Mr. Chairman, I would like to speak on the motion and the amendment. I am glad to see such a recommendation coming out. In my part of the world we sometimes use traditional healers to help some of our people who are not well. We've been doing that since time immemorial and we continue to do it today. There are different healers in the north, in Canada and in the states who are renowned for helping people out in different areas.
I'm glad that they'll be recognized. In terms of being funded by government, I think we have to have some funding for that area. We may need to bring someone in from outside of the community and it costs, nowadays, to travel. A lot of them don't ask for very much. They might just ask for travel funds, for gas or maybe for a plane fare. Because of that, I think we need to have "funded by the government" in there.
We may have to send somebody out to see people down south and that costs money. It also costs money to bring them in. We've done that a number of times in my area, where we were fortunate enough to know people who could come and help us out sometimes. It costs us money nowadays. Because of that, along with recognizing the healing methods of aboriginal people, we should also recommend that this practice be funded by the government.
As for incorporation into our system of health and social services, I don't have any problem with it. Maybe the health and social services system could help out sometimes when we need to arrange for somebody to come in or send somebody out. In this way, we need to have a system in place to identify how this healing process could be funded. I see a reason for having it incorporated into the system.
I know what my honourable colleague, Mr. Gargan, is saying about traditional healers. They don't expect to get paid cash. They have never done that and I don't think they would start. The idea is they have the gift from the Creator to help people and this is how they see things. They are more like spiritual people. They don't ask for compensation. As long as you get them from one place to another -- which costs us money -- that's all they are concerned about.
I am speaking in favour of this recommendation. Mahsi.