Mr. Chairman, the $1.2 million that we are presenting as part of this budget as a critical investment in the response to the Child Welfare League review, includes researching the feasibility of a Northwest Territories child advocate program. So when this is approved, then the work on that research would begin. Thank you.

With regard to pollution health activity, the whole responsibility of the public health or the chief medical health officer...I made reference earlier with questions to different Ministers that we have certain regulations with regard to protecting the public against the different types of contamination in our water system. As we know, there is probably more need for more people within that area of public health when it comes to pollution.

Are you looking at possibly enhancing that program to expand it because of the developments that are happening with the increase and number of developments in oil and gas, diamonds and also with the increased amount of diseases that you are seeing? There has been a real outbreak of different types of airborne diseases, flu and what not. Will they be expanding that department or giving them more resources so they can possibly do their job a lot better?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Our indications are at this time that the monitoring processes and programming we have in place around things such as quality water supplies and environmental contaminants, we feel are quite adequate for what we have now. Certainly if there was an increase in certain types of activities which might have environmental impacts, we may have to look at increasing our activity in that area, but for now we feel what we have in place is sufficient. Thank you.

I was looking more in the area of enforcement. You only have so many people who can ensure that when they issue these non-compliance orders, they are being fulfilled and they are making the improvements that they say they are. So that is more on the enforcement side of the responsibility of this office to ensure that these agencies or groups that are out there are living up to the compliance orders that are issued by the chief medical health officer.

I would like to know from the Minister exactly what are they doing to improve that these compliance orders are being lived up to?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That is a question that I would have to take and get back to the Member on. I do not have a great deal of detailed information on that particular area. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In regard to programs and services, there seems to be a real increase in the cancer rates, especially between the ages of 45 and on. Is there anything that the department is doing to make it mandatory that x-ray tests be taken for that particular age group?

There seems to be a concern that they are diagnosing people after the fact or too late. If you do it as a continuous program by taking these x-rays every year, you are able to possibly have a better survival rate if you are diagnosed with cancer in regard to having early detection.

I would like to ask the Minister, have you looked at the possibility of implementing such a program so that it is mandatory for people over the age of, say 45 to 60?

Mr. Chairman, there are certain types of screening tests which are indicated for certain types of diseases for people, particularly in certain age categories. The Member mentions specifically chest x-rays. Unless a patient was presenting certain types of symptoms or specifically requested their feeling for a need for a chest x-ray, I do not think that it would be something that would be done as a standard route. However, again creating an awareness about some of the precautions that people can take themselves, I think that most of the health centres have the ability to provide x-rays.

Certainly we want to encourage people to take some personal responsibility. If they feel that they have symptoms or a condition in which a chest x-ray is warranted, then we encourage them to speak to the physicians or nurses in their community and have that discussion with them. Thank you.

I think that it is great that we have a mammogram machine here in Yellowknife. We were praising the effort for the people who raised the funds to get the mammogram machine, yet we have not been able to get as much usage, or people are on a waiting list to be able to access it. That is why I am wondering if there is a possible way of including that so we could make use of these different processes. The concern I raised earlier, if where we are seeing people who are at the health centre in Inuvik who are getting x-rays, tests and everything else, but they are not being diagnosed with cancer until practically they have to beg the doctor to send them to Yellowknife. Then once they get to Yellowknife, they do the same tests and then they are able to detect it. So there has to be something wrong with the detection system, or the system in Inuvik is obsolete and the one in Yellowknife is modernized.

What I am saying is that we have to find a mechanism to ensure that these tests that we are doing are being taken advantage of, and that people are knowing sooner than later, especially when it comes to dealing with cancers and different mammograms and what not. It is an issue that is out there and I think that it is important as a government that we do whatever we can to improve the system. As the system sits right now, there are some problems with it. We do have the technology. It is just a matter of making it mandatory.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The kind of specialized equipment that there is here in Yellowknife and certainly in hospitals down south, for the volume of patients that would use it in some of the smaller regions, it would not merit the costs. I think the Cat Scan machine here in Yellowknife probably was about $1 million.

When the Member talks about x-rays, x-rays do not necessarily detect that much in terms of different types of cancers. Mammograms are something that the effectiveness of which is not 100 percent foolproof either. Again, it is really important that people be fairly self-aware in noticing things that might lead to early detection, such as changes in their own body.

The types of cancers that are on the rise in the Northwest Territories are things like lung cancer. Of course, that is strongly linked to the high rates of tobacco smoking. Also, some types of cancer are connected to changes in diet. However, cancers overall are not on the rise. Our statistics indicate that we are still well below national averages in most areas of cancer.

So the availability of equipment for screening probably is not something that is going to be...sorry, I want to correct something. Cancer rates in the Northwest Territories are rising, but do remain lower than the rest of Canada. However, the areas that we are seeing the rise in cancer is in lung cancer and cancer associated with the digestive system from changes in diet. Thank you.

I do not know if it is just in my riding or in the Beaufort Delta region, it seems like it has increased in the last while, especially with this death in the region with a person having TB, if that is making a comeback. I think it is important that we do start to continue on with these tests. I think those types of issues come forth where people in this day and age are dying of TB.

The tests that are out there are probably a better mechanism of detecting it or waiting until you have an outbreak or have a major crisis on your hand, especially when TB is a disease that sits dormant for sometime before it will be activated. I think that there is still a fair...especially in my home community, from a lot of parents and students and family members of people that have had TB. I am wondering if that has been taken to account, because it is still there. It is a political issue.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank the Member for his comments and certainly awareness is the key. This is something that we need to talk about with people because there are certainly processes and means of easily detecting things like tuberculosis. We need to create the awareness around it. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.