Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Last year has been hard on many family budgets and businesses have been hit hard. This government has made efforts to offset the effects of economic crisis. At the community level in our smaller communities the recent economic turmoil has added to a more serious community issue. I’m talking about the overall well-being of the individuals and the community.

In my riding community wellness is a concern for many residents. They feel current systems and practices are not doing a lot to solve the root causes of the problems and issues. Sure, they

address and treat symptoms, but the problems are not going away.

The communities in my riding have a high aboriginal population, residents that speak the aboriginal language and residents that continue to lead traditional lifestyles. In these communities, there is a different perspective on the outside world. Life is simpler. Their needs are simpler. It is a different way of life. The culture is significantly different than life in the larger non-aboriginal communities.

Mr. Speaker, it is a big part of the reason why current mental health and addiction treatment programs have limited success. The current system focuses on treating the physical symptoms of an individual. Healing involves a mental, emotional and spiritual well-being and it means addressing all of these issues at the same time, not individually, not one by a psychologist, another by a physician, but all at the same time.

Mr. Speaker, the community is no different when it comes to healing. A classic case is of the powerful story of Alkali Lake Indian Band in British Columbia. Mr. Speaker, under the current system, there are no resources, no programs or any formal recognition of healing the community. I think we need to look at implementing something like this.

Mr. Speaker, I have spoken time and time again about the addiction and mental health problems that continue to plague Fort Resolution and Lutselk’e. I think it is time and long overdue for this government to look at other community alternatives. Community wellness is one such program we need to look at. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.