Steve Norn

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Just in light of my Member's statement on Friday about service gaps for emergency services, the Minister of Health and Social Services gave me a little bit of direction of where to go with this. I have some questions for the Minister of MACA. I live in a small community, and I wanted to take first aid training or first responder training. Where would I go? Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that this committee defer further consideration of the estimates for the Department of Health and Social Services at this time. Mahsi cho, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. No. That's good to hear, that they meet on a regular basis. In speaking with some of the leadership, they said there are still some gaps here that could be addressed. There was something mentioned from the federal side of things, as well, because anytime there are announcements made from Indigenous Services Canada in terms of health coverage, the effects cascade down to us, ultimately. Do these discussions take place at the FTP table? That's for the Minister. Thank you.

Marsi cho, Madam Chair. I was just listening to some of the comments from my colleagues. One of the things I am hearing is the Non-Insured Health Benefits, NIHB. Just from my experience living in a small community, especially when it comes to dental care, it's very tough to really have good dental care in our communities. I've spoken with some people, some of my constituents. It seems like this policy, when you put it in place, they might just rather pull your teeth and be done with it. It's really, really sad to hear. Where I'm going with this is: with the NIHB dental side of things, has the...

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Like I said, I am going to keep pressing for this, like I said, a very glaring service gap. I am going to keep on pressing, make sure that we get some real responses. That is something so undignified, so maybe I will leave it at that. Marsi cho.

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker, and thank you for that very thorough response. This training is so important. I spoke with one of my constituents who works with the volunteer fire department for Fort Resolution, and she said it runs out. It's very important that we keep our training updated. Even through times of COVID, life still has to go on, so I just thought I would speak to that. I commend all of the volunteer fire fighters and first responders in our communities. It's a tough job and very, very necessary, very needed. My next question for the Minister: does MACA track the number of people...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Where I'm going with this is: one of the biggest things, in terms of medical treatment and medical services for our small communities, and I guess for all our communities in the territory, is that, if you want to effectively treat somebody or offer them the best service you can, you have to fully understand what their culture is like and what cultures are like in small communities and understand that. I think that would make a lot of our medical professionals better practitioners and help them hone their craft. It's a little tougher if you just insert somebody from the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That's really good to hear. One of the biggest things I notice, especially when you have one department working on any sort of initiative, there always tend to be things lost in translation, so I'm glad there is some sort of agreement there to make sure that there are some clear lines and clear responsibilities because anytime there is something missed, then the whole think kind of runs amok. I'm glad to hear that there is some collaboration. Right now, even in times of COVID, mental health is a real issue now, and we have to make sure that we keep on top of it and not be...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just looking at page 180 on Child and Family Services, just in regards to my riding, I know that social workers, child protection workers, have a very, very tough job. I commend those guys because I understand there are very high turnover rates on that just because of the mere stress of the job. I know that, in one of my communities, in Deninu Kue, there was recently a change in staffing that left a position open. I am just wondering if that position was going to be filled in Deninu Kue. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table this article from the International Journal of Indigenous Health entitled "Urban Land-Based Healing: A Northern Intervention Strategy." Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker.