Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, it is interesting that the department does not know what is going on in the communities. I was at a public meeting in Aklavik a month ago. There was a request made by Dr. Morris regarding the concerns he has had with the high increase of cancer, especially stomach cancer in the community of Aklavik. They had something like 21 cases in less than two years.
He is the one who recommended the proposal to do a study on the whole community. His concern was the statistics he sees. There is a high case of these different types of cancer, especially in Aklavik. He wanted to do research on the whole community, from all of the family members, testing all the people with saliva tests, blood tests, testing the water in the community in all the homes, to see if there is a direct connection to the families and the communities and the lifestyle these families are living.
How come you are not aware of this? They have already started public consultation, public meetings, having people sign up for tests. This work is already going on. Is there money available to carry out these different types of tests? The World Health Organization is now considering, and I do not know if I will get this right, but heliobacter pylori, which is a carcinogen which causes stomach cancer. That is where they are concentrating their efforts, on that particular brand of cancer. As I said, it is a carcinogen. Many people have been complaining about pains in their stomachs and chest pains. They are always being told they have ulcers. Now there is a direct connection with this type of disease to cancer. That is the research project I am talking about.
I would like to ask the Minister again, what do you do as a department to keep tabs with the different departments? The letter I have is from the Inuvik Regional Health Board. There is one to the mayor and one to the community manager, stating this is what they are doing. Since you are not aware of it, how closely do you follow these different research projects and ensure they have adequate money to be able to do these surveys and tests to try to pinpoint some of the concerns, especially when the recommendation is coming forth from a doctor?