Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m reminded by one of our great leaders from the United States, Chief Sitting Bull, he said, at one of his council meetings to his chiefs, “Let us put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children.” I was reminded of that a couple of days ago when I had a meeting with the elders in Fort Good Hope, who sat around the table one morning and they were very, very concerned about our youth today.
Mrs. Groenewegen spoke a little bit about what the elders were talking about: the diet in the younger people with pop and chips and chocolate bars and fast food. Their diet is changing and we’re seeing more youth sickness in the communities. The elders are very, very concerned about the youth and what type of life we’re setting for them, because there aren’t very many elders in the Northwest Territories.
The elders were talking about our close connection to the land and how our land provides for us, but somehow as people in the communities we’re missing the point of teaching our youth about life. They’re even concerned that youth at 12, 13 years old are drinking now in our communities. That’s going to cause a lot of concern. So our elders were saying that we have to do something.
Even our land is changing, our land is telling us something. There are lots of issues around their concerns about the pollutants in the land and the chemicals that are going into the water. If we don’t do anything, our people are going to have a hard time in the future. It has been prophesized by the elders in Deline, Tulita and right down the Mackenzie Valley. Elders are talking about how different our world is going to be if we don’t smarten up.
So I want to ask the Minister responsible for Seniors as to what type of programs or what types of things can be done to bring our elders together to talk to us and have a meeting with the youth, and to look at ways that we can help ourselves, such as the addictions forums that he’s going to look at in the next year. So I will ask those questions of the Minister. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
