Thank you.
I have a couple of questions, first of all to the United Nations rapporteur.
I really appreciated hearing that you have identified that one of the key issues facing our times is climate change. I represent the Northwest Territories. The north is seeing the changes happen in that part of the world like nowhere else. Normally, we would see 20 forest fires a year. Two weeks since the snow melted, we're at seven already. We expect a very strong season for fires.
Housing is a big issue for us. It's probably higher there than anywhere else. We have the second-highest core need in housing in the country. It leads to other social issues. We have a growing suicide rate, the second highest in the country. We have the highest murder rate in the country. We know the studies show that, if we can solve our housing issues, we would solve at least 50% of our social issues. It's something that we really need to address.
I had to smile when you said that, in order to comply, you had to include monitoring. That's what we say as indigenous people on the issue of reconciliation: We need agencies, organizations, independent watchdogs to monitor. I guess some of us don't trust governments to do what they claim they are going to do. Oversight is something we certainly advocate for.
I didn't hear you say anything about the need in our strategies to have a special focus on indigenous housing. Do you think it's important that we have an indigenous housing strategy attached as part of what we're doing here on the issue of housing and the right to housing?