Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On the morning of January 18, 2021, I read a CBC article with a video of a man crawling out of a southern emergency department and a nurse walking beside him, and it stated that she was saying, "You're a big boy. You're strong. Come on, big boy. Stand up." Only to find out later that he had Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which was affecting him to walk. Mr. Pontone also a history of bipolar, so he felt that's why his concerns were dismissed.
It made me think of Hugh Pakik, an Aklavik elder who died of a stroke after being mistaken for being drunk. In the CBC article that I found, his niece said the staff in the elders' home and the Aklavik Health Centre wouldn't treat her uncle because they mistook him for being drunk. After an external investigation, it provided 16 recommendations. One of the recommendations was that the Northwest Territories implement mandatory culturally safe training for all healthcare workers.
Mr. Speaker, I sat and wondered how many with mental health issues or who are Indigenous and people of colour are treated in our health and social services system in the NWT. We all know it happens. Those of us who fall into these groups take it and very few complain. Little did I know that morning would put me in a situation that I was not planning. I have been to the emergency department here three times since being elected, twice to advocate for my children and once for myself. Two out of the three times, I did not expect the treatment that we received. Yes, I said "advocate," because sometimes our youth and our elders and many others, especially those from small communities, feel that they are not heard or they don't say the right things, and sometimes the questions they are asked, they don't understand.
As a nurse and a past emergency department manager, all I can say is that the way we were treated was unacceptable, and I am unsure as to why we were treated that way. Was it discrimination? Was the staff having a bad day? I don't know, but what I do know is that it was something that we hear far too often. Do we have to feel guilty or that we're putting the staff out of their way because we are sick and asking for help? No. That's what they are paid for, but this is the power that they hold.
Mr. Speaker, I am sure that you would agree that anyone who walks into an emergency room or any health centre clinic should be treated the same, no matter their race, medical history, addictions. None of this should change the way they are treated, spoken to, triaged, or cared for. I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted