Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recently in the media we’ve heard of an inquest that’s taking place in the Yukon with respect to the loss of five of their residents’ lives due to carbon monoxide poisoning.
This is a very real threat and it’s something that I think the Yukon government is going to respond to. I’d like to, later today, ask questions on how our government is going to respond to this threat.
Most of us know our homes to have either hardwired or have plugged-in smoke detectors, and this has become a very, very common practice, but less thought is given to the possibility of carbon monoxide poisoning.
When I was a child, I remember my parents had very close friends who both died in their home as a result of, I believe, squirrels had built a nest in their chimney over the summer months and when their furnace came back into operation in the fall, they were both found dead in the home. I remember that very vividly as a child.
About 20 years ago in Hay River, a very well-known couple in our community decided to put a mobile home on the outskirts of town and they were off the power grid. So they put a diesel generator under the mobile home to provide power to that unit. Many trips to the medical clinic with headaches and feeling of nausea did not help anybody find out what it was that was causing them to feel unwell until, unfortunately, the man succumbed to the carbon monoxide poisoning. His partner, who still lives in Hay River today, was able to be medevaced and survived this poisoning.
We as a government have put many measurements in place to support public safety, and I think that this is an area where we as a government also need to develop a policy. Perhaps all new construction of new homes require a carbon monoxide detector to be installed as part of the construction. Perhaps also a policy that would see the availability of carbon monoxide detectors for residential and commercial applications.
Later today I will have questions for the Minister responsible, and I’m not sure which one it will be, as to what our government’s action is going to be to curb this threat and any future loss of life for something that is so preventable. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.
