Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just have a few comments and concerns to raise with the Minister. First off, it’s been about two years now that through the department we’ve had a commitment to implement the Beaufort-Delta health board back up in the Beaufort-Delta region, and the residents up there are still waiting for a voice from the community to represent them. That’s really lacking up in the region. Although a lot of services are improving, the residents still would like a voice on the board. I think all we need to do is do a bit more training in the financial area. That’s where a lot of the past board members felt that there was really no education for the board members in that area. I think that simple little training that if we apply it to those board members, whoever they may be in the future. I’m really looking forward to that and I hope by the end of our term that we could have this board in place.
Also, I’d like to commend the department on the improvements with the medical escorts over the last couple of years. A lot of the elders that are travelling had a lot of difficulty, especially travelling to Edmonton. Many of them have gone there for the first time and they don’t know where to go even in the airport. It’s really stressful on them, especially if they’re dealing with major issues like cancer and other life-threatening issues. It’s added stress. I’m glad to hear that the department is offering counselling to those that are affected by that.
Next, a lot of concern in the Beaufort-Delta riding that we need a health care facility, whether it’s in Aklavik or Fort McPherson. Fort McPherson is larger and has a larger population of elders in that community. In my riding alone we have 350 elders that are over the age of 60. That’s a clear demand there. Inuvik has a small facility that could hold, I believe, roughly 20 people or so. This is going to be needed in the future, and I highly recommend that we put it in Fort McPherson because they do have a full-time road that’s accessible, which I believe would cut costs.
Also, nursing in Tsiigehtchic, as I mentioned, it’s been just a few years back that we did have a full-time nurse there, 10 years or so, but if we could do it then, we could do it now, and there’s a clear demand there as well.
Also, for the positions that are in the budget for Fort McPherson and Aklavik for nursing, I highly recommend that we fill those positions and willing the work of the department to do that. If it’s not possible to fill those positions, maybe we could transfer them to Tsiigehtchic and that would make things a lot better.
Those are just a few comments that I had, Mr. Chairman, and I look forward to the response. Thank you.