Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to say a big thank you to all the mothers out there. Happy Mother's Day.
--- Applause
My statement today is with regard to the cutbacks of the government and changing the way we govern ourselves. We also have to keep in mind exactly who we represent and who will be hurt. As we all know, many aboriginal communities and families over the decade have had battles as a result of alcohol and drug abuse leading to violence, sexual abuse, child abandonment and abuse, as well as suicides of our young people.
Families from the communities have been taken away to short-term treatment programs in Edmonton or been incarcerated for violence. That was the solution of the past. We have to face the reality and help the family, as a whole; the grandparent, the parent, the child, the infant and the next generation. What we do today will have an effect on who pays tomorrow. We can deal with this problem today
by dealing with the problems of our small communities and deal with the outstanding questions of alcohol abuse, violence, sexual abuse and child abandonment.
Suicides in the 1970s and 1980s have been high in the smaller, isolated communities. We need to look at the effort being made by the Gwich'in by instituting the Gwich'in healing camp. This is the first facility in Canada, especially an aboriginal organization, who has taken this problem on to deal with this problem with the family unit. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to continue.