Thank you, Madam Chair. I don’t really have anything specific to say at this time but I do have some comments in terms of this department is a department that takes a big chunk of the budget in terms of the overall operations of the government. There could be some further initiatives that I feel very strongly about that could be advanced. There’s always room for improvement. For the most part in leaving off the discussion, the whole principle of care, compassion and respect, I think, is more likely the vision and mission of the department. At the same time the department needs to be reminded that there is the concept of culturally appropriate care and ensuring that personnel understand the services that they provide to communities, especially servicing the public, but more so with First Nations clients and people that visit the health centres.

I think people have to be reminded that the elders have specific needs and specific care issues. They have to be treated with respect, but also, at the same time, if they require escorts, then I think there has to be special consideration to ensure that the language is a barrier, then obviously communication is going to be critical, especially if there is an advanced onset of a medical condition. It is vital that escorts be accommodated to ensure that elders don’t travel by themselves.

In terms of culturally appropriate care, there is always the consideration of people going through the system right from the health centres locally at the community level. At the same time, if they reached a point that they are at the advanced stage of sickness, perhaps cancer, there has to be special consideration in terms of their needs and their desires of ensuring that they are very comfortable and have family there. Again, I emphasize that ensuring that we are respectful of the patients that we treat.

The other matter that I feel strongly about is in terms of the ground ambulances. At this point, as the community that live along the Mackenzie Highway right from 60thparallel all the way to Yellowknife, we have Enterprise, Kakisa and Fort Providence that live along the highway so, unfortunately, sometimes public safety has to be considered. There can’t be at the point the line has to be drawn. There can’t be any excuses. There has to be some fundamental shifts in terms of a policy, thinking in terms of trying to get beyond these barriers and obstacles of creating the idea that there’s a liability issue or else trying to draw excuses. There is a very fundamental need in terms of providing first responders and ambulances for communities, but also, at the same time, for highway. Right now we are at the height of the transportation season. They are bringing goods from Edmonton all the way to the mines and that is a big necessity at this time. Governments have a duty to ensure the public safety and the well-being of the citizens. I think this department has to make advances in trying to come up with an idea of how it is that ground ambulances will be at least established in those communities.

The other matter that I feel strongly about, too, is just on the preventative and promotional advances in terms of how programs and services are delivered by this department. I think, with alcohol and drugs, in terms of looking at the working group, there have been some initiatives of the past. There have been some concepts that have been tried and discussed. We need to draw upon our experiences and try not to reinvent the wheel every time there’s a problem. We need to go back, reach deep and perhaps touch base with people who have been there before, and to try and work with them so that we draw upon their expertise.

At this point, in terms of how the government operates, of course, we are operating with very little or else we have a very mean operation in the sense that the funding and the services that we had years ago is not there anymore, and we have to try and do more, but with less. In that sense, we need to ensure that we do a lot of collaboration, cooperation and coordination with bodies and within groups and within communities as well.

I noticed effort on the working group to try to study alcohol and drug issues has been initiated. It is at its advanced stage. I look forward to the report. I am hoping that those recommendations that are arrived at will be immediately moved on. I would like to see at least, perhaps before this fall, some doable action plans that will be immediately implemented so that we see some concrete, substantive movement on how this government is going to treat people that have alcohol and drug issues and that it will go out of its way to show that it, indeed, cares for its people and it will advance some practical and substantive movement in that area.

In terms of closing off, I understand that there are some initiatives in trying to replace aging infrastructure for one in Fort Providence. There is going to be a new health centre. This idea of prototypes, I think some of the people that I serve in the communities are very curious in terms of what this prototype means. Is this design going to be designed in Yellowknife? Are we going to get a chance to have some input? Is it going to be a cost-saving measure or exercise so that it is energy efficient? What does it really mean? Perhaps the department can maybe give us an idea.

Also, at the same time, there are still some jurisdictional matters on the reserve. It has been a while since a new health centre has been built on the reserve. It is not operational. It has been sitting there for the past two years. What is holding us up to get it going? It just makes sense for people to have that service right on the reserve instead of jumping into a cab, especially in the summertime and driving those extra kilometres to get to the main highway, then driving to Hay River. It just makes sense to immediately institute the health centre now and make it operational by April 1st, so that people on the reserve have at least the confidence in knowing that their medical aid or else their health care needs are being met. It has to happen. I am hoping that this department will aim for it by at least April 1stto make it operational. Mahsi.