David Krutko

Mr. Speaker, as I stated, we cannot use the...(inaudible)...law of the land by way of having a ministerial decision made that is imposed on the people that have depended on subsistence for years. Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time I will be asking the Minister some questions around this matter in regard to the legal authority that he made this decision on, what legislative tool was used and exactly what instrument of law, of authority, of powers, where did it come from? Thank you.

I’d just like to thank the Minister for that and I think that news maybe should go out by way of a press release, because I think there’s a lot of other people out there that would like to hear that announcement and know that action is being taken in this area. So maybe you’ve got a good news story tomorrow. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I at this time would like to rein in regarding the caribou issue. I believe for one involved in the land claims negotiations going back 15 or 20 years, I think this was the fundamental element of the Dene-Métis claim; realizing that they wanted more than just hunting rights. They wanted to have the ability to manage the wildlife, manage the forest, manage the resources through an instrument like a land claim to ensure that they do have the tools to be included, be able to consult with their members and, more importantly, to be involved in the decision-making of policies...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. If I can, I wanted to talk about the orthodontist physician in Inuvik. I am wondering if it is okay to do it under this page or should we go back to page 8-16?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that the committee strongly recommend that the Department of Health and Social Services take immediate action to establish a full-time nurse in the charter community of Tsiigehtchic. Thank you Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, this government has tried to take strides in accommodating small communities by implementing health care providers in different areas; mental health position, alcohol and drug position, social worker. Nowhere does it say that you can have people in a community working in similar areas, so that you do have more than one person in the community. That doesn’t say you have to have two nurses. You could have a nurse and a mental health worker, a nurse and a social worker working out of the same office or same operation. But I think if you use the argument the...

There’s not too much to say. I know the Minister has the information that I mentioned. There is that documentation that I can probably table here in the House, which illustrates the 126 elders in Fort McPherson from the age of 60 to 97. I think, if you’re talking demographics, that’s definitely showing you that almost 20 percent of the population in Fort McPherson is within that category. I think that is a large number and I think even the Gwich’in Tribal Council and the organization in Inuvik were surprised when they realized the number of seniors that we do have in Fort McPherson. With that...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. In regard to the area of community health nursing, I know you’ve heard me many, many times talk about the nursing situation in Tsiigehtchic and I think that there’s motions passed, like I said, in the Gwich’in assemblies, passed in the Dene assemblies and this issue has always been an issue in regards to the health and the well-being of the community.

Like I stated earlier, if you look at the budgets going back to 1998-99, prior to division, if you look at all the smaller communities, you can see the amounts of dollars that were spent in regard to the different care, from...

With that, I’d like to move a motion and suggest that they consider Fort McPherson for a permanent long-term care facility, in light of the 120 seniors we have over the age of 60. I can state that there is a definite need. Mr. Chair, I’d like to move a motion.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize the chief from Inuvik, Herb Blake, and also the president of the Gwich’in Development Corporation. Welcome, Herb.