Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I find it odd that this department is responsible for the health and well-being of all residents of the Northwest Territories and they do not seem to have a handle on exactly how healthy our population is and to what extent this cancer is a problem.

My colleague gave me a reference to the concern for water. We have a major crisis in Canada in Ontario. I raised this concern with the water quality in Fort McPherson. Now we are seeing another incident, where a doctor is coming forth, which is a major concern. They have to test the drinking water in all the homes in the community. They have to test the treatment facility for a particular brand of cancer because it is caused by a virus in the system. For all we know, other communities could be in the same boat.

What methods are in place to ensure there is someone watching the chickens while others are out to roost? There seems to be no coordination on who is in charge of who. What process or checks and balances do we have in place to ensure you have somebody there monitoring what is going on with the regional health boards within the department? What is happening so we do not have any major crisis situations as we have seen in other places in Canada, where for the last number of years, I have seen a major increase in cancer in my riding. In Aklavik, 21 people for a small community of 600 people, that is a lot of people dying of cancer. The department does not think it is a major case. A pretty well-known doctor, Dr. Morris, he is the one recommending the research proposal be done in the Aklavik. This is coming directly from a doctor.

What checks and balances are in place to ensure we are overseeing what is going on within our communities and the regional health boards? How are we monitoring it? Thank you.