SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — Voices of Youth Indigenous Leaders

Honourable senators, on behalf of the Standing Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples, it is my great pleasure to welcome eight extraordinary young Indigenous leaders to the Red Chamber.

This group of accomplished trailblazers are this year’s participants in Voices of Youth Indigenous Leaders. As many of you know, this event is hosted by the Indigenous Peoples Committee with support from the Communications, Broadcasting and Publications Directorate. The committee launched this initiative back in 2016 because we wanted to hear from Indigenous youth about their stories, their work to help and inspire others and their ideas for the future.

Selected participants are invited to travel to Ottawa to meet with senators and testify before the committee. Collectively, their testimonies have helped guide our committee’s work and studies.

This week, we are proud to be hosting the ninth edition of the event, which received a record number of 140 applications, with applicants from every province and territory.

We already heard compelling testimony at our committee meeting this morning, and we look forward to learning more at another meeting this evening. I invite you all to join us there or to tune in and listen online.

I now have the honour of introducing the first two participants of Voices of Youth Indigenous Leaders 2026.

Noah Pépin-Papigatuk joins us from the small Nunavik community of Salluit in northern Quebec.

This young Inuit leader wants to see more leadership opportunities created for Indigenous youth. He believes that if Indigenous youth are encouraged to participate in outings on their land and take part in day camps, such as Qaulirmat and Nurrait Jeunes Karibus, it could help prevent drug and alcohol addiction in young people.

We also have Summer Wabasse, an Oji-Cree from Webequie First Nation in Ontario. She was raised in Thunder Bay and is now based in Ottawa, where she works as a government relations specialist.

She serves as co-chair of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, or NAN, Oshkaatisak Youth Council and represents NAN youth on the Ontario First Nations Young Peoples Council through the Chiefs of Ontario.

In these roles, she works alongside young people from remote and urban communities to strengthen governance, advocate for youth priorities and address barriers facing youth in remote northern First Nations.

Please join me in welcoming and learning from Noah and Summer, as well as other young Indigenous leaders, some of whom Senators Greenwood and Prosper will introduce shortly.

Thank you. Wela’lin.

Honourable senators, I begin by recognizing the traditional and unceded territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Peoples and express my gratitude for the opportunity to work on their land.

As Deputy Chair of the Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples, I’m thrilled to introduce another three amazing young adults who are participating in Voices of Youth Indigenous Leaders 2026.

Dreyden George is from T’Sou-ke First Nation, which is on Southern Vancouver Island in my home province of British Columbia. He is the first Indigenous student to be elected president of the student government at Queen’s University.

In addition to his studies, he serves as chair and president of the DAXET Development Corporation, which identifies and manages economic development opportunities in T’Sou-ke First Nation.

He also serves as chair of the community’s Lands Advisory Board, which oversees issues regarding land development. His goal is to develop systems, businesses and activities within the community that allow youth to develop leadership skills.

Next, please welcome Jaylene Neisa Delorme from Hay River in the Northwest Territories. She is a member of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation and founder of Dënegóth Nají, a grassroots initiative dedicated to helping individuals and families navigate health care systems, government programs, educational opportunities and community resources.

Through this work, she has seen first-hand that one of the greatest barriers facing Indigenous youth is not a lack of resilience or potential but a lack of accessible support and guidance. She says that many Indigenous youths are already demonstrating leadership in their communities, but they need to be included in decisions that affect their futures.

Also here with us today is Makayla Mantla, a Tlicho citizen from Behchokǫ̀ in Treaty 11, Northwest Territories, who now works as a nurse in Alberta. She recently graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Alberta, becoming the first person in her family to earn a university degree.

As part of her nursing education, she researched Indigenous-specific racism in Canadian health care, examining how colonial systems continue to affect Indigenous patients. She was also elected Director of Indigenous Health and Advocacy for the Canadian Nursing Students’ Association.

Through her work, she has observed that Indigenous patients often feel more comfortable when they are cared for by someone who understands their experiences.

Please join me in celebrating these young leaders’ accomplishments and their participation in Voices of Youth Indigenous Leaders. Hiy hiy.