Health committee  It's huge. I mean, we forget about childhood and the importance of play, right? Sometimes we pay a lot of attention to all of these things like risks and everything else, but part of being a kid is actually having the time to play, and play is important to children's development.

Health committee  I would say equality across the board in services.

Health committee  For the member's information, according to 2019 data, first nations children are 17.2 times more likely to be in child welfare care owing to poverty, poor housing and caregiver substance misuse related to multi-generational trauma from residential schools. The work Cowessess is doing is about trying to address those drivers, which brings us back to the Spirit Bear plan, because that will be a good success under a self-government model.

Health committee  I don't have that information.

Health committee  Yes, that was a historical figure. The Auditor General has done some reviews of health care delivery in northern communities, etc. This is why we want the Spirit Bear plan. It's to cost out those inequalities and propose remedies for them.

Health committee  That's correct.

Health committee  No, they have not, and they have not proposed an alternative that would remedy those inequalities.

Health committee  I'm alive to the testimony yesterday of the large grocers and the impact that food insecurity has on Canadians. I've been to many northern communities where a small jar of peanut butter is $16, and that was before the inflation element. Being able to make choices about feeding your family a healthy diet is almost impossible in northern communities, yet things such as cigarettes and booze are often subsidized.

Health committee  It's not good. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission pointed to that recommendation as one of the top calls to action. For example, in child welfare, countries like the United States, which has 50 different U.S. states, have national child welfare data collection systems so they know about the kids who are in care, what their needs are and how they're doing over time.

Health committee  I think they're really essential. I think having more schools that promote midwifery services and making them available in different communities is really, really important. That includes all elements of prenatal care and making sure that it's available.

Health committee  I think the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami have really done a great job in documenting what that kind of intervention would look like. This is the good thing about these things: There are solutions on the books that just need to be mobilized and implemented. As you're pointing out, the TB rate particularly for Inuit is just skyrocketing, but that's also the case for some of the first nations in the country.

Health committee  I would just say that Jordan's principle is one of the top TRC calls to action. When we look at the survivors' work plan for the country, which are the TRC calls to action, the top six are all about addressing the inequalities for their grandchildren. They wanted their grandchildren to not have to go through what they went through and they wanted the country to be better for it too.

Health committee  This is a very important topic. Imagine when you're having a baby. You want your family around you. That's the whole thing around the baby. It's a beautiful celebration of this new addition to the community. Traditionally, the birth of a child was not only very spiritual but a very important community moment as well.

Health committee  No. That's why we're still in front of the tribunal. Again, I would say there is greater progress, but no, there is not full compliance.

Health committee  I think this is one of the critical areas where there needs to be further work done. That would include, for example, ensuring that the good work done by Dr. Kent Saylor, a Mohawk pediatrician who developed training programs for pediatricians on working with first nations, Métis and Inuit children, is not only just provided to pediatricians but is rolled out writ large to every health care provider in the country so that people are better prepared to meet the distinct needs of these children.