Jackson Lafferty

Masi, Madam Chair. If the department doesn't have that information, I would really appreciate, at any given time, do we have one interpreter or two interpreters for one language at the Stanton Hospital? It will be information if they can provide that, if they don't have it now, at a later time.

Madam Chair, on page 173, if I can ask one more question, that's On-the-Land Healing Fund, $1.825 million. My question to the Minister and to the department: is that funding adequate? Because we're servicing 33 communities, and $1.8 million can only spread so much throughout the Northwest Territories. As...

Masi, Madam Chair. The interpretation services that I spoke about earlier with the statement and questions, I'm just curious: how many staff do we have on board with the new Stanton Hospital, and which category does it fall under? Is it Indigenous health and community wellness or hospital services, is my first question? Masi.

Masi, Madam Chair. If that's the case, I think we, as a territorial government responsible for Stanton, territorial government needs to push more to identify similar to French language. I know that the French population is aggressive. We need to be aggressive, as well, Aboriginal-language-speaking people in the Northwest Territories, because a majority of our communities speak the language, but it's not identified here on its own. I would like to see that even more. I guess a direction to either the Minister or the department to push that with the federal government. I know the federal...

Masi, Mr. Speaker. I think we can do more than just on-call. Again, I have to put myself in the position of an 86-year-old who was hospitalized a week ago, and that individual had a heart issue. The family left after 8:00 p.m., and there was no way of communicating with the nurse, and he was getting needles, and he was getting tablets, uncertain of what it was for.

Mr. Speaker, I'm just wondering of the Minister is open to the idea of creating more of an interpretation system, even improving that in Stanton Hospital. Masi.

I'm just trying to picture myself as a 91-year-old in the hospital, speaking to somebody in the Tlicho language, with an iPad in front of me or telephone beside me. I think it would be a very difficult, challenging task. They've never been exposed to that. They've been born and raised in the bush, and all of the sudden, it's an English environment in the hospital. I think we can do more, providing additional resources after hours. That's what I'm after. Could the Minister please describe the on-call system that the hospital initiated or instituted to make Dene interpreters available to assist...

Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] Today, I have to say, "Thank you," that we have two Tlicho interpreters, Harriet Paul and Maro Sundberg. We know it's very important to get our message across, for your information. Thank you [translation ends].

Madam Chair, I am assuming that it's been identified as part of the regional contribution that the deputy minister has alluded to earlier. If I can get the breakdown as well on the funding level because I've been questioned from my constituents on the on-the-land healing program. Especially, we've had so many passings in my region over the last several weeks, there is a huge demand for whether it would be a treatment program, treatment centre, or a healing fund in my region, not only in my region but in other regions, as well. If I could get the breakdown because I'm very interested in what...

Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] Right now, when they put the restriction on liquor, we were told by the RCMP that they were going to help and do the check stop. When this sort of stuff happened within the community, people were trying to help themselves, and the leaders are doing work for the people and also get help from the RCMP to do the check stop, because we all know that the restriction is there and that the RCMP are not there most of the time. Thank you. [Translation ends].

From what I've been hearing from my constituents and in the community of Behchoko is, obviously, there is a lack of enforcement, a lack of officers at the Ray Junction area. I live in Edzo, and I go there, and I haven't seen cops on the road yet. I am hoping that they are enforcing it.

Mr. Speaker, the second question I have is, how many vehicle searches and check stops have the RCMP conducted at the Ray Junction since the introduction of the Behchoko temporary liquor prohibition compared to other jurisdictions as well?

Masi, Mr. Speaker. Behchoko has issued a temporary ban on all liquor in the community. It was a response to an alarming upsurge in bootlegging. The community prohibition supplements the territorial government's own COVID-19-related liquor restrictions implemented on April 16th. My understanding is that that prohibition ceases tomorrow, May 28th.

[Translation] Mr. Speaker, today, we know there have been all sorts of problems and issues in the communities related to drugs and alcohol in most of the communities and my community, because we all know that we have access to travel, and we also know...