What do the NWT’s youth politicians want the territory to do?

NWT teenagers standing in for territorial politicians argued at length over the future of counselling and caribou in the legislature this week.

Following a remarkable debate that featured 35 separate contributions over a half-hour span, youth parliament passed a motion supporting community-based counselling over school-based counselling.

A motion to further limit caribou harvesting passed with three youth MLAs opposed. A motion to increase sport and recreation funding passed unanimously.

The motions have no effect. Even if the debate was livelier, the pace punchier and the tone (largely) friendlier than the real legislature, the teenagers had no actual powers.

But their debate provided insight into how younger NWT residents think their older counterparts should run the territory.

Youth MLAs repeatedly brought up the danger of drugs in their communities, the frustrations of poor or non-existent infrastructure, and the need to help vulnerable people.

And they did so in blunter terms than those normally used by the NWT’s adult politicians.

“I was used to seeing many homeless people when I still lived in the Philippines, but when I immigrated to Yellowknife in 2022, I didn’t expect to see them just scattered around everywhere,” said Jacee Mariano, the Range Lake youth MLA.

“In my worldview, Canada is a very wealthy country, so I was shocked to see the number of homeless in the streets. I didn’t realize that Yellowknife homelessness rates were immensely high.

“It was almost too much to comprehend. Seeing people outside in -40C, -50C was horrifying to watch. These people are suffering because of these extremely harsh weather conditions and they need our help.”

Kamdyn Alexie, serving as health minister in this youth parliament, told colleagues: “I am an individual who has both witnessed and is acquainted with those who use substances under age.

“I have seen the effects of the utilization, and it saddens me to watch those close to me descend into addiction without the ability to do something to help them.

“I advocate for increasing opportunities for young people to engage with individuals who have faced substance abuse, fostering deeper connections and offering valuable insights into the repercussions of underage substance use.”

Leonard Beaulieu, the Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh youth MLA, stated: “I have come to the realization that my fellow peers have nothing to do after school.”

Requesting more money for after-school programming, he said: “I want my classmates and kids throughout the community to find things they love, such as sports, or maybe even groups like a gaming group where they can spend time together. However, we just have no workers to run these programs.”

Extending that thought, Nahendeh youth MLA Leo Ehrlich called for schools to take more learning outside.

“There are tonnes of things to learn from being outside, and not just things like fort-building and climbing – things like patience and learning to appreciate the beauty of life,” said Ehrlich, in one of the day’s more arresting speeches.

(A few of the other youth parliament speeches were marked “suspicious” by software we used to check for signs that AI wrote them – but then the same was true of speeches some real MLAs gave about the NWT’s priorities last fall.)

“With the wildfires, permafrost thawing and floods, climate change is playing a bigger part than ever in our lives. Eventually, those currently in power will be too old to fight it. That responsibility falls to the next generation, and we need them to care,” Ehrlich said.

“The best way to get someone to care about something is by knowing that thing. Right now, not enough kids care about the land they live on because they haven’t spent enough time on the land to truly care about it.”

Counselling in school or elsewhere?

In a normal legislative day, MLAs get to make statements about issues they think need attention. The same was true this week.

Kya Wickens, Thebacha youth MLA, told the chamber: “We need to establish support systems for those who have been impacted by online threats.” How youth are protected online remains extraordinarily difficult for governments, law enforcement agencies and schools to handle.

Evie Mantla, the Monfwi youth MLA, called for healing camps for people affected by the Sixties Scoop. Ritaj Hamad Dawoud, for Yellowknife Centre, delivered a blistering critique of the way families were supported when the city’s Garden Townhomes caught fire last fall.

“Asking victims to vouch for themselves and letting them struggle on the market is simply inhumane. I felt as though we were not efficient in taking immediate care, especially for residents with young children,” she said.

“We need more houses that are really made for the North,” said Bryce Mountain, the Sahtu youth MLA. “My grandpa has a house that is made from down south. Plus it’s a full electric heating house. There’s a wood stove that he uses all winter to keep the house warm. In the winter, the pipes freeze all the time since the house is not made for the North.”

Youth parliament’s time in the spotlight ended with a series of motions.

One motion, looking at how counselling is delivered to youth in the NWT, mirrored decisions the GNWT is making in real life. The territory recently gave education bodies more control over mental health resources inside schools, even though an evaluation recommended keeping large aspects of the child and youth counselling program as it was. (The territory didn’t even wait to read the finished evaluation before making the changes.)

In youth parliament, young MLAs asked a related but different question: whether counselling should be based in schools or based in the broader community.

“We should use what we have,” said Range Lake’s Marciano, with one eye on the budget. “It is just a more efficient way to build a mental health centre, in the school rather than in our community.”

“A lot of kids do not feel safe going to their parents about their mental health because they might feel judged or like their feelings are being dismissed,” said Great Slave’s Noa Jackson Grau. “That’s why I feel like having a school counsellor would be better.”

“Most kids are a part of school but all kids are part of the community,” countered Nahendeh’s Ehrlich. “Oftentimes, kids trying to skip classes use going to see counsellors as an excuse to leave school, and that wouldn’t work if they were community-wide instead of school-wide.”

“Youth in school are not the only ones who need help. Youth that are not in school – such as youth who have dropped out or are homeschooled – can also need counselling,” said Frame Lake youth MLA James Smillie.

“School also often has a negative connotation in the minds of the students. Therefore removing the link in between the schools – which are viewed negatively – and the counsellors can give youth a better overall view on counselling and therapy.”

The motion, urging the GNWT to “alter the delivery of mental health counselling to be community based and not school based,” passed with 12 votes in favour and five against.

Caribou limits

Discussion turned to whether caribou harvesting restrictions should be ramped up to further protect the herds.

“Although this is a difficult and complex topic, I believe some form of limit should be placed on hunting to relieve some of the pressure placed on caribou,” said Dehcho youth MLA Willem Kanigan, who wanted that limit to be decided through co-management with Indigenous governments.

“What we should do is not completely ban hunting caribou, because I’m aware that’s a real cultural aspect for many Indigenous communities around the Northwest Territories. I think what we should do is enhance the regulations and see if we see a difference,” said Hay River’s Hunter Groenewegen, acting as premier for the day.

More: Watch the youth parliament session in full

“I think that one family per caribou would help a lot with the rates that the caribou are going down,” said Beaulieu, the Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh representative. “Also, instead of hunting just straight caribou, they could go for other animals too, like a moose.”

“I do not believe that this is the right way to go about it,” said Frame Lake’s Smillie.

“Hunting is not the only factor in the equation that is causing the decline of the caribou species. Instead of prioritizing stopping hunting, we should instead focus on other issues that are causing the decline of caribou, such as global warming, destruction of territory and other factors.”

The motion to increase restrictions passed by 14 votes to three.