Red Dress Day  Madam Chair, I think we need to continue talking about this until we figure out a solution. Keep in mind that this is not something we are just talking about in Canada. I just came back from the United Nations where they were having this very same discussion in the United States, New Zealand and Australia and asking how they can all do better.

Red Dress Day  Madam Chair, nothing I can do in a five-minute speech can really talk about what the challenges we need to face together are going to be. I do need to make sure, when we are talking about some of the action that is required, that the call I made to the Nova Scotia Native Women's Association resonates.

Red Dress Day  Madam Chair, I would like to thank the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands for her commitment to this file. I believe the red dress has become a symbol of political action as well as a symbol of creating awareness. We have seen indigenous communities from coast to coast to coast have their own different displays, many artistic, in their cultural centres or in music videos.

Red Dress Day  Madam Chair, I rise today, in this take-note debate, aware that we are gathered on the traditional and unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people. On Friday, we recognize Red Dress Day, the national day of awareness, a day dedicated to honouring the memory of the thousands of indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQ+ people who have disappeared or been murdered in Canada.

New Waterford Coal Bowl Classic  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the 2023 winners of the New Waterford Coal Bowl Classic and the School Sport Nova Scotia Division 2 boys' basketball provincial champions, the Breton Education Centre Bears. Known for their relentless full-court press defence, that defence led them to multiple-point victories in each of their wins.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I know the member is from Nova Scotia. In Nova Scotia recently we have seen some terrible hurricanes, including Fiona. We are seeing ponds not freezing over. We are seeing places where indigenous folks used to ice-fish for years but are not able to ice-fish anymore because of climate change.

Poet Laureate Rita Joe  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate Heritage Day in Nova Scotia, where next week we will honour the beautiful words and life of the late Mi’kmaq Poet Laureate Rita Joe. Rita Joe’s work narrated the challenges of indigeneity through her lived experience told through magnificent and heartfelt poetry.

Justice  Madam Speaker, I would like to start by thanking the member opposite for her advocacy. This is an important subject that we have to get right in Canada. As an indigenous person who lives in an indigenous community, I am aware of the complexities and also the need for indigenous policing legislation and indigenous policing commitments.

Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by congratulating the member and wishing him the best with the new addition to his family. I am from a Mi'kmaq reserve, a first nations community. The member talked a lot about the need to ensure that when we talk about child care from coast to coast to coast, it also includes indigenous communities.

National Ribbon Skirt Day Act  Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for her advocacy not only today but at the INAN committee. The only thing I am saddened by is that we are not able to see the beautiful ribbon skirt she is wearing. I hope the cameras will pan out as she answers this question so the people at home can see the remarkable skirt she is wearing and the beautiful craftsmanship that indigenous communities continue to promote and recapture after several years of colonization that took away indigenous regalia and indigenous dancing.

Firearms  Madam Speaker, we have heard from many northern MPs, who live in different realities from many of us in urban centres. We know there have been concerns. There has been some misinformation on Bill C-21. We know the committee added two extra meetings to make sure we are getting it right, because we always want to make sure we are respecting indigenous hunting rights.

Firearms  Madam Speaker, as a first nations person, I know that hunting is a constitutional right that is integral to many nations. Bill C-21's intent is to ban handguns and assault weapons, like AR-15s, full stop. There has been some confusion and there have been some concerns raised, but the committee will get it right.

Firearms  Madam Speaker, for more than 20 years I have been going to the Assembly of First Nations. I have been a part of the resolutions. I have been a part of drafting those resolutions. I have been a part of voting on those resolutions. I applaud the proactive advocacy of first nations when they hear something that they do not quite understand, but I want to make it clear that first nations' hunting rights will always be respected by this government.

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls  Mr. Speaker, I am really happy to hear Conservatives rise in the House to talk about indigenous issues during emergency debates. I would like to hear more about it when they are talking about the overspending we are doing as a government as we try to remedy years of the Harper government, which continued to ignore indigenous issues.

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls  Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for his advocacy and for making sure he holds the government to account. I appreciate his words. When I took on this position of being the first Mi'kmaq MP, one of the things I wanted to do was reach out to the Native Women's Association of Canada to see how I could create more justice.