Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this spring, an encampment was established in Yellowknife's downtown which caused a significant amount of public concern. It was quickly apparent we were right back where we left off last fall, and the situation was just as untenable this time. However, this year, something changed.
Peter Adourian, a lawyer representing residents of the encampment, approached the GNWT to see if they could work together to identify a better solution. This quickly resulted in an orderly dismantling of the encampment and moving it to a mutually agreed-upon location which was much better suited to the residents of the encampment and the community.
It was an incredibly effective approach, and I think it provides an important lesson for government in how we approach solutions to homelessness. This summer, I took the opportunity to meet with some of the residents of the encampment. Interestingly, the young men I spoke with were previously housed but faced eviction for various reasons. When asked why they chose to camp instead of accessing shelters, they noted that the shelters don't feel like a safe place to be. They're sleeping on mats in a large room or a hallway. They don't have somewhere to keep their things. It's just not a solution that works for them.
In putting myself in their shoes, Mr. Speaker, I can't blame them. I wouldn't feel comfortable sleeping in a shelter. Would you want to sleep on one of those floors? Would you want your children to? Shelters are an important short-term solution, but they are not housing and they are not a viable alternative to encampments.
Something else stood out to me when visiting this encampment. Rather than coming to anyone for government handouts, these folks took the situation into their own hands. It was clear that it was important to them to have agency over their housing. While the encampment itself may not be an end goal, the residents of the encampment are demonstrating exactly the kind of independence we work so hard to foster in people, and I believe this represents a huge opportunity. We clearly need a solution for people who are unhousable within the current spectrum of solutions offered. I would suggest that the best people to talk to about what that can look like would be the people in the encampments themselves. They are already standing up a solution, and they're currently doing it at a significantly lower cost than those run by government. We need to harness their energy and help them solve this problem for themselves. I am not suggesting this would be an easy solution or that it comes without risk but I do believe, Mr. Speaker, that it is the best way forward. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Members' statements. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
