Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The other day Mr. Richard Nerysoo was here, and I had a chance to speak to him. He’s the president of the Gwich’in Tribal Council. It’s always a pleasure to speak to him, because he always has a lot of wisdom and experience that he brings forward. I learn a lot when I speak to folks like him.
In our discussion this year we had a talk about the Gwich’in Wellness Camp, and I posed a question to him: would the Gwich’in folks be willing or interested if some type of discussion could be created between the Department of Health and them about having a treatment centre located at that fine establishment they’ve created just outside of Inuvik?
My question to the Minister of Health and Social Services is: would she be willing to open up some type of dialogue with the Gwich’in Tribal Council to maybe pursue this type of initiative so that we could have a treatment centre in the North where our money is invested back into our people in the North? Would she consider that type of dialogue and discussion with Richard Nerysoo and the Gwich’in Tribal Council?
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Absolutely, and I have been having that dialogue and discussion. I’ve had a meeting not only with Chief Nerysoo but also with a former president of the Gwich’in Tribal Council, Fred Carmichael. I’ve also met with health reps of the Gwich’in Tribal Council. I had a meeting with the staff at Gwich’in Wellness Centre when we were there. We do have an active proposal on my desk and in the department. We are working through to see how we could assist with the wellness centre in the next upcoming business plan.
Mr. Speaker, I was going to leave it at that, but just one thing did pique my interest when I talked to Mr. Nerysoo. He didn’t seem to portray that any dialogue was actually happening to that effect. So I would ask the Minister if she’d be willing to recontact President Richard Nerysoo on this matter just to make sure that everyone’s in the loop on this matter and that this initiative is going forward. Because as far as I’m concerned, helping people is the primary goal here, not where we’re helping people, and that’s why it’s important.
Yes, and I have been communicating also with the Member for Mackenzie Delta on this issue. I’m not sure if the wellness centre is looking for treatment programming. They have lots of creative ideas about how they want to use that facility, and the department is certainly there to assist them in any way it can.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
