Thank you. Are there any general comments? Mr. Lewis.

If no one else has a general comment to make, Mr. Chairman, we may be coming close to the end of our discussion. I am sorry. I think Mr. Nerysoo has not spoken yet, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you. Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you. I am going to speak on this issue, but not as a Cabinet Member. I want it to be clear. I know people will probably recognize me as being a Member, but I want to pursue a matter that is, in my view, important for people to appreciate. I do not think people do here. Perhaps my experience in having raised this issue on a number of occasions, people do not understand the seriousness of this matter.

My colleague, Mr. Patterson, was Minister of Health, when a significant issue arose in my particular region. It was interesting, Mr. Chairman, to note the last individual to know about a case of AIDS or an individual who had AIDS residing in the community was a medical official. I think that is wrong, irrespective of what the Department of Health might say. I think there has to be a better way of educating the people of the Northwest Territories, including the medical practitioners. There is, in fact, a need to treat these individuals. We cannot always chase them out of the Northwest Territories. We have a responsibility to deliver services to them as well.

I do not like the suggestion by anyone, no matter which side of this House I sit, that somehow our best solution of treating people are through medical professionals in southern Canada. It is our responsibility to keep our people in the Northwest Territories. A person, such as the individual Mr. Patterson talked about, can only help our situation to improve the education within our communities. We have to assume responsibility for those people. We cannot make the assumption that they are forever, in this Assembly and in every community, going to ask individuals to leave the Northwest Territories to be treated in other jurisdictions. It is not good enough to suggest that.

Perhaps, with my involvement in Cabinet or my involvement somewhere, and hopefully with the assistance of Members, we can develop a better policy as to how we deal with people in the communities, not only from advising the people in the communities and providing information to regions but also advising the best way to our medical practitioners in the communities. You have to appreciate that the people who deliver medical services in the communities are not doctors, they are nurses.

If you are not prepared, as a government, an Assembly or the department, to protect medical professionals in the community, then say so. It is important to advise them. I think they are at greater risk than we are because they have to provide that service on a daily basis. They are ones who are providing medical attention every day. If they do not know what we are telling them, that we do not care what happens to them, that we are not prepared to advise them so they can assume responsibility for providing medical attention, I think that is wrong. I think our policy is going to have to be changed to reflect that sensitivity we have to our medical professionals in our communities, irrespective of whether or not they are medical doctors.

I do not think doctors have the sole responsibility for delivering services, nor do they have the right to refuse to provide information to those who are providing services in the communities. They are not the front line workers. You have to deal with the front line workers. I do not think we are doing that right now. We certainly did not do it in Tuktoyaktuk.

Thank you. Are there any general comments? Mr. Lewis.

Thank you. General comments. Mr. Lewis, you had your hand up earlier.

Thanks, Mr. Chairman. I know the intention of the department is to start another campaign or to try to put some new life, I suppose, in this battle against AIDS.

One of the things I should remark on is that when the first indication of the connection between smoking and cancer was made, I believe it was an article in the British medical journal around 1961 or 1962, it was identified as the killer. We had to find ways of stopping people from smoking because it was felt that would reduce the number of fatalities. There were all kinds of different strategies worked out. One of the things that seems to have characterized the first 20 years anyway of the attempt to get people to stop smoking, was the campaign. The campaign, usually, is something which is of short duration, with a tremendous amount of energy and high profile. The problem with campaigns is that they do all those things for that short period of time, but it may temporarily halt people smoking or it may have minor impact. In other words, you can achieve something which is measurable. However, you have used up so much energy and so much of your capital, in a sense, by making this a high profile issue, that it is very difficult then to sustain it. Then you have to wait for a few years to bring it back again and the problem still exists. I think what we have learned from the anti-smoking campaign is that it really has to be a long range strategy. We cannot depend upon the bells and whistles where we go at it for a year and everyone gets excited about it and gives it high profile, because the problem will still exist. Perhaps to a slightly smaller degree, but the problem will still exist. What we have learned from the anti-smoking campaign that began in the mid 1960s was that we have to think through all the kinds of things that we could do. You cannot just say, "Let us come up with a package and go at it for three years," but to stretch it out over a long period of time so you have something sustainable. I am thinking about the demand that manufacturers put warnings on packages of cigarettes, that took a long time because it was planned a long time ago. However, it took quite some time for the manufacturers to do it. Things of that nature, where you have it continually in front of the public as an issue, not banging them in the eye, but it is subliminal almost, are never effective. Eventually you even have children coming home from school and seeing adults smoking and breaking them up in front of their eyes. They may get spanked for it, but at least they have made their point and it has been very effective.

My suggestion would be instead of only looking at a campaign which will last two or three years during the life of this Assembly, we should try to develop a strategy about how this whole thing should be dealt with over a much longer time frame because I believe it would be much more effective than just simply a campaign.

Thank you. General comments. Mr. Gargan.

Mr. Chairman, I move we report progress.

Thank you, Mr. Gargan. There is a motion to report progress and the motion is not... Mr. Lewis. Did you withdraw your motion, Mr. Gargan?

Yes.

Mr. Lewis.

Thanks, Mr. Chairman. I should have done this, it was a mistake on my part. It seemed to me that everyone who wanted to speak on this issue had done so, and it was my suggestion that perhaps we should take this longer view of how we should deal with it. We might propose that next week we come up with a formal motion in the House, Mr. Chairman. Having learned from our witnesses today and having had a presentation in Caucus, I would like to move that this item be concluded today.

Thank you. Does the committee agree that this item is concluded?

Agreed.

---Agreed

Thank you. What is the wish of the committee? Mr. Gargan.

Mr. Chairman, I move we report progress.

You are not going to withdraw the motion this time? Just kidding. There is a motion to report progress. The motion is not debatable. Do we need a quorum? We need a quorum. Ring the bell, please.

There is a motion to report progress and it is not debatable. All those in favour of the motion? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

I will rise and report progress.

Item 19, report of committee of the whole. Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Tabled Document 91-12(3), Northwest Territories AIDS Project - Review; and, Tabled Document 91-12(3), Northwest Territories AIDS Project - Review, and would like to report progress in that, Tabled Documents 91-12(3) and 92-12(3) are concluded. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of committee of the whole be concurred with. Thank you.

Seconder, Mr. Koe. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Member for Thebacha.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to go back to Members' statements.

The honourable Member is seeking unanimous consent to go back to Members' statements. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You have already made a Member's statement earlier today, so you have to seek unanimous consent to make another statement. Member for Thebacha.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to waive the rules of the House to allow me to make another Member's statement. Thank you.