Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, this tour really opened my eyes as a Regular Member who represents small communities. I know the last two years I have been supportive of having a treatment facility in the Northwest Territories, but after this tour, I do support sending our people south because of the specialists who are available on-hand and, you know, especially the treatment that is needed. In this day and age we are having more people that are being hooked on powerful drugs like crack cocaine. We just don't have the capacity here in the Northwest Territories to deal with that. You know, it's very important that those people who have identified the need to get treatment have the best care available. After going on this trip, I have seen firsthand that help is there and needed, if needed.

Also, Poundmaker's, I didn't even know this, that they have a mobile treatment facility that comes to Fort Smith here in the Northwest Territories. You know, it gives people a chance to go there and, if they feel comfortable enough, they make arrangements to go to Poundmaker's. You know, that facility is more than willing to come to other communities, as well. At the moment, we are actually working on that in some of the communities, to try to set that up. So, yes, this trip was much needed.

Before, when we had questions about these facilities, we didn't know what to explain to our constituents because we didn't know firsthand what is actually being treated at these facilities. Seeing things firsthand is the way to go, Mr. Chair. You know, now when my constituents come to me asking why we don't have facilities here in the Northwest Territories, it's very clear that we don't have the capacity. We do have a long way to go to build that capacity, but having those specialists come here in the Northwest Territories, we do have to have more to offer for those specialists to come here. Right now, it seems Yellowknife, maybe Hay River, has the capacity to draw those specialists in, but you know, for them to come to, say, Inuvik, it's very challenging because we just don't have the facilities that would draw in those specialists. That's one thing we have learned. I would just like to share that. Thank you, Mr. Chair.