Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I come from the Deh Cho region and the Nahendeh constituency. This motion is important to the people in the region because of the health service delivery. What I have been hearing is that there is a lack of trust in the system at the present time and they have a concern that the people in the communities are not involved in a meaningful way in the delivery of health services in the region.
In 1988, during the transfer of health to the Northwest Territories, the Deh Cho regional council at the time took a very strong position saying the Deh Cho regional council should, in fact, be the board or agency that represents the region with regard to health. Up to that point, that is what they had been doing. The regional council was, in fact, quite involved in all aspects of life that affected the people in the smaller communities and this included health, education and social services.
Another reason was the region is very big and it includes the Dogrib region as well as the South Slave. When this transfer was negotiated by the people within the territorial government, they did not take into consideration that there are different regions within the southern half of the Northwest Territories which include the Deh Cho region, the Dogrib region and South Slave. It was very difficult to move ahead with the health board at that time. Up to now there have been many concerns about the delivery of health. There are different positions taken on this motion.
I know the tribal council has talked about this issue in the past and what I have been hearing in communities is that if there could be a health board of some kind in the region, it might help the situation. I just want to make reference to the Standing Committee on Agencies, Boards and Commissions' Final Report on Health and Hospital Boards in the Northwest Territories. They made a recommendation that each health and hospital should be allowed to define its own structural framework, including the maximum number of members and system of community and aboriginal representation. This is a recommendation that is made by the Standing Committee on Agencies, Boards and Commissions and if a board is allowed to be structured in the Deh Cho region, it should be allowed to be structured in the way the people in the region want it to be structured. That would cover my concern in that region. If that were to be allowed, I think the concerns of the people in the region, such as to the lack of trust in the system and the concern the people have in the communities of not being involved in the delivery of health services, would be alleviated and then I would be inclined to support this motion at the present time. Mahsi.