Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I am glad the Minister used the words, need of protection by the state. In our current reality, Mr. Chairman, we see in the news, at conferences, in everyday life, almost, Mr. Chairman, where we see the Anglican, the Catholic churches, Canada and the United States and abroad and also the institution of the Government of Canada being sued by people, especially First Nations in this country, for billions of dollars. Those lawsuits resulted from abuse by the state. You could argue cultural genocide, Mr. Chairman. Physical abuse, mental abuse, spiritual abuse, linguistic abuse, cultural abuse; that is some of the sad history of the state when it takes on responsibility for children.

Languages have been lost. Cultural identity and practices have been lost. The skill to parent has been lost. That was Canada's answer to cultural assimilation by First Nations people, true First Nations people. That has been admitted by the Government of Canada of the day, yet we see the statistics, Mr. Chairman: 457 in the Northwest Territories. This is a rough calculation, Mr. Chairman. Out of the identified children in these statistics, 344 of the 457 are of aboriginal ancestry, with 102 of unknown ethnicity. The statistics would indicate that 90 percent of those unknown would be aboriginal as well.

Why is it that this practice of child apprehension continues at such a high rate in the Northwest Territories? We may not have statistical information on how children turn out after going through the protection of the state, whether it is foster care or other institutions taking care of the children. In fact, I will ask that question, Mr. Chairman. Do we have statistical information, have we been tracking those children in care after they leave the state? How many of them end up being contributors to society -- doctors, lawyers, judges, Members of the Legislative Assembly -- versus how many of them end up on our social envelope responsibility? Those that require housing for crimes against society. Do we have those numbers? If not, Mr. Chairman, do we have a process to identify those, a process to retain that statistical information? When we take children away from their parents in the communities and put them with the state, what happens to those children? Do they grow up to be happy people and contribute to society? Do they retain their languages and cultures? Do they know how to parent, how to care for brothers or sisters? Do we have the process to track that kind of impact on their lives? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.