Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question.
Like that of the NDP, I appreciate his party's support during these very difficult circumstances.
Clearly, I was nervous. A lot of people told me not to go, not to listen and to leave it to the officials, but when you begin a process of trust with a group where trust is absent, it is very difficult to make that approach. People feel vulnerable. That said, I had the trust of some people I knew in the community.
The untold story in this whole situation is that this was only possible with the help of many of the women in the community. They facilitated these conversations. There was mistrust and they did not want me to come. They thought it was a ruse. I did not understand it at all, but as I talked with them throughout the day, I could see that they had every reason to be suspicious. There is quite a history to consider. They had felt cheated and tricked by the police, and they saw history repeating itself.
It is hard to build trust behind a blockade, so we absolutely needed to go there and start talking. I described the progress as “modest” overall, but we built some trust.
I have confidence. What we tried to find is a path to de-escalation. I remain confident and hopeful that this will happen.