Richard Edjericon

Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, I shared with my colleagues the story of 5-year-old Alma who passed away in residential school in Fort Resolution. Alma was buried in Fort Resolution, but her sister promised her mother that she would bring Alma home back to Fort Smith to be laid to rest along with her. The children who died at St. Joseph's School were buried in Fort Resolution, not in their home communities. The death of these children needs to be properly investigated by the coroner's office as there are serious reasons to doubt her cause of death was TB as stated by the Indian agent on her...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I withdraw my remarks. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a Member for my riding and as a Dene person, all we're asking is to bring baby Alma home. And policies of this government is prohibiting that.

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have an issue here that, you know, we have a mandate letter from the Premier to the Minister. All we got to do is implement that. And why do we have to wait years to bring baby Alma home? My question is the Minister mandate includes implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the TRC Calls to Action, and the MMIWG Calls to Justice. How does interfering with residential school investigations into the death of these children align with those commitments? If the Minister cannot even allow such an investigation...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, all I want to do is bring baby Alma home as soon as possible. The Archaeological Sites Act defines an archaeological site as any location where an artifact typically is over 50 years old with no continuous chain of possession. If found, if the Minister maintains that the marked graves of children in an active cemetery are not archaeological artifacts, then why is she invoking this legislation to classify their remains as such? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to respond to the point of order. I want to be very clear I was speaking to the situation and the facts surrounding it, Mr. Speaker. The Minister's mandate letter is a tool this House uses for accountability. It should not be off limits for Members to speak to.

The government is following colonial policies, and the Minister is responsible for those policies in this House. It is important that Indigenous people be allowed to call out colonial policies, laws, and actions and attitudes, as part of the ongoing process of reconciliation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise here today just to -- I'm very emotional about this whole thing. I'm first generation residential school survivor, federal day school survivor, and I think about the mother -- the grandmother that's in Fort Smith that wants her child to be brought home, a promise to her sister.

Mr. Speaker, I tried everything here to figure a way where we could try to build collaboration, relationship and trust, but I'm not hearing it here today. It saddens me that we can't find a solution. Again, policies of government overriding over our treaties, our culture, and our values.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If the Minister is creating precedence where remains are over 50 years old can be designated as archaeological artifacts regardless of being marked and located in an active cemetery, does that clarification now extend to all remains in Lakeview Cemetery here in Yellowknife that meets this criteria as well, or is this elective interpretation being applied only to the remains of Indigenous children? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And some of the programs that was provided back in the early days was programs like the homeownership assistance program, the home improvement -- the homeownership improvement program, the senior citizens home repair program, emergency repair program, and they also provided public housing. And so, Mr. Speaker, and it would be -- will the Premier advocate for restoring and reinstating these programs in partnership with the federal Government of Canada and ensure the use of that -- these funds for the delivery is directed to regional Indigenous governments? Thank you...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to also recognize the former sergeant-at-arms Mr. Floyd Powder. I want to say mahsi and good to see you here. I also would like to recognize Irene Roth, Marie Douglas, Tanya McCauley, Sholto Douglas, North Douglas, and I have an elder there; I just don't know their name. But I just want to say welcome to the House. And Sholto, you look like a politician. So welcome. Mahsi.