Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At the beginning of our term, this Assembly has identified addressing the effects of trauma as a key priority. The commitment recognizes what many of our residents already know, that individuals collective and intergenerational trauma lies behind many of our health and social challenges facing our small communities. To this end, the Government of the Northwest Territories has provided community-based programs, smaller healing initiatives across the territory, and this funding makes a big difference to my communities. But at the same time, a serious gap remains in our continuum of our care. The Northwest Territories has no dedicated territorial-wide trauma treatment centre. Now Indigenous-led efforts are stepping up to fill that gap.

Over years, I have learned about the work of the Endacho Healing Society which has been steadily advancing the establishment of a northern Indigenous-led trauma healing lodge. Unlike community-specific projects, their initiative can serve residents from across the Northwest Territories and generations. It is a lot of work that they have taken on, years of planning, feasibility work, and partnership building to integrate a culturally grounded approach with clinical support in a setting close to home.

As always, I remind my colleagues, health is a treaty right. Honouring that right means confronting the intergenerational trauma of colonialism that underlies violence, addictions, and upper representation in the justice system. Strengthening our trauma healing capacity through Indigenous-led initiatives is how we can truly uphold these rights and implement UNDRIP into the delivery of these critical health services.

A territorial-wide healing lodge represents the first major step towards long-term, systematic investment in Indigenous healing. Healing is health, and health is the foundation of community, safety, and well-being. There is still time in our term for this government to act decisively on our priority of adjusting trauma. We know that works, we know where capacity must be built, and we know where resources are needed. It is time to build a territorial-wide Indigenous-led trauma tragedy that honours treaty rights, strengthens communities, and ensures healing is finally accessible to all. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the health Minister at the appropriate time. Thank you.