Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Just with respect to the Department of Health and Social Services, another one of the big departments that plays a large part in my constituency, Madam Chair. I've got a very spread out constituency. I've got six communities, four small communities, and quite often -- "often" the key word here, Madam Chair -- is that programs, and guidelines, and policies that work in the larger centres just don't apply in the smaller centres and the smaller populations. Even Fort Simpson, as well, which is my biggest population centre of around 1,200 residents. But constituents get frustrated over guidelines and policies about travelling for medical travel, and having escorts and translation services along with the escort services, especially with the elderly population. That's predominantly the makeup of my constituency, Madam Chair, is that it's largely aboriginal and quite often the elderly and the older people, their southern Slavey dialect is their first language. They're getting increasingly frustrated because they are still going to get attention in the health centres and medical centres and it's still happening that nurses and doctors are asking them questions and they're kind of nodding in compliance, but they're not really understanding, Madam Chair. I think part of it is that when I first came to this Assembly I fought hard to get our cultural awareness programming. I think, primarily, I went through the Department of Health and Social Services first, but I believe it has to be an ongoing program, ongoing cultural awareness training that has to be ongoing perhaps on a yearly basis or for the new employments. It's not only Health and Social Services that the elders are having problems with. But there's a start there and it's just a basic understanding that even though it appears that they're understanding English and acknowledging what they're saying, they're not really doing that. I think it's more politeness, Madam Chair, that the people are agreeing.

As well as another huge event that occurred in my riding over the holidays was that there's a couple young girls in Wrigley that I'm still not quite sure on whether they got misdiagnosed or else there was quite, anyways, Madam Chair, there was quite a delay from an incident that they had to the time they got treatment. I think it was three or four days. Both of these girls were involved in an incident or accident with a snowmobile and they had broken legs, but it wasn't determined until about three days later. That's just something that's not acceptable. Granted, I'm not too sure what the reasoning behind it was, but I'm looking for a proper assessment of what happened there and just to prevent against that type of occurrence again. Even though I disagree with the way it all turned out, but there must be a way to assess a situation, provide a root cause, and then learn from that and move on. People just don't want to see those things happening.

What if it's more severe the next time? Who's going to explain that? That's just what I'd like to say. I don't want to see it get worse or something else, a worse incident happen and somebody gets either misdiagnosed or else put off until the next day type of approach. Quite often that was one of the biggest complaints when I got elected, was that elders were actually being sent home with aspirins thinking that aspirins will cure their ailment, when actually they're really sicker than they thought they were. But this kind of practice is improving, and I continue to speak for it. It's one step forward and two steps back, or whatever. But we still have to keep looking at these and assessing them and finding out root causes and improving service delivery to our constituents, Madam Chair.

Another very important aspect to elderly health care in the Nahendeh riding was the establishment of a dialysis machine in Fort Simpson. I see it's moved further down the capital plan. I don't know what the reasoning for that is, but as our population ages, it becomes more and more important for more and more people to receive the treatment they need from the dialysis machine. In fact, when I first came here, we actually had to move a resident of Simpson over to Yellowknife to be close to treatment for dialysis. In fact, he's still here and I continue to visit him often. But his greatest heartache is that he knows he needs the treatment, he knows he needs the machine, he knows he has to be here, but his greatest malcontent, Madam Chair, is that he talks to me in Slavey and he says sehotii, which, in my language, means "my cousins" and "the people that care for me." I don't see them all the time like I do back home, but when they do come here, his children come see him when they can. They make the effort to drive over here and see him. But it's just people who are stuck here for long periods and I'm not quite sure if we can provide some kind of assistance for families to come see him other than vacation trips. I'm sure there are other areas they can go with their hard-earned vacation money. But if we can provide some type of assistance to bring families here just to be with them...I know that we're extending every effort, as well to get him to our home community and back home for visits, but some of the visit barriers is that the best time to send him home is on a Friday and then back on Sunday. But his treatment is almost daily, so he needs that treatment on a Saturday and his visits are a threat to his health. In fact, the department was gracious enough, I went to them and said let's get this guy home. He hasn't been home for awhile. But when he actually did go home, he just dug right into all the wild food that was presented to him, all the bannock and the breads and the chicken soups and the rabbit soups, but it was just too much for his system and he actually got sick from that. But it's just not being able to have that machine there. If that machine, the dialysis machine was there in this particular case, then, of course, there would be no need to run him back and forth and he can have that care and attention back home in the community of Fort Simpson. So this is what I'm thinking, the reasoning for the movement of that dialysis machine there, Madam Chair.

One other aspect of care for elders is that, I know that the ministry has gone to great lengths to improve their respite care in the communities. It goes a long way with helping our families, helping our elders or helping those in need to stay in their communities. Indeed, too, in the smaller communities, Madam Chair. Quite often it's been brought to my attention that even though our elders are being sent home to the home communities, it's there, too, that they need that respite care, and we just don't have the medical staff or the attention to help spell off the parents or the sons and daughters that are helping the elder maintain a presence and maintaining their house in the community. Because even moving from Nahanni Butte over to Fort Simpson, or Trout Lake to Fort Simpson, that transition

from a very small community to Fort Simpson is great indeed.

It's much like the impact of people from Simpson or Norman Wells having to stay in Yellowknife. I think the main thing is that you're being away from home. However, Madam Chair, just with respite care in the community, I don't know how to do it, but there must be a way we can get specialists into the smaller communities to spell off our families that are taking care of their elders. Quite often the easy way is to get that elder back to Fort Simpson for a couple days. Sometimes that works, but oftentimes, if we can do it, maybe we can send that specialist into the smaller communities, like Jean Marie or Trout Lake, and pay attention to that respite care that's offered in those communities.

Just with that, I'll just close on this note, Madam Chair, and allow the Minister and the ministry to respond to some of the points that I've brought up and how we can continue to improve service delivery to our communities. Thank you.