Nunavut youth asks 'Where are our non-Indigenous allies?' in Women's Day mock parliament

Baker Lake resident Trina Qaqqaq gave an emotionalspeech in Parliament today, calling on non-Indigenous allies for help preventing suicide.

The young woman represented the electoral district of Nunavut in the House of Commons, as part of an event hosted on International Women's Day.

The Daughters of the Vote program was organized by Equal Voice to encourage women to participate in politics.

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The event put women between the ages of 18 and 23 in the seat of every federal riding in the country.

Thirty of the 338 young women were chosen to speak on issues important to them; Qaqqaq spoke about how hard it is for Inuit to face suicide alone.

"Nunavummiut have been asked to make a plan to help ourselves in these systems we do not understand. All we are asking for is our basic human rights," she said in tears.

She called on "leaders with power and the ability to make change" to help address issues of poverty, housing and mental health in Nunavut.

"We are put into and now live in foreign systems that do not work for us. We need support and allies to assist, work with us, and most importantly to listen to us."