Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Members of this House and the general public know that the Standing Committee on Social Programs is currently conducting a review of the Child and Family Services Act. I want to provide some of my comments on a very successful round of community consultations which committee undertook last month.
Over a period of three weeks, we visited 10 communities: Ndilo, Lutselk’e, Hay River, Fort Liard, Fort Simpson, Inuvik, Fort McPherson, Ulukhaktok, Tulita and Yellowknife. We held 10 town hall meetings. We had the opportunity to meet community leaders and discuss their concerns, to tour community facilities, schools, health centres, a library and a treatment centre to name a few.
We had the opportunity to support the local economy with our shopping. But more than that, the reason we were there in each community, we received input about the Child and Family Services Act, its effect on the lives of that community’s families and we heard suggestions from them on how the system could be improved or strengthened.
All the meetings were well attended, but especially so in Ulukhaktok. The Standing Committee on Social Programs was the first committee of the 16th Assembly to visit their community and they were thrilled. Some 10 percent of the community came out to the meeting to express their concerns about all manner of government programs and services. One little guy about three years old who watches the Assembly TV all the time knew all of our faces and names and spent the night going from one of us to the other saying hello over and over.
After the meeting, we were entertained by three young men, Justin Memogana, Chad Memogana, and Fred Kataoyak, who gave us an excellent demonstration of Inuit drumming, their skills learned from the late Jimmy Memogana. Even with 10 meetings in 10 different communities, it was intriguing and fascinating to me that each community meeting was different from every other one. The attendees varied every time, but we always had a very diverse group of concerned and dedicated people. In every case, we had excellent discussions.
I want to say thank you to all of the people we met during our tours; the cooks, the drivers, the people who spoke during the meetings, the community leaders we met with. You all contributed to the success of our consultations for this Child and Family Services Act review. We would not have learned as much as we did if not for your assistance.
I feel blessed to have had the chance to see parts of our Territory that I have not yet seen and to meet caring, committed residents working hard to better their communities. Thanks also go to the local MLAs who assisted us in their communities within their ridings and to the staff of the Department of Health and Social Services who accompanied us.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
I would like to thank everybody that helped us out and I hope our report, the product of our consultations, meets your expectations, responds to your concerns and improves the lives of you and your families. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
