Debates of August 21, 2007 (day 14)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, several months or weeks ago, I heard the federal government make an announcement on the patient wait guarantee time in Canada. I was quite delighted to hear about this, Mr. Speaker. I wasn’t too sure how the interpretation was going to be interpreted or how it was to be translated into our region. The way I looked at it is this region here I am talking about is the Sahtu region. Patients are guaranteed to wait for health services, Mr. Speaker. Patient wait guarantee time for us. We are asking again in terms of like the highway, in terms of other issues that we are looking at this government to start planning a regional wellness centre like any regional centres they have in the Northwest Territories. Put it high on their priority, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, our region here is being left out so many times that it is ludicrous when we go into a community like Tulita when we see the health centre where they have a sign that says Inuvik Regional Health Authority. Now, Mr. Speaker, three years ago the Sahtu assumed the authority of its own health services, yet they still haven’t changed that sign on the health centre, so we are far back. Some people call us the catch-up region, catch up on this and catch up on that. We always seem to be catching up on things, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that this government look at putting this agenda in terms of a regional wellness centre into our region. We deserve the same programs and services as other regions in the Northwest Territories. It is time to get it out of the medieval times of health care in the Sahtu and bring it up to modern standards like what kind of services they have in other regions in the Northwest Territories and put some real dollars and real cents and really look at the people in the hearts and the eyes in the Sahtu region and say you are no different than any other people in the other regions that deserve health care. Tell that to my people first and then start putting things into action. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause