Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to update the House on the progress being made to advance the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway Project. This winter we plan to begin constructing the final link between the NWT highway system and the Arctic Coast community of Tuktoyaktuk. This all-weather highway will be constructed in one of Canada’s most challenging environments.
The Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk highway is a legacy project of this government that will help reduce the high cost of living in our most northerly region and will assist in opening up new economic development and tourism opportunities for residents of the Inuvik region and the Northwest Territories.
On behalf of the people of the NWT, I would like to thank the federal government for their funding support for this project. Thanks to the Prime Minister’s vision of establishing Canada’s first permanent road to the Arctic Coast, and the strong support of the Members of this House, we have established a strong partnership arrangement to fund construction of this important new section of NWT highway. The project will produce significant employment opportunities for area residents and will assist to develop new workplace skills that may be applied to future projects at other NWT locations.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report that the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway Project is proceeding according to the plan. We anticipate receiving the necessary water licence, land use permits and
fisheries authorization to begin constructing the new highway in December 2013.
A significant amount of work had to be completed before achieving this milestone. The Department of Transportation staff and consultants have been dedicated to the project for the last four years to produce volumes of studies, geotechnical investigations, design work and environmental management plans. The department held numerous consultations with regulators, stakeholders and co-management groups, leading to commitments under 12 management plans and over 250 commitments to the Environmental Impact Review Board.
The final geometric design and the individual designs for the 68 watercourse crossing structures for the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk highway are complete. These detailed designs include special innovative engineering features to preserve the sensitive permafrost in the region and to ensure the quantity and quality in the adjacent water bodies.
Over the past year the department has been working successfully with a regional contracting company to begin upgrading Navy Road in Inuvik and the Source 177 access road south of Tuktoyaktuk to enable efficient construction of the highway over the next three winters. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report that this contracting approach has resulted in significant employment and work for many contractors and service providers in the Inuvik region. Over 10,500 person days of employment were secured by NWT residents.
The department has also advanced several other initiatives to maximize oversight and stakeholder engagement on the project. The Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Corridor Working Group will hold its first meeting on November 5th in Inuvik to discuss the first year of construction. This working group consists of 12 regional and government stakeholder groups dedicated to sharing perspectives on how to improve the effectiveness of construction activities and to how to minimize adverse effects on the land, water and wildlife.
Coordination and collaboration of efforts by government is very important in a public project of this size. The department is contributing to establish a project coordination office in Tuktoyaktuk and partially funding a career development officer in Inuvik. It’s important that we work closely with our colleagues in the Department of Education, Culture and Employment and Aurora College to train local residents so they may participate meaningfully in this construction project and develop new skills improving their ability to secure future jobs in the NWT. The first driver training program toward a Class 1 driver’s licence with air brakes is scheduled to begin in mid-November in Inuvik.
We are also working closely with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and regional management stakeholders to ensure wildlife and the environment are properly protected as the project is being delivered.
Mr. Speaker, as we ready ourselves to begin constructing the northern-most section of the Mackenzie Valley Highway, planning work is also moving ahead for the southern portion of the highway from Fort Good Hope to Wrigley. We are closely monitoring the construction schedule and budget and this is on track.
The department is working closely with Aboriginal and community stakeholders along the Mackenzie Valley corridor to ensure the planning, design, construction and operation of the permanent highway will meet the needs and expectations of NWT residents and businesses.
The Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board held public meetings in Mackenzie Valley communities in September to determine the scope of the project developers’ assessment report. The government continues to discuss the project with stakeholders throughout the Mackenzie Valley to gain valuable perspectives from the people who will be most affected by its construction.
Work is also proceeding to complete the collection of essential baseline data along the Mackenzie Valley corridor to support and initiate the required business case for the project to leverage federal funding and meet the requirements of the project’s environmental review.
I will continue to provide Members with regular updates on our progress to advance the entire Mackenzie Valley Highway from Wrigley to Tuktoyaktuk. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The guiding principles of the 17th Legislative Assembly clearly state that under extraordinary circumstances, Members of the Legislative Assembly should have the opportunity to discuss significant announcements, changes or initiatives before they are released to public. Unfortunately, it appears that the Minister of Health and Social Services and his entire department failed to dust off these principles, as numerous cavalier actions took place during the summer months that affected our dealings with addictions and health governance. Of course, Mr. Speaker, I’m talking about the closure of our only residential treatment facility and the removal of the Deh Cho Health Authority.
You might see a little theme happening here today and I would like to set the stage by reading some excerpts from a government document. “The greatest problem facing the people of the Northwest Territories in the year 2002 is addiction of substances such as alcohol, nicotine and marijuana, and addiction to problem gambling.” It goes on to say, “Improved economic opportunities as a result of oil, gas and mineral exploration have done little to decrease the incidence of addictions in the year 2002. Many problems related to addictions remain prevalent.”
These excerpts come from a document, entitled A State of Emergency: A Report on the Delivery of Addiction Services in the NWT. If, back in 2002, addictions were declared a state of emergency, sadly, in 2013, we must now be at a state of Armageddon. Ironically, if one didn’t know any better, this 2002 document mirrors many of the current documents such as our Shared Path Towards Wellness, Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan 2012-15 and the recent Forum on Addictions.
My point is that we are plagued with study after study after study and still we are no further ahead than we were decades ago. We have a way of repeating the scabs of our past and it is painfully obvious that we attempt to recycle failed directions and repeated patterns. This pattern of activity needs to stop, Mr. Speaker.
The compass waypoints that this Department of Health and Social Services are using have been changing constantly. Until we put serious dollars into quality programs and strategic infrastructure to deal with these issues, we will lose the fight to addictions. History has taught us this lesson more than once, yet it appears we are too stubborn to listen.
As a Member of this House and a Member of the Standing Committee on Social Programs, all I ask the Department of Health and Social Services and its Minister is to…
I ask for unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Thank you.
---Unanimous consent granted
All I ask the Department of Health and Social Services and its Minister is to select one proven pathway for addiction treatment, stop shooting from the hip, put the right amount of dollars to address the needs of all Northerners, not just a select few, and stop changing your minds every couple years. That’s it. Simple. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Mr. Speaker, I do not believe we have ever given consideration of a fully supported alcohol and drug addiction treatment centre the attention it deserves. We need thorough, informed debate to examine the pros and cons leading to a clear, evidenced-based decision and commitment to act.
Ministers have frequently said they are considering various forms of treatment. We’ve played regional politics, closing one centre to open one in another region, only to close it a few years later and never providing the support and oversight needed.
We need to remember that beating an addiction is not like going to the hospital because you cut your finger. Beating an addiction is one of the most difficult things a person can do in their lives. We need to treat the issue with the respect it deserves.
The recent Minister’s Forum on Addictions was a respectful process and many people made the effort to express their views. Action taken so far by this government does not match that effort and many people are disappointed. Closing the only NWT addictions treatment centre was a shock. Though, in my mind, not unwarranted, it was poorly communicated. Hiring a coordinator to try to figure out what an on-the-land process might look like is a beginning, but does not, again, meet the people’s expectations.
Let’s take the momentum that the Minister’s Forum initiated and springboard to a clear assessment and debate on what a comprehensive treatment centre can do or not. Let’s set a timeline, do the research and commit to making a decision to pursue a centre or abandon the idea and focus elsewhere. Let’s not bury this potentially critical and currently festering question as a potential action and a Mental Health Strategy that we hope to do someday. Enough dithering, pose the question, encourage research and debate to answer it, make a decision and move on.
In the past I have suggested a promising but modestly tested treatment model developed in the Yukon that showed real evidence of success, which relies, to some degree, on a treatment centre. Other jurisdictions may have programs we can adapt and base in the North as well. I’m not talking some point in the future. Let’s have the Minister of Health come forward during this session and announce a timeline to make this final assessment. While on-the-land treatment is going ahead and I don’t want to detract from that, we should not be making this up as we go along. We need to look at the latest research and make an objective and soundly based decision on whether or not a treatment centre is a necessary part of our treatment program in the NWT.
We need to put as much resolve into this as we are asking from those who are trying to break their addictions. Let’s get it done. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For years the mental health worker position in Fort Liard has been filled by temporary contract workers. Residents are tired of professional staff turnover at the Deh Cho Health and Social Services office in Fort Liard. They’re always dealing with inconsistent service delivery.
It’s hard enough to build trust and to share painful, intimate details and it’s harder still when you’re constantly facing someone new. Getting help with your mental health isn’t like getting your car repaired or your house painted. Residents need dedicated, full-time mental health workers who can provide a complete range of referrals and treatment options.
It’s great to see the government making headway with its Regional Recruitment Program, but here’s the tricky part: The Department of Health and Social Services now handles its own recruiting, so finding full-time health care workers in places like Fort Liard is outside the mandate of the Regional Recruitment Program.
It’s difficult to untangle the reasons for high staff turnover. One factor isn’t specific to the North; there is a nationwide shortage of health care professionals. Another factor is leadership. Evidence clearly shows that people don’t stay in jobs if they don’t have strong leadership. This should be on the government’s radar as it tackles health care governance. There’s also the question of competitive benefits and training opportunities.
These are proven ways to build capacity and keep staff engaged and upbeat. These are smart ways of heading off the constant staff turnover.
The final consideration is that work done by health care professionals in the small communities often leads to burnout. This government isn’t doing enough to find seasoned employees and professional couples who are genuinely able to handle the intensive workload and make a commitment.
Residents in my communities want this government to build a strong and steady northern workforce. Quite frankly, there’s no greater urgency than in the area of mental health and addictions. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On June 12, 2012, the Minister of Health and Social Services tabled the Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan 2012-2015. One year later, June 3, 2013, the Minister’s Forum on Addiction and Community Wellness Healing Voices report was tabled.
A year ago, as the Minister was setting up this forum, I rose in this House and I complained about the lack of action on the issue of addictions by the Department of Health and Social Services. I felt that the Minister should be taking action, not consulting. Now, one year later, I’m again complaining about the lack of action on addictions and community wellness.
Five months ago a very comprehensive forum report was received. It makes 33 primary recommendations and 34 secondary recommendations. But since June, what has the Health and Social Services department put in place to work on addictions problems, to take action on some of these 67 recommendations? Not much, from what I can tell.
Well, there has been some action. The Minister has closed the only treatment centre in the NWT, but we have yet to see any northern treatment programs to replace what has been lost, even though those treatment programs are called for in the forum report.
Addictions, drugs and alcohol are huge afflictions for our territory. We all know that. We knew that a year and a half ago when the 2012-15 action plan was tabled. We knew it a year ago when the Minister’s Forum was set up. We knew it five months ago when the forum results were tabled, and we know it now as Members all speak to the problem. What has changed in the last 18 months? What progress has been made to attack the issue of addictions?
It’s well known that our jails are mostly populated by inmates who are there because their addictions led them to break the law. It’s well known that family violence in the NWT is associated with, and the result of, alcohol and drug abuse. I’ve previously called alcohol a scourge on NWT society. It still is. Unfortunately, I see little improvement in alcohol and drug treatment and prevention programs from the first time I stood in this House to address the issue.
As we will hear later today, the Standing Committee on Government Operations, while consulting on the Liquor Act, heard story after story of the negative impact of alcohol and drugs on Sahtu communities. Everywhere in the NWT, our residents are asking for help with the effect of addictions on their lives.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Everywhere in the NWT our residents are asking for help with the effect of addictions on their lives. What is the government actually doing about this? Very little, from what I can see. We have to stop talking and start doing.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You’re hearing that there’s a theme here today, and we’re speaking about mental health and addictions in the Northwest Territories. It’s a sad day that we have to speak about this again. I think this is our second or third time that we’ve come to this government talking about the importance of getting a treatment centre or getting some kind of programs in place for people that are battling addictions and have no place to turn except go down south without the support of their family and their friends.
I’ve spoken up in this House before, where I’ve talked about reports that have been shelved. A lot of people have done good work for these reports that have been shelved and no action has been taken to them. I looked on the website dating back to 2002, looking at some recommendations that came out of that report, which was, back then, entitled, A State of Emergency. Back in 2002 it was an emergency then and it’s an emergency now. We’re getting into more and more worst-case scenarios that are happening in the NWT. All you have to do is look at the coroner’s reports of the last few years and all the deaths that have occurred that were alcohol related.
Back in 2002 there were recommendations looking for medical detox services across the Territories, yet, we still don’t have any. There was also talk about having mobile treatment back in 2002, and yet we have to spend all this money to go out to hear it again in 2013. They also talked about youth in crisis and affecting working with our youth. Our youth are in crisis. Speaking of reports, there was another report in the last Assembly, called Forging the Future, where our young leaders, our youth leaders brought to this government two recommendations. One of those recommendations was the recommendation for a youth treatment centre, and yet we don’t see any action taken on that.
This government has been doing a lot of investment in a lot of different areas in the short time that we’ve all been here together in the 17th Legislative Assembly, but we’ve got to start looking at investing in our biggest and our greatest resource in the NWT, and that’s our people. We have to start investing in our people and making them healthy. We want a healthy economy, but we have to have healthy people. When we get more money and continue to allow these oil and gas companies to come in and do work, we’re not meeting the needs, because our people aren’t healthy to work in those companies. It’s about time we should start investing in our people and get them healthy so that they can be part of society and be part of the workforce.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, want to speak on this topic here. Someone told me that quitting addictions, quitting alcohol is easy. Staying sober or staying free from that is challenging. Also, somebody told me that when you overcome your own addictions, it is very, very difficult and our greatest battle starts with ourselves.
We have to clearly acknowledge our fears and be willing to follow certain prescribed remedies to stay free of our addictions. Countless men and women I have known have gotten and stayed sober and clear of addictions. Some of them may wonder how they did this. Well, I have also heard that each of us, within us, have our own solutions, our own methods of resolving our own issues in life, and I say good for them, pass it on. Others need mentors and supports for them to be there, to guide them as they walk this road. Of course, there are the treatment programs. There are some that provide some relief for people to go to look at their issues with addictions and the impact that has caused them in their life.
We have heard people in the Sahtu, as my colleague Ms. Bisaro said, talk about the impacts of alcohol addiction. We have seen people and heard people who want to sober up and be free of addiction, people who want to have healthy families and live in healthy communities. People are asking for support for themselves and their families. We can, as legislators, be there for them, make a difference in life by saying no to addictions.
I call upon this government to implement recommendations from the Minister’s Forum on Addictions that was over the last summer that they went through. I will ask the Minister of Health as to the follow-up on the recommendations to the report. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Obviously, we are having a theme day on addictions. Addictions is one of the most challenging and perplexing issues that faces the North. Substance abuse permeates every health indicator that we claim. Addiction shows itself in our institutions of education, our corrections, in court facilities, our health facilities and in just about every other social indicator that we could possibly list.
Addictions are robbing many of our residents of their potential, their dignity, their valued relationships, and trapping them in the throes of poverty, low self-esteem, and often depression and anxiety. As my colleague from Range Lake has stated, enough studies. Enough platitudes. Enough political correctness. There is a thief in our midst. There was an international outcry of the global community when they drew the line on the weapons of mass destruction that we heard about so much in the media recently.
I would tell you that the addictions that are trapping and slaving the people of the Northwest Territories and killing and debilitating our people, young and old, has gone on too long. It is mass destruction. If a force from without was inflicting these conditions on our people, we would mount the biggest public safety laws, harm and loss reduction laws. We might even call in the military if this was something that was coming from without, but this is something that’s coming from within. Largely under the radar, we continue to grow accustomed and acclimatized to the ravages of addictions.
If what we have done in the past isn’t working, it is time to think outside the proverbial box. It’s time to sound the alarm, as my colleague Mr. Moses said. It is time to call this what it is. It is a crisis. It is an emergency. How many accidents, how many drownings, how many assaults, how many deaths, how many family break-ups, how many more statistics of all of these things are we going to, as legislators, stand by and observe and not do something radical to try and address this in our communities and in our North?
Later today I will have some questions with some ideas for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. An on-the-land program has been mentioned many times in this House. It is important we understand what communities view as on-the-land programs, which is using the land to heal ourselves, living upon the strengths of local traditional knowledge and also healing philosophies.
I’m concerned that this government, in the great spirit of devolution, is offloading responsibilities to communities and leaving the crises of addictions services to communities. I understand there are some successful initiatives in some communities. In the small communities, we are challenged with local capacity. I encourage the Department of Health and Social Services to not abandon our communities. I strongly recommend that this government work closely with local communities such as interagency groups and also with local organizations.
In Fort Providence there is a very special place called T’elemie, which is the site of the local healing lodge. It was built in 1996. The facility was developed by local leaders and people who envisioned helping their people with alcohol and drug addictions. The location is about 20 minutes from Fort Providence. With an arbour and encircled by sleeping cabins, the T’elemie Healing Lodge has been extensively used by the Residential School Society, local school and friendship centre. The T’elemie Healing Lodge is the place for meeting and gathering for the local community. It represents the symbol of community resourcefulness.
I have asked the Department of Health and Social Services what is an on-the-land program. To that, I was told it is really up to the communities. So I have gathered what I think is an on-the-land program. It’s somewhere in the bush, on the land, the water, with animals and nature. It relies on the power of nature and the environment as the healing elements. It also has a facility and it’s accessible. The program will be designed and implemented and also, at the same time, monitored and evaluated. It’s based on healing and also the recovery philosophy and also on the alcohol and drug philosophy, also on the Dene and on-the-land philosophy. It also features individual and group counselling.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Mahsi.
---Unanimous consent granted
Mr. Speaker, the on-the-land program will also feature a 30-day program or something like that, with preparation and follow-up. It will also provide counselling, and counsellors will have safety measures in place and also, perhaps, a coordinating body. I hope the Department of Health and Social Services will provide leadership and immediately begin working with communities. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think everyone knows how I feel about this particular issue but, just in case someone hasn’t heard, I’m certainly willing to share it, once again, in this Assembly.
How far have we carried this message of addictions and the need for action? Study after study keeps telling us the same things our Minister’s Forum on Addictions keeps telling us. What have we learned? We’ve learned the same things over and over again, yet we’ve realized nothing.
What we have realized is we’ve seen the closure of the Nats’ejee K’eh. That was a bombshell. That was a shocker to every single person who was caught by surprise.
I’m mad that that happened. You know what? I’m very upset that that happened. I’ve always said that there was a place in our North for that particular facility, and anyone who would shut that down has done an insult to the treatment of the addictions. I’ll tell you why. This story doesn’t end there. If you go to the Forum on Addictions recommendations, the forum says they’ve heard repeatedly that residential treatment centres, such as Hay River’s Nats’ejee K’eh Centre, are important and they need some changes and they need some help.
The Forum on Addictions panel was a waste of time if it just gets shut down. Why did we even bother? People know how I feel about this particular issue. We need to do something.
We heard recently: If you had a broken arm, what would happen? We’d send you to the hospital, because you deserve treatment, you need treatment. If you have a mental health and addictions problem, where do we send you? My answer drove silence, and that’s the problem.
What has the public learned from this? Their government continues to ignore their issues, people feel lost and helpless, and the fact is homes and good families are being destroyed. I’ve talked and characterized addictions like a cancer, watching people fall apart, families be destroyed. If this government was writing its story, I would call it a narrative. I would certainly describe it more of a tragedy than any hope or inspiration.
Do not give up on our people. Do not give up on the fight for addictions. We need to be relentless every day. We will be back every day, if necessary, because this problem matters and we need action. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I applaud all the Members here talking about drugs and alcohol, addictions and facilities. This summer we definitely were frustrated with the process that was in place from the closure of the only drug and alcohol facility in the Northwest Territories. This affected three MLAs, the Member for Deh Cho and the two main Members from Hay River.
There were six positions at K’atlodeeche and eight from Hay River. Those people were in the community. Those were people that were given very short notice that their jobs were done. There are 14 families that have been affected by this closure, and that’s not answering any of the addictions issues that we have in the Northwest Territories, as my colleagues just mentioned.
I have no problem and I don’t disagree that in some instances on-the-land programs work. Youth definitely need support. The difficulty is how this information was given to us. We sit here as MLAs on a steady basis going to meeting after meeting, discussing issues a year in advance of what we’re going to do, and we get notice a week before the actual closure of the facility was going to happen.
The three MLAs that were affected have been asked on a daily basis for the last three or four months since the closure, where were you guys in supporting this. Did you guys support this? Why didn’t you guys say something to the community? Because we got sideswiped. The department, the Minister sideswiped us. You know, shame on the government for doing this to us. My colleagues here in Social Programs have spent hours discussing this and they were told last minute as well.
I understand that the closure is complete, but this government has to come up with a solution. What is going to happen to that facility? Is that facility going to be mothballed and another facility that’s closed throughout the Territories is never used when we’re sending people from the Northwest Territories to the South again? Don’t we have a solution that we can do in house, in the Northwest Territories? We promote this as business, we promote this on a steady basis that we want to do things in the North. Why didn’t the department, when they decided to close this facility, have a solution for the use of that facility?
The problem is larger than that. What is happening with other addictions like cocaine, solvents and prescription drugs? The department has no solutions, yet they’re willing to close the facility as a kneejerk reaction.
It’s a shame for the government to do this and I do not appreciate it. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This Assembly needs to prioritize the importance of our community members who wish to take programs to help themselves and their families to live a healthier lifestyle. The recent shutdown of the Nats’ejee K’eh Centre in Hay River has caused great concern for Northerners. As a result, clients are now looking at similar programs in the South.
Clients who wish to lead sober lives and who wish to go for treatment and counselling services should be given the highest priority. Rather, they are told to stay sober for one month and then we’ll send you to treatment. In most cases, some clients need help as soon as possible and have a hard time leading that one-month sobriety.
My concern is that we lose too many of our people to alcohol and drugs, and if we can help them when they need that extra support, we should be looking at alternative methods and getting them the help that they wish to receive.
I’d like to go back in history. In the late ‘70s there was an alcohol centre established in Fort McPherson. The founding members took it upon themselves to go through an alcohol and drug treatment program in Alberta and went on to get further training so that they, in turn, could help members of their community. The success rate of the community programs that were offered in the 1980s is extremely high. We have many of our community members in each of our ridings that have 20, 30 and 40 years of sobriety. Similar programs are being practised in some of our communities through various funding organizations, but we all know funds are limited and come with criteria. We need to sit down and analyse what’s working and what’s not working.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure to recognize in this House again, my partner, Lucyanne, step-daughter Brittany Jewel, and a big special welcome to my daughter, Deidra Villeneuve.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to recognize Lucyanne and Brittany Kendo, originally from Tsiigehtchic.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. I would like to welcome everybody here today. Thank you for taking the time and taking in our proceedings here today in the House.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to recognize two distinguished couples, Andrew John and Marie Therese Kenny and John and Camilla Tutcho, who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversaries on September 23rd in Deline.
These two couples are well respected throughout the Sahtu communities and the North for their traditional knowledge and traditional contributions to our youth.
On behalf of the Sahtu, I’d like to congratulate them and wish them a continuous lifetime of happiness. Mahsi cho to their children and grandchildren.
