Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a Member's statement on the death of a student from Fort Simpson, here in Yellowknife, Thadeus Holman. On Friday, January 10th, young Thadeus Holman left Akaitcho Hall. On January 16th, it was learned that he had died alone and cold in a distant part of the city.
Mr. Speaker, Thad Holman was a good kid. He worked hard at school and was well respected by his teachers and his peers alike. I know that his passing has touched the entire community of Fort Simpson and the many schoolmates and friends with whom he shared his days in Yellowknife. I am sure that all honourable Members would join me in expressing condolences to his grieving parents, Christine Holman and Bill Lafferty, and to all his family.
At the same time, I would hope that all Members would seriously consider the concerns that I wish to raise about the level of supervision provided at the residence here, Akaitcho Hall, in Yellowknife. Mr. Speaker, although Thad left the student residence on foot around 6:00 p.m. or 7:00 p.m. on a Friday evening, there were no procedures to ensure that resident supervisors follow up on whether he safely reached his destination. Although the youth failed to return at 7:30 on January 12th, a Sunday, it does not appear that resident personnel took any sort of immediate action to determine his whereabouts or safety. They did not even contact Thad's parents to tell them that he was missing until supper time on January 15th, which was a Wednesday, although five full days had passed since he had been seen at the residence.
Mr. Speaker, our children are very precious to us. When we arrange for them to attend school in Yellowknife, we parents are turning responsibility for their welfare, their safety and their supervision over to the Government of the Northwest Territories. Something is not right here. I expect there are all sorts of excuses, and maybe even some policies, to explain why the lack of action by resident supervisors. I am not interested in excuses. I am interested in possibly making some changes so that parents from my constituency, parents from all western communities and all parents in the North, will be able to trust the care of their teenage children to this government institution. I will be pursuing this matter further during this session. Mahsi cho.
---Applause