Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to respond to this motion today which seeks to update the code of conduct to include public statements made outside the Legislative Assembly to voice both my disappointment in this motion and explain the risk I know it will have on our unique democracy. I think the intent of this motion is to signal some constituents in the North that our institutions are strong, especially when it mentions words like "trust" and "in confidence." Those words may inspire reassurance to some who look around the world are frightened. However, my constituents will interpret this motion very differently, that our institutions are, in fact, weak because they look to their history, the history of the rule of law of selectively applying to silence them. The truth is this motion will have the unintended consequences of restricting the speech of elected representatives. Even though this motion makes it clear that such speech does not meet the threshold of legal action, that my constituents would ask, if this speech is not defamation then what is the problem.

However, that would be a rhetoric question because as an Indigenous man, I know what the problem with this speech is, and my constituents do as well. The problem with this is free speech is that it's only one guilty of eroding a confidence of the Legislative Assembly. In other words, speech that the territorial government may find objectionable. We treat each other with very high standards in this Assembly to ensure we do our best work, to follow the traditional parliamentary democracy. Outside of this chamber, I consult with my communities, my constituents, chief and Metis councils who I represent, and I work hard to bring their perspectives back into this chamber. These are different institution that this Legislative Assembly of the Government of the Northwest Territories because they come from a different tradition. The tradition of my communities have existed here since time immemorial, so there are going to be in conflict with the territorial government which arrived very recently. This is the history of the Northwest Territories, and the North has changed for better as we let natural disagreements shape our common future. Yet, when you take the standards we have in this building and you apply them onto how I work out in my communities with vague policies decided by strangers behind a desk, then you are disconnecting me from my communities and limiting my ability to serve them.

I've been through this before because I am first generation survivor of residential schools. The schools thought to disconnect us from communities and limit how we can express ourselves. This was done to assimilate us through an unequal application of rights by a political system that made no room for other perspectives out of fear and ignorance. How can we work, how we look around at the progress that has been made in this territory to advance the rights of Indigenous people in their self-determination which culminated in many of my colleagues -- sorry, my Indigenous colleagues, and I becoming elected representative to the Legislative Assembly only to be told that to participate, we must assimilate and disconnect ourselves from community -- from our communities.

Again, Mr. Speaker, we been through this before. So I oppose this motion and caution because our democracy is stepping between us and our communities will prevent us from shaping the -- that common future based on a respect and self-determination we have so far worked -- so hard to achieve. If our institutions are indeed strong, it would not need to relying on motions which seek to prevent criticism therefore prevent changes.

And this motion, to me, I feel that it's going to prevent us from speaking out on what we're told by our people in our community. And in some ways, this motion, to me, it seems like it's a -- would muzzle us, and my voice for small communities is not going to be heard. So no matter how the vote turns out, I want you to listen to what I have to say here today because it's coming from the people in the small communities, and we need to be heard. And I've been saying that since day one, that we're here to do a job for our people and work together. That's what our elders always say. So, Mr. Speaker, thank you.