Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier I spoke about some of the issues with accessing mental health services in Hay River, so I have some questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. We can't seem to keep counsellors in Hay River. They come. They're good. People like them, and then they go. We have issues with referrals. They're not being done in time. The policy doesn't seem to be followed all the time.

I do not want to malign any members of the public service. I am always careful about that, but if this is an issue with management, what is being done to rectify that issue? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, colleagues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don’t want to malign any of our healthcare professionals, but I’ve heard again too many times that patients do not feel that their issues are validated by the psychiatrists in Yellowknife, and patients often leave not only feeling more helpless, but also insulted.

Mr. Speaker, I haven’t even touched on the legwork that those seeking treatment are required to do just to access mental health services. There are countless phone calls to make and forms to fill out, with no one person they can look to to show them what needs to be done. They have to wade through a bureaucratic nightmare and become tireless advocates for themselves, just to receive treatment. This is not right, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I mentioned earlier that there was a time when Hay River had excellent mental health services, so I know that we can provide those services again, both in Hay River and in Yellowknife, but changes need to be made. I will have questions for the Minster of Health at the appropriate time. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one out of every five Canadians is facing mental health problems or illnesses today. Nearly half of the population will experience such issues at some point in their life. These numbers are even higher in the NWT. There are countless more statistics about mental health that I could quote, but I’m not going to. Mental health is about people, not numbers, and I feel confident saying that most people have either battled or are battling mental health issues, or know the struggles of someone close to them who is. I don’t think I need to convince anyone of the importance of doing everything we can to eliminate mental illness to the greatest extent possible.

That’s why I’m so frustrated with the state of mental healthcare in the territory, and in Hay River in particular. I’ve heard that, if you had mental health issues 10 years ago, you were lucky to be there because the services provided were excellent. However, Mr. Speaker, I’ve heard too many times from too many people that accessing mental health services in Hay River now can be a nightmare, frankly.

Anyone who’s been to counselling knows that it’s not a pleasant experience, especially the first time when you have to open up to a stranger and dig up all the things you try to avoid thinking about. In Hay River, we always have good counsellors; the problem is they’re usually not there for long. For some reason, despite the generous pay, people don’t want to stay. That means that those seeking help are forced to tell their story, from the beginning, to new people, over and over again.

Too often, this means that our residents do not receive adequate treatment and end up accessing emergency services because there’s nowhere else to go. We’re actually lucky to have permanent doctors in Hay River who are well versed in mental health issues, but issues arise again when these doctors refer patients in crisis to a psychiatrist. It’s my understanding that such emergency referrals are to be carried out within 24 hours, yet I’ve heard multiple cases of this taking weeks, contrary to GNWT policy.

When residents do arrive in Yellowknife for a session with a psychiatrist, they face further obstacles. They must once again open up to a stranger who, after meeting them for only an hour and a half, will have a major impact on the future of their treatment, and ultimately their well-being. After this emotional 90-minute session, which leaves many patients drained and in tears, they are shown the door, sent out into the world and back to the airport, with no place or time to calm down or recover. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So is the Minister content with inadequate signage at this point and the bare minimum signage at some point in the future as he's committed to installing? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm glad we got a commitment to put some lighting up there. Now I'm looking for a commitment to put some additional signage up there so that people coming down the highway are aware that there are pedestrians possibly crossing?

When can the people of Hay River expect to see their new signage installed?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier I spoke about the lack of lighting and signage signals at the highway crossing to the health centre in Hay River. The Minister said that there's, "A ton of signs." I just sent a scout out. There is one sign.

---Laughter

This is a description of what the sign does, "To warn road users making a turn that they will encounter a highway/rail grade crossing soon after making a turn." It says nothing about pedestrians. There are actually two signs. There's another sign indicating that's a new sign. There's one of those coming from each direction.

My point is there's really nothing you can see from a distance. There's not this barrage of signs that the Minister indicated. So can we get something? Can we get one of those solar-powered signs with words indicating, slow down, there might be pedestrians crossing here? Can we at least do that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, Hay River was waiting a long time to get a Minister so we could get the kind of perks that Fort Smith and Inuvik have been getting.

---Laughter

So we are all waiting for that Minister to step up and make that happen. Related, like I mentioned, to get to the health centre you have to walk down a road with no sidewalks, not even any shoulders. When can we expect some other improvements in terms of sidewalks and controlled rail crossings at the health centre? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

That is a shame because the lights are most needed when it is dark out, in the winter. It sounds like we are going to have to wait until the spring. In the interim, I know the Minister is the Minister of Public Works. He is the Minister of Transportation. With all the resources of these two departments at his disposal, can the people in Hay River South get some sort of temporary lighting system so that the Super Bs can see our grandparents crossing the highway on the way to the health centre? Can we get some sort of temporary measure in the meantime?