Mr. Speaker, I woke this morning, had my coffee as I do, began to read the news as I do every day, and I was saddened to see the article about the NWT woman files lawsuit claiming doctor sterilized her without consent.
Mr. Speaker, I'm not going to speak to the details of this case as it's before the courts; however, it's unfortunate reality, Mr. Speaker, that Indigenous people in Canada have a history of medical experimentation and sterilization without consent.
Mr. Speaker, in this House my colleagues and I continue to raise the issue about the mistrust and the treatment of Indigenous people when accessing services in the NWT. That is why, Mr. Speaker, it is so critical for the GNWT to implement the Living Well Together Training Program. The Living Well Training Program provides Indigenous cultural awareness and sensitivity training to all GNWT staff to assist them in their job, as well to give them space while they're learning or taking this training as it may be difficult for some.
On December 1st, 2021, the Minister of Finance publicly stated to everyone in this House to my answers, the GNWT, except for new hires, would have this training done by March 31st, 2022. The Minister also committed to discussing with Cabinet prioritizing the training among frontline service for staff.
Mr. Speaker, if you are a GNWT worker in the medical field, the healthcare field, correction service, child and family service system, you are in a position of power. The Living Well doc training needs to be prioritized among frontline workers dealing with Indigenous people when they are most vulnerable. And we are ensuring that locum doctors, locum nurses, all frontline staff also receive this training.
Mr. Speaker, I also want to stress the importance of hiring the Indigenous patient advocate. It is really important for the GNWT to fill these positions because there are so many stories we hear out there about the injustices from the healthcare field, and we don't ever want to see headlines like we did this morning. I will have questions for the Minister of Health later today. Thank you.