Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I talked about the Nutrition North Program under the federal government’s responsibility and what type of a disaster our northern consumers are facing today as they used to operate the Food Mail Program. I want to ask this government, I don’t know which, maybe the Premier or the Minister who is responsible under the Food Mail Program, what types of monitoring initiatives are done to monitor the food costs in our small communities so that we are well informed as to how the new subsidies are being applied.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister responsible for Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are a number of ways that monitoring is done, some not specifically related to the Food Mail Program, as we look at our consumer price index to the food basket issue. We’ve committed, as well, to track the cost of food and the cost of living in the small communities tied into the electrical rate review.

Our role in the Food Mail Program is very modest. We were given about 390-some-thousand dollars through Health Canada to do nutrition education. Those are some of the areas where we’re involved and some of the monitoring that is done. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, what I’m receiving as some of the complaints from the constituents are that the contract between the Northwest Company and the Nutrition North Program is that the retail store is not so concerned about the diet that’s supposed to be provided under the program for the residents; it’s more concerned with the bottom line profit. So the type of monitoring that this government is responsible for, how is it that this government is educating people on nutrition and northern healthy foods when we can’t even get them in our communities? If we do get them, they’re either spoiled rotten or they cost too damn much for people to buy. How is it that this government is telling the Northwest Company you need to have nutritional food here and some of those products are not getting in there? And if they are, they go bad after one day on the shelf.

The Member has to keep in mind that this is a federal program. It

is an important program. There are concerns with it and I appreciate the Member’s concern, and we have the same concern that the savings that accrue to the retailers are not being passed on to the consumers. We still have a great interest in proper diet. Our whole focus on prevention, Get Active campaigns, proper nutrition to do with healthy eating, diabetes, all these other things are still critical pieces of the education that we can’t turn our back on. We have a small fiscal role with the funding from the federal government, but this is, first and foremost, a federal program.

I understand it’s the program. You look on the website, it is a federal program. However, this government here has tied itself to it by signing the contribution agreement to educate the public on healthy foods in our small communities. What advice has this government to date provided to the federal government to make sure the Freight Subsidy Program for food works for the people in the Northwest Territories? What I’m hearing right now is that in the Northwest Territories the freight subsidy isn’t working and we’re paying about 20 bucks for freight for five or 10 pounds of potatoes. Where’s the education part?

The education component focuses a lot on the personal choices of what’s available, what choices to make if you have a choice between healthy foods, vegetables, versus pop and chips. This is a program that has its flaws. It is a program that is of concern in all northern communities, and I will commit to the Member that they will have an opportunity here probably next week to pass on concerns when I get a chance to have a conversation with the Minister. Minister Aglukkaq knows this very well since she is from Nunavut, that there are challenges to meet with this program.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. People in my communities are not dumb. They know that they want to give healthy foods, healthy options to their children. When you have four litres of milk at $12.56 in Tulita, milk here in Yellowknife is $4.99, that’s an increase of about 80 percent. If we have oranges at $8.35 a kilogram in Tulita and $3 a kilogram in Yellowknife, that’s a 178 percent increase.

Can the Minister commit that this program will change so that people in our small communities can buy healthy foods? We are not so dumb that we’re going to raise children on pop and chips and chocolate bars. Enough of this. Our choices are very limited, to one store. The federal government needs to get the message: buy the healthy foods or don’t do it at all.

This is a complex issue and the Member has touched on a

lot of issues. I agree that the program is flawed. It has shortcomings. We’re not in a position, since this is a federal program, to make changes to it. We can provide our concerns to the Minister. As Health Minister and having been Health Minister now for over five years, one of the messages that I’ve constantly made is that Northerners have to look after their diet, exercise, don’t smoke, and don’t drink. Those four things alone from the personal choices would have a great benefit to their health. The issue that the Member is talking about on this food program, I agree. I will follow up with the federal Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Earlier in my Member’s statement I spoke about trauma and how it affects families in our northern territory. We do have many different programs available such as alcohol, substance abuse, et cetera. I’d like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services if there is a coordinated strategy to help the families out there suffering, and individuals, with regard to improving their mental health and well-being. Some will go to addictions counselling and sometimes it’s not enough and there are other aspects affecting their lives. Has there been a coordinated approach or something similar to look at this area which I feel is lacking?

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is, in the government, Health and Social Services has a Mental Health and Addictions Program that we’re looking at that’s been developed over the years, that has evolved. There is another report that’s following up on the state of emergency, and state, of course, the reviews that were done of the Addictions and Mental Health Program. At the same time, most of the other practitioners, social workers, nurses all have some training to deal with the issue of trauma. The issue of trauma is a very wide one. There could be physical trauma; there could be very specific types of other trauma. We have some capacity to deal with those issues. We do provide those to one degree or another.

I just wonder if there’s anybody in the department who is taking a coordinated approach and applying a medical concept to the word “trauma,” because we’ve got many, many issues in the North. The most recent, of course, is the residential school symptoms and syndromes. However, it’s as a result of trauma that leads to

alcoholism and family abuse. It’s prevalent throughout families, affecting children and their ability to go to school. Is there a coordinated approach to mental health and wellness? It seems we have individual programming, and Members in this House speak to it often on individual different programming.

There is a coordinated approach. There are these broad programs, mental health and addictions programs, and all the other programs that are flowed through the various health boards. Each health board then in turn delivers those programs at a community level with the resources they have available with some common standards. There is a significant amount of work that was done in how addictions workers were going to get paid and what type of job descriptions. Mental health workers, community health workers, wellness workers. We’ve invested a significant amount of money in this area, and I agree with the Member that it is a significant area and still there is work that needs to be done. We’re just waiting for the last final report to see about what suggested changes are needed for this program to continue to evolve.

I’d like to know as well as our health professionals out there, is that specific to their job description, trauma, and/or is there training available to them?

There is a range of training that’s available. Of course, the more detailed the training as you move up the ladder in terms of those qualifications with degrees, psychologists, psychiatrists, those type of things where you’re going to specialize in addictions all require additional work. Depending on the job and the job qualifications, that range will apply, and some are entry level and some are more advanced. They cover that whole range of experience that the Member is referring to.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The funding that’s available to the small and remote communities for health and wellness is about $5,000 and it’s usually specifically targeted to alcohol or substance abuse. This is what I was speaking about when I talked about a community-driven program that they want to see. It’s often limited. Is there a way that the Minister will look at loosening some of those guidelines and provide alternative and specific trauma available to the communities?

As we have this dialogue in the House, I have staff making note, and I will commit to the Member that we will have discussions with the Health and Social Services Authority in Simpson to look at some of the concerns and possibly follow up for further

clarification from the Member so that we can look at the right areas and to give the appropriate response to the Member.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services and follow up on my Member’s statement from earlier today where I asked that the Minister direct his department to do some research and provide some options for consideration by all Members of the 17

Assembly with respect to

autism programming in the Northwest Territories. Currently, there is nothing dedicated to children with autism, and I think with the increasing rates of autism, it’s time that we take that proactive step and implement some programs for northern children here in the North with autism.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.