Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Programs and services are fundamental to saving our vibrant communities. To have healthy communities we must have programs and services in place in all 33 communities in the Northwest Territories so that all our children can grow up healthy, elders can retire in their home communities and not have to worry about being sent away, people can find work in their communities and raise their families, and also apply for support to local economies to support them.
Not having programs and services gives us a situation where we have have and have-not communities when it comes to programs and services. That must stop.
In every community the fundamental pillar for community self-reliance is programs, services, and ensuring that the well-being of the residents are taken care of, regardless whether it’s the aged, the ill, and the young children, so that the programs and services we deliver throughout the territory are universal, you can get a program in Tsiigehtchic similar to a program in Yellowknife.
Programs are what make communities. Without having the proper resources in place for programs and services, we have some 30 percent of communities in the Northwest Territories that don’t have wellness programs, nursing programs, policing services. Thirty percent. That has to stop. Without programs and services in all communities, core services are being delivered in the have communities and the have-not communities are suffering because of it. We must stop this practice and give all residents of the Northwest Territories the proper services and programs they require to live meaningful lives, live in the communities that they come from, and not be stuck in the situation of which community is vibrant and which one is not. We have to ensure essential services are delivered in all our communities and they do meet the requirements that the residents require.
At the appropriate time I will have questions for the Minister of Health.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, want to speak for the small communities I represent in the Sahtu.
Mr. Speaker, the community of Colville Lake, like Tsiigehtchic, Gameti, Sachs Harbour and some other smaller communities in the North, is in desperate need of fair services in their community. Mr. Speaker, I was reading a note this morning from Colville Lake from last year, and these elders were talking about fair access to nurses in health care centres. These two elders stated that when they went to the hospital, because these other people in the community that are trained mainly as the CHRs are less qualified, they gave them apples and oranges and told them to come back when they were feeling better. Later on the nurse came in from Fort Good Hope and they looked after them.
They’re saying why is it that we can’t get a nurse to spend a week or longer, because these other people, they’re not qualified to go any further than dispense Tylenol or other kinds of pills, and they really can’t diagnose any type of sickness.
My people need help in our communities. We need to start there. First things first with our education, with our justice, with our health; we need to start there, Mr. Speaker. This government needs to know that there are about 10 communities without an RCMP presence in their communities. We have other communities that have RCMP so it’s not an issue for them. In the Sahtu we need nurses. It’s an issue. We need midwifery in our communities. We’ve done that before and we can do it again. Let’s go back to our people and let’s show them that they’re the ones who take control. Let’s help them.
I will have questions for the Minister after, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
