools themselves? Our government is spending good money on bad infrastructure. We cannot continue to have band-aid solutions in addressing the major institutional and structural issues of colonialism and its ongoing effects in our everyday society.

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, as our government moves forward with the transition of Aurora College into a polytechnic university, one aspect that we must also consider is a student residence. Given that Breynat Hall student residence is a severely outdated and carries with it the traumatic dramatic memories of residential school, I believe that the Department of Education needs to invest in a new student residence at Aurora College Thebacha Campus. We must be ready for the eventual polytechnic transformation to take effect, and I hope to see with a brand new single student residence which will reflect Indigenous culture. I will have questions for the Minister of Education later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.