Steve Norn

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. That's really good to know. Just to close out here, when somebody gets cut or hurt or breaks a bone, the Salvation Army offers first aid. You can administer first aid. Same thing with mental health. It's just as serious. I think this is something that needs to be looked at. I think the department should look at this hard because, right now, like I said in my Member's statement, we are very susceptible, all of us, and to take a serious look at that. We need to get these programs rolling out to the grassroots level everywhere and address this issue. Marsi cho.

Marsi cho for the response. In my Member's statement, too, I want to keep it really simple out there for those who are listening, as well. Marsi cho for that. I know that there are still times where people are referred to mental health specialists, i.e., counsellor or psychologist, and I just wanted to see what some of the average wait times are once that ball gets rolling.

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. This morning, when I woke up and got out of my vehicle, I had my speech all prepared for a business speech, but we have a business theme next week. Today I thought I would go off the script and speak from the heart with a message for the people. I thought about mental health, and I looked at the weather. It's going to be very cold this weekend, and it made me think about the Dene laws. One of the Dene laws states that we should always help each other. This weekend out there, if anybody in the public is out there and you see somebody who might be hurting or might be...

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I wanted to report back to the House about my recent constituency tour. I made it a clear point to visit all four communities in my riding just before Christmas, and I did just that within a two-week period. Aside from my home visits, some highlights were going out and supporting our arts and crafts programs in Ndilo, Dettah, and Deninu Kue, and I participated in an art program with my daughter Cicely in Ndilo that was facilitated through one of our local talents, Mr. John Rombough. Through all the hustle and bustle of this job, it was nice to sit, slow down, and create...

Marsi cho, Madam Chair. I move that the chair rise and report progress.

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. In line with my Member's statement, I worked with the Minister responsible for ECE, Minister Archie, and ENR Minister Thompson, and I want to thank them for all the information they gave me. So far, I am going back to the Taltson. From my understanding then, BC is denying responsibility, and that is fine. I was given a lot of raw data, and it could be interpreted a lot of different ways. My question now is for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. Can he give us an update on what, if any, preliminary findings are on the cause of the high water levels? Marsi...

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I would like to say welcome back to all of my colleagues, and happy belated new year's to my constituents and everybody else listening right now. I really hope that we have a meaningful and productive sitting this session.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to lead up with an event that frightened me and many of my constituents recently. This is the report of flooding in the Taltson River and Slave River areas. Just to lead this out, there was a phrase that my great-grandmother told me, and I want to have that in our thoughts when I say this. She told me that [English...

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. That's interesting. You're not going to hear the last of that from me, so I'm going to be probing a little more on that. My last question, and this is probably the most important. I had mentioned before, hunting and trapping 30 or 40 years ago helped to put food on tables for a lot of my constituents and a lot of people around the North. Historically, it used to be. Now, it supplements a lot of income, and there is still a loss of income here that happened as a result of this event. My last question is: Can the Minister advise on what financial supports are available...

Thank you for the response from the Minister. With that information, I will likely have some more questions in the form of a written question later on. I guess for my next question: Can the department provide scientific data from a neutral third party to provide an assessment of the overflow and flooding? Because I think it's important that we get information not just from a GNWT source but from an outside source to have a more unbiased look at what is happening.

Marsi cho, colleagues. Furthermore, another point I wanted to bring up was another question that came about when I did my research on this: How does the Transboundary Water Agreement play into this issue? This is a matter that I will delve into in another statement. With that, Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources at the appropriate time. Marsi cho.