Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This July an email was sent to the Department of Health and Social Services. Seven GNWT employees were included on that email. One of them in particular, Mr. Speaker, was the CEO of NT Health and Social Services so I know the department has it at the toppest -- sorry, at the top of the highest officials we have.
Mr. Speaker, I won't name the particular facility, but it was highlighting something very serious. The subject matter in part reads: Urgent, child and youth safety concerns at... I won't fill in the rest. And the email then begins, Mr. Speaker -- and I take a small excerpt out of it. It says, I am writing to you today with a serious concern, safety risk to children and youth that are occurring.
Mr. Speaker, now when it comes to our most vulnerable, whether it's our youth, whether it's our elderly, or those who require special supports, I think it's fair to say all hands-on deck is the right approach. It's not only warranted; it's demanded, Mr. Speaker. So I know this email was received by the CEO, Mr. Speaker, and it highlights in the email that there may be human rights issues, abuse, and neglect. Mr. Speaker, I repeat myself. There may be human rights issues, abuse, and neglect. In that email, it had several items attached that the concerned citizen brought forward and citing as this is information you may need.
Mr. Speaker, this is quite distressing for someone like myself because thinking about our most vulnerable may be trapped in a particular situation and, more so, it bothers me that the department may be taking a lackadaisical approach on how to investigate this and furthermore demonstrates some level of transparency to these concerns. I don't know if they're facts, but they're concerned enough to put them in writing to the department, Mr. Speaker. That should be a minimum standard, a standard of saying maybe we should look into this. At the same time, this also provides those in the system to clarify any concerns. They may be a misunderstanding but I'm not the person to judge.
Now this narrative, Mr. Speaker, I highlight does cause further concerns. I go back, human rights, abuse, and neglect.
There is disclosure rules under the Child and Family Services Act, Mr. Speaker, but it does seem to read pretty silent when it comes to reporting these to the RCMP. So, Mr. Speaker, to help us avoid lifelong -- the lifelong journey of despair and trauma of individuals, I'll be asking the Minister about when the RCMP should be playing a role on this particular concern highlighted. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Members' statements.
