Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Look at that. After one year, I'm having trouble with my first button. Is that a good sign or not? I'm not sure.
---Laughter
Today, I would like to talk about mental health supports in the NWT, particularly in relation to the ongoing pandemic. In my opinion, we are in a mental health crisis in the North that needs immediate attention from this government.
Mr. Speaker, the issue of mental health has become front and centre amid the COVID-19 pandemic for a few reasons. The main reason, as we have come to know, is just the sheer amount of time that people have had to remain indoors during their self-isolation. This pandemic has caused many disruptions to everyday life, so it's no real surprise that people's mental health has been suffering throughout the course of this pandemic. I have heard some of my colleagues mention suicide and relationships in the home. All of those have been weighing on the minds of a lot of Northerners.
However, even before this pandemic began, mental health had been a long-standing issue for people in the NWT, so COVID-19 has only amplified this issue further. To give an example, in early September, I drove down to Alberta to grab my daughters. I took them back in time for school. I'm glad I did because they would probably want to still be staying down there. When I came back, I did my 14 days here at the Chateau Nova, and I have to say I keep pretty active. I keep pretty busy mentally and physically, but it was a real challenge. By day seven, I was getting pretty stir crazy, and I guess for lack of a better word, I started to feel cabin fever after a while. I could only imagine what that burden is like on people who have to make repeated medical visits down south. They have to come back and do their 14 days every time.
On that note, Mr. Speaker, there is another, darker aspect to these self-isolation centres that we never really considered. I was approached by some elders and got some reports that, during this self-isolation, they went in, they were herded in, for lack of a better word, and they were given meals, specific diets, and some of these people said that it felt like residential school all over again, re-traumatizing for our people.
I'm not saying this in a disparaging way towards our staff, because, by all accounts, they are doing a good job. Mr. Speaker, I request unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted