Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do not think the policy has, in its objectives, any desire to strip anybody of their self-esteem. While I visited the Baffin I took every opportunity to listen very carefully to the concerns of the two communities that were there, and I was encouraged by the amount of involvement that people had in the alcohol and drug treatment program.
Mr. Speaker, while I was in Pangnirtung I was additionally pleased to be in a community that had already decided, on its own, that alcohol was a very serious problem, and the community itself had gone out of its way to make the community of Pangnirtung dry by passing the necessary regulations to prohibit liquor from coming into the community, to avoid all of the social problems that would result from it, and to lessen the burden that was being placed upon the alcohol and drug workers, and the people who were suffering from the ravages of alcohol; not only the people at present, but the future people too. All these were very encouraging when I heard people saying these things and that they were taking positive action.
Mr. Speaker, some people there were supportive of this policy, but for one reason or another they were not able to come out publicly and state that. I am encouraged to know that in at least one community a decision is very near at hand. In fact, Tuvvik will not sign this clause. They will disband, and another group has come up to take its place. I said this while I was there, that any community would not let something go on unaddressed and that the department, in its policy, is not attempting to take away self-esteem.
The enhancement of any program is our desire. I have heard more comments about the low wages that they get than the fact that they are not allowed to drink while on the job or while they are working for that committee. I think that is a far more serious concern among alcohol and drug workers than is the sobriety clause, Mr. Speaker.