Dene Nation continues push for public inquiry on N.W.T.'s handling of wildfires
CBC
The Dene Nation is continuing to push for an independent and public inquiry into the handling of the 2023 wildfires that led to the evacuation of about 70 per cent of the territory's residents. In February they sent a letter to the N.W.T. commissioner, demanding that one be held. And on Monday elders and community leaders met for a virtual discussion about their concerns with how the the Government of Northwest Territories (GNWT) handled the response, in hopes that they won't have to go through something like that again. Representatives of the Dene Nation said during the meeting the public inquiry should include speaking to members of communities who were impacted, including elders, women and children. Just last month N.W.T. MLAs voted 10-6 in favour of holding a public inquiry. However, since the cabinet member MLAs voted against it, the motion didn't pass. Premier RJ Simpson said later that he would only consider a public inquiry after the two reviews his government has contracted out are completed. Those reviews will be done for the department of Municipal and Community Affairs and the department of Environment and Climate Change.
While his party has made a cause célèbre out of its battle with the Speaker, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has periodically waxed poetic about the House of Commons — suggesting that its green upholstery is meant to symbolize the fields of the English countryside where commoners met centuries ago before the signing of the Magna Carta.