Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It should be of no surprise that after hundreds of years of colonial governance, Indigenous communities struggle with our health care services and still do to this day. Our community has a long history of discriminatory practice such as forced sterilization, lack of acceptance for health and healing traditions, and this has fostered much fear and mistrust. This is compounded by the fact that their communities remain unserved by health and care services all while they suffer more than other populations from serious illness such as cancer due to contamination and pollution. It should therefore come as no surprise that they struggle to work with health care staff who often come from outside of the North, and they struggle too because they are often just as supported as the communities they are trying to serve.
In the last Assembly, improving cultural safety in our health care system and increase in services in our small communities was a big priority resulting in a report brought forward by the previous Minister which focused on providing the North with a culturally safety action plan. As a result, a cultural safety antiracism unit within the Department of Health and Social Services and Indigenous support staff at the office of the client experiences. However, my communities remain frustrated with a lack of community-based long-term care, northern-based addiction treatment and options, widespread midwifery services and recreation services for the youth. Now the Dene Nation has come forward with their own recommendations for this government to improve Indigenous health care. They are seeking the creation of a health care task force to ensure the development of strategies that are more responsive to the Dene people and their needs, provisions to provide health care workers with cultural training to enable them to understand and respect the values and beliefs and customs of the Dene people, an establishment of health care clinics in underserved areas where there is significant geographical barriers of lack of adequate and health infrastructure. The right of health care is for Indigenous nations, and this is a treaty right as the treaty included a clause to provide each community with a medicine chest. Today it feels like they're simply establishing more bureaucracy in the health care system and paying more administration to support Indigenous health care instead of honouring and responsibility provided in my communities with staff resources and strategies they need to live happier lives. Mr. Speaker, I would have questions for the Minister at the appropriate time. Mahsi.
Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Members' statements.
