Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I also wanted to congratulate all the community wellness workers that are in our gallery on their successful completion of the certification program that they have all undoubtedly worked diligently and passionately to acquire.
Mr. Speaker, some of the difficulties, both in the workplace and in the communities where they live and work, are not things that people are compelled to talk about, but I think are worthy of mention today. We all recognize the importance of these positions in our small communities, and I want to let it be known that these community wellness workers' positions are 24 hours, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year jobs, and the compensation for these positions is severely underrated and inadequately funded by this government.
Mr. Speaker, a community wellness worker cannot take a holiday in their respective communities because many people seeking assistance often require help or guidance before their issues transpire into something more tragic and the community wellness worker is often, it is often their obligation to take action before this happens.
Mr. Speaker, these are just a couple of reasons why I would like to see some serious reviews done on the compensation levels for these frontline workers; salary levels that are truly reflective of the broad spectrum of wellness issues that these people have to work against every day.
I could go on and on about many of those community wellness issues, but two minutes is surely not enough time. I do have time to say thank you from all the Members in this House and from the residents of the NWT in their job, and they all deserve a pat on the back every day. I wish them the best of luck in their future endeavours. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause