Debates of October 30, 2024 (day 35)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to talk about the issue I have raised in the past which is promotion of health and well-being for residents in our small communities. Mr. Speaker, our government has a mandate to deliver health promotion programming to residents to ensure that our population is educated and can make healthy choices in a variety of areas such as quitting smoking, injury prevention, healthy eating, staying active, sexual health, and education around substance use.

Across the territory, and especially in small communities, we have high rates of alcohol use, smoking, chronic disease, and sexually transmitted diseases for example. It's important that people know what resources are available for education purposes. There should be campaigns that reach our youth, adults, elders so that they are aware of health issues, their risks, and how to prevent or manage these. In small communities, this can be done through community outreach, through radio announcements, culturally relevant material, any resources that can reach out to the population, rather than waiting for health issues and disease to develop which will require care in a health facility and ultimately cost this government.

I would like to see a healthy informed and thriving population in the communities I serve. I would like my constituents to have the information and resources required to make healthy decisions, decisions around substance consumption, nutrition, and sexual health. I am concerned that in my riding not enough has been done to promote health and keep residents healthy. There isn't enough information getting out there to the people. My worries that the people need to know that just because they aren't hearing about certain health risks or issues doesn't mean it isn't there. They may be at risk and just don't know it. Health promotion keeps people healthy as well as their families and ultimately our communities. I will have questions for the Minister of health later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from the Deh Cho. Members' statements. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.