Mr. Speaker, the elders that are having problems with this issue are the elders that built the North. They were the trailblazers. They developed our communities. They developed our roads. They taught us as children and also they took care of the sick and weak in communities by our health care system. These people have made the North their homes. Mr. Speaker, they paid for what we have today. They developed the North; the trailblazers. Yet, Mr. Speaker, what do we do? We impose hardship on them at a time when they are struggling to maintain a life and enjoyment of the days they have to come.

Mr. Speaker, I, for one, support a universal health care system for all people in the Northwest Territories and get away with the debate on race, creed, colour. Mr. Speaker, I, for one, take offence to the racial overtones that have developed because of this policy, in regards to treaties, getting free health care, Metis benefits. Mr. Speaker, it has to be clearly noted that treaties were signed with the people in the Northwest Territories in 1989 in regard to Treaty 8, and 1921 in regard to Treaty 11. There are land claims agreements that have been settled with First Nations people. There are self-government negotiations going on so that First Nations people can take care of their own programs and services. For this policy to become racial is directly on the

feet of the Minister who allowed it to get to that state.

Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories is not a province. The Northwest Territories receives funds from Ottawa because we are a Territory. The programs and services we get by way of education, services, health care services, housing, programs and services which are becoming universal. The intent of the change to this policy was to ensure everybody had access to health care and that we find a system that’s fair to all, and not to use a system that we know is totally dysfunctional by using income thresholds as a means to get to the goal by putting pressure on people to have to leave the North because they can find a better system of health care elsewhere, that is not the state that we are in. We have the financial means to provide services to all people in the Northwest Territories and we should do that and not be eliminating people simply based on the amount of money that you have earned in your lifetime or having a policy that’s better than one policy or another. It should be universal for all people.

Mr. Speaker, I will be supporting the motion and again I’d like to reiterate the comments that were made. I take offence to the racial overtones of what’s been said on First Nations people in the Northwest Territories.