Mr. Speaker, today's article in the Globe and Mail highlights the dire situation in Nunavut. All the statistics are true. We do have uncommonly high rates of substance abuse, high rates of unemployment and, yes, high rates of suicide.
However, on Tuesday this House voted with a resounding majority to take the first steps to rectify these problems. Bill C-39 is part of a new beginning in Nunavut. It is going to be part of the solution. The answer lies with the people of Nunavut who will form their new government and begin to reshape their lives.
What we have before us is an opportunity, an opportunity we can be optimistic or pessimistic about. I choose to be optimistic.
We are asking fellow Canadians to give us a chance to get to the batter's mound and not strike us out before we even get there.