Thank you very much.
I'd like to thank all the presenters as well.
As has been mentioned, this is a critical issue. Throughout Canada, and especially in aboriginal communities, we have seen, and we have heard today, that there are significant numbers in terms of our youth.
One of the things I think I heard from every presenter today was that self-determination and empowerment are significant health determinants. We talk about chronic disease being on the rise; it was in the presentations. I'm sure everybody at this table is aware of how chronic disease is a critical issue in the first nations and Inuit communities.
We have program dollars that are being announced, and I know from the past Liberal government there were significant dollars announced. One of the things that has been mentioned, though, is that there's not a lot of first nations or Inuit access to those dollars, or control of those dollars.
We talk about children who are two years old, in kindergarten, and somebody mentioned that obesity levels are already recognized at those early ages. And we look at programs such as the maternal health program, where Vice-Chief Whitecloud mentioned there's not universal access to that program. It has also been discussed that there is not enough work between departments on these issues. You know, we have INAC and we have FNIHB.
I'm wondering what we need to take forward in terms of the communities. These are people right at the grassroots. This is their lives. They're aware that this is an issue, and obviously it's critical. What recommendations do we make, in terms of self-determination, program services delivery, research?