 Good morning, everyone. Bonjour tout le monde. What a pleasure to be here today. Let me begin by recognizing that we are in Inuit Nunangat, the Inuit homeland. I want to acknowledge ITK President Natan Obed. It's great to see you again. Today, we're fortunate to be joined by representatives from across Inuit Nunangat. NTI President Aluki Koturk, thank you so much for everything. President of the Kivaluk Inuit Association, David Ningungan. Thank you for being here, David. QIA President PJ Aki Aguk and the Inuit Regional Corporation Chair, Dwayne Smith. I want to thank you all for being here, recognize everyone who is here, who's traveled a long way. As Aluki pointed out, the weather is boss and we certainly knew that yesterday, but it was extraordinarily important for me and I think for all Canadians that we be here today, that we be here for this moment of recognition and indeed reconciliation as we recognize the past, the mistakes of the past, and pledge to move forward together in much better ways. I also want to recognize Andy Peartey from the Makavik Corporation and John Charles Lyle from the Kitikmi Inuit Association. My thanks goes out as well to Premier Savikatak and Mayor Redfern for welcoming me to Akhaluit along with two ministers, ministers Bennett and Oregan who are here as well. We need also to acknowledge the elders who are with us today. Thank you for being here. Thank you for starting things off in the right way that reminds us of how important it is to listen to our elders, to respect our traditions, to remember the past and build the future together. My friends, we know where we are and where we're going, but to really know we need to know first where we came from. We have to know our history. We have to face the hard truths that are part of our past because for too long, the government's relationship with Inuit was one of double standards and of unfair, unequal treatment. While Canada was busy adopting the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights many years ago, it was treating people throughout Inuit and Anangat as inferior, identifying Inuit with numbers instead of names. While kids in the south were being praised for learning their ABCs, Inuit children were being punished for speaking their own language. While the government was hard at work creating universal health care, it was forcing Inuit into settlements where disease and infection were rampant. And 70 years ago, while tuberculosis was raging across Canada, the government responded decisively in the south by opening new clinics and training doctors and nurses. But in the north, the government's approach to TB wasn't to show compassion or care but to separate families and ignore people's rights. It was colonial and it was misguided. It wronged and harmed Inuit. I know that many of you present this morning were touched by this unjust policy and too many of you are still grieving the loss of loved ones. Today, I am here to offer an official apology for the federal government's management of tuberculosis in the Arctic from the 1940s to the 1960s. Many of you know all too well how this policy played itself out. Without their consent, Inuit were screened. Anyone thought to have TB was sent south to cities like Hamilton and Edmonton for months or years of treatment in a sanatorium where almost no one spoke Inuit. For a long time, people believed that if you got on the ship in the harbor, you may well never come home. Many people weren't given the time to prepare or to say goodbye to their loved ones. Many children were pulled away from their parents. Many elders were torn away from the homes and communities that were all they'd ever known. It was a grueling journey of thousands of kilometres on ships, on trains and on planes. A trip that took days or even weeks. A trip that took lives along the way. And the mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters left behind, often weren't told where their loved ones had gone or for how long. When someone passed away during treatment, they were buried in the south. Only sometimes was it in a marked grave and only sometimes were their family even told. When people did make it home, they were often dropped back into their communities in the middle of winter without warm clothing, without their family being alerted. Those children that did return often came back to a family they didn't remember, a language they didn't speak and a land of which they had no memory. These were years of isolation, confusion and pain. But the government's management of TV wasn't one bad policy. It was only a piece of the larger history of destructive colonialism. History that the late poet Alutuk Ipili described saying, I did not ask to be forced to learn an alien culture with an alien language. Inuit children sent to residential schools and federal hostels were forced to learn an alien language. They were neglected and abused. But just like in Ipili's poem Destiny acted itself out, deciding for me where I would come from and what I would be. Only it wasn't Destiny deciding. It was the federal government. It was the federal government that decided that families, your families would be moved off the land. The federal government that decided Inuit would be exploited to assert Canadian sovereignty in the high Arctic. I know that people here today and across Inuit Nananga live with the consequences of these policies. Of these years when your communities and your rights were not respected. Because all of this forced relocation the residential schools the TV policy it happened at the same time to the same people within just a few decades. It happened during the same years when the government identified Inuit with numbers on discs and when families had entire teams of Kimit sled dogs killed by officials. This was a shameful chapter in Canada's history and you in this room and across this land know the results all too well. Culture and language eroded families would never again be whole. Lives were shattered beyond repair. These wrongs will never fade. Canada must carry that guilt and that shame. The forced relocation of Inuit the pensioners the government policy concerning tuberculosis all of this happened at the same time within just a few decades. It happened at a time when the government identified Inuit with numbers on discs and when families had entire teams of Kimit sled dogs killed by officials. This was a shameful chapter in Canada's history and you in this room know the results all too well. Culture and language eroded families never again be whole. Lives were shattered beyond repair. These wrongs will never fade. Canada must carry that guilt and that shame. Today, I am here to say sorry to offer an official apology for the federal government's management of the tuberculosis epidemic the policy wasn't an accident it was purposeful it was done even though the government of Canada knew the toll on Inuit families it was done when the best interests of communities were not put first. I am here today to present an apology an official apology for the management of the tuberculosis epidemic between 1940 and 1960. This policy wasn't an accident but intentional. It was done even though the government of Canada knew the toll on Inuit families even though they didn't put the interests of communities first. To the people who were sent south we are sorry we are sorry for forcing you from your families for not showing you the respect and care you deserved we are sorry for your pain to the people whose loved ones were taken away we are sorry we are sorry for breaking what is most precious the love of a home to the people who still don't know what happened to your children your mothers your fathers we are sorry to the communities that are facing the consequences of this policy and others we are sorry we are sorry that because of our mistakes many Inuit don't trust the healthcare system so they can't get help when they need it we are sorry for the colonial mindset that drove the federal government's actions the government has apologized to former residential school students and to Inuit who are forced to relocate but the trauma passed from generation to generation remains and it runs deep we know now that what we did was wrong we know now that we must work to make it right it shouldn't have taken us so many years to tell you that we are sorry that you have carried this burden for too long we are sorry that because we waited there are many loved ones who will never hear this apology today we take responsibility for the harm caused by the policies and actions of the federal government the racism and discrimination that Inuit faced was and always will be unacceptable but an apology alone is not enough we must also promise to do better and although as a country already done we can choose what we do next today we are choosing to create a better future a future built on respect and partnership as prime minister I have pledged to renew the relationship between the government of Canada and Inuit to work together to correct the paternalism and colonialism that was visited upon your communities to continue on our shared journey of reconciliation the path ahead will be long but every step we take we will take together as prime minister I have promised to renew the relationship between the government of Canada and Inuit to work together to remove the paternalism and colonialism attitudes that targeted your communities and to continue our journey on the path of reconciliation the path ahead will be long but we will take each step together and without writing past wrongs we cannot move forward today the federal government is officially launching the Nanilavut initiative a truly collaborative effort with Inuit partners and providing funding to support its work in Inuktitut Nanilavut means let's find them and that's what this project is about about finding and honoring Inuit who went missing during the TV epidemic and bringing healing and closure to everyone who was left behind I can't begin to imagine what it would be like to lose someone you love and to go on never knowing what had happened through this initiative people will have access to information about what happened to their family members and we're providing funding for the four regional land claim organizations to support travel for some families who found where their loved ones are buried we're also providing money to mark graves and create plaques nothing can bring back the voice of a parent or the embrace of a friend but acknowledging where they were laid is a start in honoring their memory because all too often what is done to Inuit have been forgotten or shrugged aside we can't let that happen again that's why we're supporting community-led events and memorials and public education campaigns to keep moving forward with reconciliation as a country we must all take ownership of our history and just like we have to learn from the past we also have to look ahead to a better future a future without tuberculosis TB is preventable and curable it doesn't have to cost lives but TB is still taking away children elders and leaders for Inuit in Inuit Nunangat is more than 300 times that of Canada's non-indigenous population that is unacceptable last year the government of Canada and Inuit Tapirit Kanatami committed to eliminating TB across Inuit Nunangat by 2030 and reducing active TB cases by at least 50% but beating this disease isn't as simple as vaccines or screening although that's certainly part of the equation to end this crisis we have to acknowledge that people live every day with the legacies of colonialism if you remember being South, of course you're wary of government treatment today we cannot repeat the mistakes of the past we cannot impose solutions that's why we're taking a new approach and following your lead our government is investing in your plan an Inuit-led plan with more than $27 million over five years five years towards the elimination of TB in Inuit Nunangat with this investment we're also supporting Nunavut Nunatiavut Nunavik and the Inuvialuit settlement region in developing their own action plans and just like our new approach is founded on working in partnership it's also based on seeing TB for what it truly is a disease that cannot be cured by medicine alone we must address poverty, food insecurity and inadequate housing alongside our work to tackle TB directly we're investing in the basics including more than $640 million for housing in Inuit Nunangat this housing strategy was designed by Inuit in partnership with the federal government and will be delivered by Inuit we are committed to finding community-owned solutions whether it's in this investment the Nuninavut initiative or any of the work we do through the Inuit Crown Partnership Committee of course I don't have to tell anyone here that although we're making progress we still have a long road ahead there's no question that communities face very real challenges but there's also no doubt that Inuit are resilient of course even if we're making progress together there's still a long way to go on the path of reconciliation it's certain that communities are facing real challenges but if there's one thing that I know it's that Inuits are resilient moving forward requires us to be willing to admit that when we're wrong to be ready to do real work to make amends that's why I'm here today this morning's apology is a promise to you it's a promise to never forget the harm that was done to Inuit and to your families a promise on behalf of all Canadians to build a brighter future and to build it together Kujan Namik Thank you