Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with my colleague, the member for Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing.
First, I begin by reiterating and further supporting the proposition that the leader of my party, the New Democratic Party, made earlier tonight. It is certainly something that our health critic from Winnipeg North has been fighting for as well. It is the idea of what the role of the federal government is at this stage in the game.
We have been rehashing and going over the past few months time and time again, but I reiterate the point that we need the federal government to take a stand, to take leadership and to commit to financially supporting the work currently being done on the ground with respect to the rollout of the vaccine, as well in terms of dealing with the flu as it goes on.
We need to reassure the partners on the ground, whether they are provincial governments or first nations governments, that it is important, at this time, for them to go all out, to give everything, to put the personnel on the front lines with the support they need to ensure the messages get out, communications-wise, and to ensure we invest in this effort 100%. The only way people will do that is when they know the federal government is there to support those efforts. As we all know, it really comes down to the finances.
That proposition is so important to me as the member of Parliament for Churchill. I know what H1N1 means in our region. I had the opportunity earlier to ask a question of the Minister of Health. For me, H1N1 is a very shocking reality that has been part of the region I come from for quite some time now. The first wave of the flu hit us among the hardest, certainly per capita, in its level of impact compared to many other regions across the country. The impact of H1N1 has been felt most by not only northern Manitobans but by first nations. I want to emphasize that it is not only by first nations in remote communities but first nations across the region.
The experience of working with chiefs, with leaders and with health care workers on the ground has been a very trying because of the challenges they have had to face. It was very disillusioning to see that the chiefs, Chief McDougall, Chief Harper and Chief Knott of the Island Lake regions, were getting basically a response of silence by the health minister when more people were being impacted than they had previously anticipated. That silence was a direct reflection of the lack of commitment and concern when it came to what first nations faced.
While I have heard declarations in some of the positive directions that are taking place, I question what that means in terms of action. We heard that the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs had to go out and fund raise to get flu kits that the federal government said were not needed, flu kits that contained Tylenol and thermometers, things that are not easily accessible in remote first nations communities. Essential tools in fighting this pandemic were denied by Canada's government, the government that has the fiduciary obligation to first nations.
Time and time again there were real communication challenges for people in regional offices. That breakdown in communication with first nations that were on the front lines of this pandemic was disillusioning as a Canadian, certainly as a member of Parliament, and was a real signal of things to come.
Many of us back home have anxiety, as do many Canadians, because we know what happened beforehand. Some of that sentiment was an inspiration for people to get on board in terms of planning and networking, but the question of funding and financial support for these initiatives is extremely pertinent.
Two weeks ago I met with people working with the MKO, Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak. People show up at the door of the health office. They told me about a family that showed up at the door of the office in Thompson. The family needed a house because there was overcrowding in the community. The family knew that overcrowding helped H1N1 spread. The family wanted to avoid that. It wanted to avoid its children getting sick.
Organizations are trying to cover everything, from concerns about health care professionals coming into communities and avoiding things like burnout. They are trying to be in touch with the federal agencies in the work they are doing. They are having to do everything, including being asked to find homes for people, something that is not written in any document when it comes to the job they are supposed to do. This is the level of anxiety and these are the kinds of needs we face in the north.
MKIO made a proposal, which I supported, asking for direct funding when it came to some of these support roles. We heard it was under consideration, but have yet to hear whether anything will be done. I hope it is an area that is considered for financial funding, recognizing that organizations and people are working long hours day in and day out with great stress. They want to ensure they have the supports needed.
I also I was pretty horrified to hear that when organizations asked for extra supports, initially they were told to pull out from other programming. What are they supposed to pull people out of, addictions work, suicide prevention? In a moment of need, are these the kinds of priorities people are supposed to choose?
All these services are important in first nations and northern communities. It is pretty disgusting to hear that people are expected to take funding out of essential services to deal with a global pandemic, which we have known for some time was going to hit us.
First, I hope this area is very much considered, especially when it comes to working with first nations, as I noted, because of the fiduciary obligation.
Second is the element of communication. I know it is a recurring theme. I visited my home town of Thompson and people asked me if they should get the vaccine. This is a real sign that the message is not getting through to Canadians, the confidence and information they need and the anxieties they have.
As a member of Parliament, while I would like to think that I can show leadership on a number of areas, the medical area is one that we need to be communicating on a lot better and the federal government needs to be showing leadership on.
A lot of work needs to be done. Much of our discussion is focusing on the here and now, as it should, but I hope we can work together at looking at some of the next steps we need to be taking as we fight this virus across our country, for first nations, northerners, rural Canadians and Canadians from coast to coast to coast.
