Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On June 5th, 2023, the hamlet of Fort Resolution had its elected council dissolve and replaced by an administrator appointed by municipal and community affairs. The department's now responsible for the hamlet's governance with senior authorizing official making all their decisions on the day-to-day operation.

The people of Fort Resolution see this intervention as an example of modern-day colonial type of attitude. They feel punished. The GNWT is accusing them of mismanagement but how could they have managed their community effectively when they never had adequate support they needed? Now the GNWT's officially responsible for our Fort Resolution government. They can't ignore the serious lack of services the community struggles with.

One of the most urgent services they lack is a fire department. Long before Fort Resolution council was dissolved, it became clear that the fire department was in jeopardy. The situation was left to spiral out of control until the fire department was hit with a mass resignation. Today, they only have the bare minimum protection for fire and all they can manage is a preventative approach. A preventative approach is a polite way of saying the community of Fort Resolution is unable to respond to a serious fire. Their community is totally unprotected from that threat.

In the previous Assembly, I asked the Minister to try to restart the fire department and put in place a fire plan to protect the community. To my disappointment, those efforts were not made. There is still no volunteer fire department or a fire plan for the 2024 fire season is quickly approaching. We know that the fire happens too often in our communities. We all want to prevent damage to our property and most importantly prevent injury or loss of life due to fires. My people need a fire plan and fire department as soon as possible so they can easily know that they will be assisted if the fire breaks out in their community or businesses. I have questions for the appropriate Minister at the appropriate time. Thank you.