Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the NWT is facing a growing social crisis. Across our territory in small communities like those in my Deh Cho constituency, we are struggling with violent crimes, intimate partner violence, poverty, addictions, and health issues and housing instability.
Mr. Speaker, our people deserve to feel safe. Families deserve peaceful homes. Youth deserve opportunity. And elders deserve to live in comfort. Safe communities are a priority of this government, and my people must live in hope, not fear.
Safety cannot come from enforcement alone. The RCMP are not going to lower the crime rate or incarceration rates in our communities. The teachers are not going to ensure our children go to school. And overwhelmed and overworked nurses cannot be the only ones ensuring health in our communities. As we know, it takes a whole community to raise a child.
Mr. Speaker, for far too long, people from the outside have come into our communities and told us how to live, work, and think. The solutions we need must come from within our communities. True wellness and healing are community driven. We need prevention and community led action now. Mr. Speaker, the people in my riding have the knowledge, the wisdom, and the cultural strength to build solutions that work, solutions that address root causes of health issues, crime, addictions, and poverty. What they need is the full partnership of this government to empower the people to take ownership of their future well-being.
Today I call on the GNWT to recognize safe communities as our priority in the NWT, to work with community governments, elders, and local organizations to create and build their own community-led responses and solutions to crime, addictions, and poverty.
Mr. Speaker, when communities lead, healing follows. And when healing takes root, safety becomes possible. There's no challenge our communities cannot overcome when we are empowered to shape our own future. I will have questions later for the Minister of health. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from the Deh Cho. Members' statements. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
