What ties do you have to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and what steps will you take to grow those connections if elected?

I have many friends who belong to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, I know families trying to supportively raise 2SLGBTQIA+ children and youth, and I enthusiastically attend events such as the Pride Parade, Queerlesque, etc.

The Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two Spirit Report specifically states 2SLGBTQQIA+ Indigenous communities are included in the Calls to Action. If you were elected, what is your plan for seeing through an inclusive MMIWG2S Act in the NWT?

I will push for the MMIWG2S Calls to Action to be implemented, including for 2SLGBTQQIA+ Indigenous communities.

What do you know about the current challenges of two spirit, indigiqueer, transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming people in the NWT, and what steps will you take to commit to addressing these challenges?

A few years ago I took a course with Northern Mosaic Network, through my employer (Bushkids NWT), so we could better understand issues around 2SLGBTQQIA+ discrimination and create strategies to be more inclusive in our work to all children and youth. While serving on Yellowknife City Council, I attended sessions with 2SLGBTQQIA+ youth hosted by the Rainbow Coalition, so they could directly explain to decision-makers how they wanted to see the world change. I want to ensure these exchanges and learning opportunities continue to take place, and that anti-discrimination strategies are put in place for all schools, workplaces and organizations.

I have been on the Board of the Yellowknife Women’s Society in recent years, as we have undergone extensive strategic planning and managed to finally transform the organization into one that is not defined by the narrow term “women” but instead governed by and serving all genders, while recognizing the value of its roots in more traditional feminist approaches. This involved very difficult conversations but I am proud that we stuck with it.

The NWT currently offers the most protection for two spirit, transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming people in Canada. This includes gender-affirming surgeries, trans+ healthcare, policies and more. Given the current political atmosphere targeting two spirit, transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming people, what steps would you take to preserve these protections?

I would want to maintain good communications with advocacy organizations such as NMN to be alerted early on if any of these protections were under threat.

The evacuation(s) this past summer were detrimental to many communities with devastating aftermaths. Were you impacted by the evacuation(s) this past summer and what did you do during that time? If elected, how do you plan to deal with the ongoing impacts, and how would you improve a future response?

As a resident of Yellowknife, I was certainly impacted by the evacuation, but certainly not as much or in the same ways as more vulnerable members of our community who are struggling with lack of housing, poor health, discrimination, debt, etc. When the evacuation was called, I was five days into a canoe trip on the East Arm. We continued paddling all the way back to Yellowknife for another nine days, and then got caught up on the situation and proceeded to drive out of town as soon as we could get ready. We drove down to Calgary where I attempted to assist the Yellowknife Women’s Society (of which I was a Board member) in locating and supporting participants/residents who had been left to fend for themselves in southern cities. I worked with YKWS to document here the injustices and gaps in emergency planning and implementation for the vulnerable population and we made recommendations on how to improve a future response, including by integrating a harm reduction lens into all decisions.

The independent third-party investigation for the territory into this year’s emergency response needs to be completed in time for changes to be implemented before next spring, including detailed emergency plans for all facilities and areas of government responsibility. Expert recommendations must be followed—with implementation plans and resources attached—unfortunately, the conclusions of previous reviews such as for the 2014 fires went largely unheeded. The territorial review must be integrated with the City’s review and include input from members of the public as well as partner organizations such as the non-profits running critical social services like shelters.