Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It has been a tough six months for our territory. We have lost many of our residents to illnesses, accidents, desperation and old age. We had one recently, as you mentioned earlier. Some we have lost years before their time; some a bit before their time; and some who left us after a life well lived. All had contributions yet to be made. We will miss each and every one. My heart goes out to the families and the friends of each of them.
The circumstances around each death were different, but one death here in Yellowknife was particularly troubling to many of us. A constituent reflected on that death and on another one, as well, and shared the following: “A few thoughts post-demise of two Inuit women: The lack of culturally relevant services in Yellowknife may be a factor in our failure to effectively assist these women who resorted to desperate acts and ended their lives. In Yellowknife, the locus of control for services to women at risk to harm themselves or others is not within the culture of these clients. Services are provided by Caucasians with political savvy and proposal writing skills. Nunavut is focusing on both language and cultural aspects in these sensitive and difficult areas of service provision. Maybe there needs to be a reallocation of government funds to ensure services are as culturally relevant as possible.”
I read that comment and it struck a chord with me. We are blessed with great diversity in our territory and in the North, but that diversity is also an impediment. Our service providers often must deal with people from different cultures, speaking different languages. They do their best, but do we provide them with the necessary training so they are comfortable in their job, comfortable dealing with our diverse population?
People do not always make the effort to understand each other, to accept our differences. It is human nature to take the easy way out, especially if we have no background training or knowledge to help us understand a different culture. As a government, we have to recognize that failing and do something about it.
The RCMP announced recently that they will establish an Aboriginal Advisory Committee here in the NWT. I applaud that move. How we treat each other depends on how well we understand each other. We cannot understand and treat the actions of someone who is not like us, without some effort. That the RCMP has recognized that and is willing to take action to correct the situation is good news.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
For a start, the RCMP wants their members to learn local culture, meet with chief and council and attend a feast soon after they arrive in the community. For our part, the GNWT has to do something similar. We have to recognize the diversity of the clients we provide services for. We have to then educate and train our service providers so they understand the diversity and the different cultures that make up our great territory so our service providers can understand why a client acts as they do and provide service that is as culturally relevant as possible.
If we don’t, as my constituents powerfully stated, the carnage will continue. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Colleagues, before we go on I’d like to welcome back former Member, Minister, Premier, Mr. Jim Antoine, into the House. Welcome.
---Applause
The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
