Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to talk briefly about Trail Cross. Trail Cross is a child care facility in Fort Smith that has been in operation since the '60s. It has evolved over those years, up to last year, to a fairly well-run, sophisticated facility that delivers the high quality of care for children, mainly girls, across the Northwest Territories. It had mainly aboriginal staff who had been trained over the years to provide good service in conjunction with professional support services from Yellowknife and other jurisdictions.
The first year of this Assembly it was decided, as a cost-cutting measure, that there would be a privatization of that facility. That was done and it was turned over to a private contractor last year. There have been some concerns raised since that time but, as of late, there have been a number of incidents in that facility which cause me significant concern. Incidents involving children in care. Incidents and concerns raised by many people from my constituency about the programming that is currently underway. The fact that aboriginal staff seem to be quietly no longer employed there.
I am very concerned about the state of affairs and the well-being of the children. It is a very important program for the Northwest Territories, otherwise children that require that service would have to be sent south. I am sure the Minister shares my concern about the well-being of children in care and the need to have that kind of service effectively run. There do seem to be problems that have arisen since this institution and program was privatized. I think it is going to require a second look. I will be asking the Minister of Health and Social Services, at the appropriate time, questions about this particular facility and the incidents occurring there at present. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
-- Applause