Northern Affairs  Uqaqtittiji, people in Nunavut pay hundreds more dollars in shipping fees than those in the rest of Canada. Amazon charged a Pangnirtung resident over $700 in shipping fees. This is unacceptable. The Liberals are catering to ultrarich corporations by allowing this. Nunavut needs a government that fights to take on Amazon's corporate greed.

Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1  Uqaqtittiji, I think that Canada and the provinces are all settlers on indigenous peoples' lands, and all provinces and territories should always be working with indigenous nations. I know that the housing crisis in Nunavik and northern Quebec is as severe as it is in Nunavut, and I hope that provinces, like Quebec, will work better to ensure that indigenous peoples are getting the housing they deserve.

Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1  Uqaqtittiji, I thank the member for her allyship. I always appreciate it very much. Because there are too few indigenous members of Parliament, we are always first to ensure that we can work with any ally who is willing to advance indigenous peoples' rights.

Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1  Uqaqtittiji, the kinds of questions I get sometimes, from either the Conservatives or the Liberals, on partisan issues like that are really quite unfortunate. I know that, for example, subsidizing major for-profit corporations is not something the Liberal government should continue to proceed with when there are too many indigenous peoples living in poverty and too many Canadians experiencing homelessness because of the opioid crisis.

Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1  Uqaqtittiji, I will talk about the urban, rural and northern housing initiative because that is something the NDP worked really hard for. That funding would help make sure indigenous peoples have a say in what housing will be for first nations, Métis and Inuit communities. Without that $4 billion, which we were able to fight for, indigenous children will be going to school tired because they are sleeping in overcrowded housing situations.

Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1  Uqaqtittiji, I will be splitting my time with the member for Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry. Before I start my speech, I would like to send happy birthday wishes to my best friend, Christa Kunuk in Iqaluit. I miss her dearly. I cannot wait to see her when I get home for the riding week.

Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1  Uqaqtittiji, it is great to hear intelligent speeches from the Conservatives. It is great to hear not all Conservatives take a “play bingo” approach to saying as many slogans as they can in their interventions, so I really appreciate that very much. In 2022, the RBC, the Royal Bank, invested $41 billion in fossil fuels.

Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1  Uqaqtittiji, I am quite fascinated by the dramatics of the member's intervention and by just how much disinformation is shared in the Conservative interventions I have heard since I have been elected. What I heard from the MP is about the privilege he has always had in his life and about the privilege he continues to push forward, especially when he was talking about housing.

Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1  Uqaqtittiji, I would like to thank the member for his intervention and for mentioning the national food program, which I think is quite important. I would like to know what he would say to all the Nunavut children. Even with the program, they will still go to school without enough sleep because they are forced to sleep in overcrowded housing situations.

Pharmacare Act  Uqaqtittiji, I would like to ask my colleague about Canada's placement in the world regarding subsidized or free contraception. More than 25 countries worldwide, including the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia, have offered subsidized or free contraception since as far back as 1967.

Pharmacare Act  Uqaqtittiji, this is such an important bill, because it would help individuals who need it most, whether it is women who may need medicines for their reproductive health or people who suffer from diabetes. These are two areas of pharmaceutical care that are desperately needed throughout Canada, in the territories and in all the provinces.

National Arctic Strategy  Uqaqtittiji, on Wednesday, I joined a productive panel discussion with my colleagues from the other House Senator Dawn Anderson and Senator Pat Duncan, as well as Jackie Jacobson, a former MLA in the Northwest Territories, to discuss the Arctic Research Foundation's impressive work in drafting the national Arctic strategy, which was released in October 2023.

Indigenous Affairs  Uqaqtittiji, in Nunavut, the Arctic Children and Youth Foundation administers the Inuit child first initiative to help kids, but its great work is being made difficult by the government's delays. Close to 70% of requests were not processed on time, leaving traumatized children without the health care they deserve.

Employment Insurance Act  Uqaqtittiji, I rise to speak to Bill C-318, an act to amend the Employment Insurance Act and the Canada Labour Code regarding adoptive and intended parents. Qujannamiik to my colleague from Battlefords—Lloydminster for this important piece of legislation, which would help bring equity to adoptive and intended parents.

The Budget  Uqaqtittiji, the member talked much about fairness and housing. Unfortunately, the budget does not do enough for first nations housing. The AFN said there needs to be $44 billion to close the gap. This budget promises only $918 million over five years. How can the member say this is fair to first nations, when they are getting meagre pennies out of the budget?