Today I want to talk about the high cost of living in the communities of Nunakput and the devastating effect it’s having on my elders. I watch elders at the store in Tuk struggling to pay for their groceries. I help out when I can, Mr. Speaker, but I can only afford occasional bags of groceries that will only last an elder a day or two. The situation is only going to get worse as these same elders will soon have to pay higher bills for their home heating fuel and their electricity.
We are failing as a government. We have encouraged the people to move into their homes, and now, with all the increases in heating fuel and electricity costs, they will be unable to meet their mortgages or, in cases of elders on fixed incomes, to afford proper nutritional foods. With the high cost of gas for snowmobiles, to go out on the land for traditional food, it is very prohibitive. If you go out and you get skunked, you really have to question whether you should have gone out or just spent the money at the grocery store.
My people have always shared. Many people give elders meat and fish whenever they can. But I have to admit that if you have to spend $300 in gas and you only get one caribou, you might not be inclined to share with elders that you are not directly related to. That’s human nature. Even the people with high paying jobs are hard pressed to afford to go out on the land and harvest traditional foods.
In my mind, all the initiatives, all the special ministerial committees, all the proposed tax increases really don’t matter if we can’t make sure our elders and families have a comfortable place to live and enough to eat. To the Ministers on the other side, you are going to become very familiar with me over the next three years. I have been here for a year now. I have not yet seen much happen to benefit the people I represent, and that’s going to change. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
