Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, providing for the health and safety of our northern residents, especially our elders, has to be this government's first priority. That is why today, Mr. Speaker, I would like to speak to on-the-ground transportation services.
There have been a couple of incidents in the past few weeks, Mr. Speaker, that have upset me and compelled me to speak on this issue. When accidents happen and services are needed quickly, they have to be able to respond. A young girl in Inuvik almost severed her finger. The school calls an ambulance, it takes too long, so the staff end up taking the young girl to the hospital and her parents were there waiting for her. Stuff like this shouldn't be allowed to happen.
Elders have to travel to Yellowknife or Edmonton and in a lot of cases, they travel alone. In the few cases I have heard of, they've had to wait out at the airport because they don't know who is picking them up. Some of them can't speak English. You take these elders out on the land and they can show you anything. But bring them into a city and they have trouble with stuff like that. It's just like one of them bringing us out on the land and saying find your own way.