Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I guess there are several million dollars worth of glasses out there and boarding homes are doing very well. I cannot believe those are just the two items. It would be good to have a detailed list.
The reason I ask for a detailed list is because these are treaty rights the Department of Health and Social Services are obligated to almost protect under contractual arrangements with the federal government. These programs and services no longer exist for aboriginal people or treaty people. Who is responsible for the loss of these treaty rights? Is the department taking any responsibility for that?
I understand the Minister feels confident that discussions would allow the department to continue to provide these programs and services for an additional year. What concerns me is there does not seem to be a transitional plan just in case that does not happen. If there is, it has not been explained to me or to the House or to the people of the Northwest Territories.
April 1st, 2001 was the date selected, as stated in the programs and functional review, as the date the responsibility gets transferred back. That is not a very long time away, Mr. Chairman. It is right around the corner. Yet there was no plan explained to me of how that transition was going to take place.
Sure there are aboriginal organizations in the Northwest Territories in terms of band councils and Inuvialuit, but the Inuit still enjoy those services today. How are they going to take advantage of it after April 1st if there are no organizations that are able to take the responsibility on their behalf? Was there a transition plan for this? If there was, please let it be explained. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.