Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have been waiting for a day and half, I was on the list yesterday and was overlooked. Thank you for recognizing me finally. There are a number of groups in Yellowknife who have some concerns relating mostly to the overtaxing of their facilities. This is happening because there is an influx of people from the communities into Yellowknife. In some cases there are referrals of patients, for example, to Yellowknife. As a result they may bring their families if it is for an extended stay.
There are a number of organizations, such as the YWCA, the Salvation Army, Status of Women, the Women's Centre and the social services network. They are starting to be stretched to the limit. A lot of these, of course, are non-government agencies. They are dependent upon funding from outside sources, either through grants from the government or other locations. There really is a question of inadequate resources in Yellowknife and it is very acute. It is becoming a critical problem for many people.
There is a need to address the whole question of equitable funding. How can this be addressed? Perhaps, I can pose this as a question to start with. How can the department address this particular problem? For example, in the Department of Education when individuals move to Yellowknife from the communities if they are here by a certain date, say the school registration date is September 1st, if they are here by say October 1st, hypothetically, then they go on the school rolls, and the following year funding is transferred to the Yellowknife School Board. This is not the case in terms of Health and Social Services issues. They may come from the communities to come to Yellowknife and there is never recognition for the fact they are no longer a so-called need on the community, hypothetically, wherever they are from, say the High Arctic. The financial transfer does not take place nor does it ever take place here. This is a real area of concern to a number of agencies in Yellowknife. Could I have some comment on that from either the Minister or his officials?