Sandy Lee

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do appreciate the need for a little bit of drama, but I don’t know where the Member gets this 107 days. The motion was passed on February 8th. I think everybody understands how busy our session was for six weeks. Our session did not finish until March 13th. Everybody went off to a break for two weeks. Now, for the last seven weeks -- that’s 75 days -- the department and officials have been working to see how we do this better than we had done before. I have talked to the Member and said that we won’t go into really getting into the work until the session was over. So...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document entitled Status of Women Council of the NWT Annual Report 2007-2008. Thank you.

More sporting events in schools, I know that the Minister of Education works on that area, but I think that the Member would agree with me that we need our people to eat healthier, exercise more, drink and smoke less. Our people drink more, and more heavily. We know the prevention strategy does work and the government has spent money on a non-smoking campaign that has worked. I think it is important to note that there are people in our community clinics who work on prenatal, on children, on healthy families, on Diabetes Strategy, even FSC is a preventive disease. That work is being done. I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Member for the question as well as providing me with a copy of the research. Mr. Speaker, I can advise the Member that this is an issue that is on top of the minds of everyone who is involved with Health and Social Services system. There is a lot of research done on that and the need for work that we are all aware, Mr. Speaker. In fact, one of the writers, Dr. Kue Young was in my office last month because he is very involved with the research in the North, especially aboriginal health. He is pursuing a multi-year, multi-million dollar grant...

I realize this is a longitudinal study over five years. I can tell the Member that I just talked to someone with Healthy Food North who is actively engaged. We have groups in the North, health care professionals, who are involved in communities who are talking to the people, doing a study actually as things happen, not five years ago, an academic study, but working with the communities to see what their eating patterns are, what their exercise patterns are and what they can do in their everyday life with the traditional food and things they can do around their communities that could help them...

I think the Member should be aware that this is part of our everyday work. There is staff in the department. We spend about $2 million. We could use more, but we spend about $2 million within the department to promote active living and healthy living. That is what our front-line staff work on. We work with other departments like MACA and Education that work on that. I think the article that I read in Hill Times talked about the importance of investing in prevention.

In my meetings with the federal Minister of Health, we need federal Health to do a health prevention strategy and make some...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thought I was quite specific on my action plan. I don’t know what “lip service” means. Mr. Speaker, I am aware that Beaufort-Delta especially and their social services system has more vacancies and more turnover rates and the community would like to have more services in their communities. I am working on that right now. I hope to give him a specific proposal. Thank you.

Yes, Mr. Speaker. Absolutely. In fact, I am in the process of doing that right now. The Member and I were able to visit Paulatuk and Sachs Harbour. It was a huge issue in Paulatuk where the residents came out and told us about their needs specifically. Since then, the CEO of Beaufort-Delta Health Authority has travelled there. We are putting a proposal together to see how we could address the immediate needs and specific needs of Paulatuk. I am also aware that, in general, there is a huge vacancy rate among the social worker staffing for Beaufort-Delta. I have asked our director in the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, healthy communities and families are based on the basics: healthy food and good nutrition. Promoting healthy eating is the focus each year in March, National Nutrition Month, an annual campaign that runs all month from coast to coast to coast.

Mr. Speaker, although in the NWT healthy lifestyles are promoted all year long, we place special emphasis on tradition in March and this year our emphasis is on family nutrition. We know that if our people stop smoking, drink less, eat healthier and exercise more, much of our health care and social services needs will...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not aware of this specific situation, but if the Member could give me the details, I will make the commitment to look into that. If the transportation costs are cheaper and we can prove this, I think we should look at a way to incorporate that into the policy. Thank you.