Health committee  We haven't even gone down the packaging road yet. I mean, look at cigarettes. There is no packaging and it's all behind doors. So, we haven't even looked at the packaging side of that at this time.

Health committee  As Métis people we do pay taxes, so I'd like to see some of that tax money come back to the Métis nation and to our people for, like I keep saying, education, prevention, health resources, and treatment centres. We're going to need all these things, and so I'd like to see some of

Health committee  When we were looking at that, we talked about that same issue. It's different from B.C. to Ontario. That's why we came up with the legal age of 19 for consent. That's the drinking age, so that's why we went with the age of 19. If we go to 25.... Realistically, they're going to be

Health committee  I think there has to be that education and medical follow-up. Again, for us, the education part is really important and the communication. You know, if they get a criminal charge at that young age, it's going to be with them for a long time. I know a lot of communities like to de

Health committee  The education part is very important to start the prevention as young as possible within the communities, with our youth. I talked earlier about communication and education. For me, it's important to start as young as possible on the education front to try to get these numbers do

Health committee  That they're rushing...?

Health committee  I'm not saying it's not the right time. It's how we approach it, to get this legislation in place, and what our needs are as Métis across our homeland. It's getting communication. There's a timeline, and I'm sure we can work within that timeline. It will be very tight for us. We'

Health committee  There's definitely a need to do something regarding suicide. We know that we have alcohol and drug problems within all our communities, as I mentioned earlier, and in the urban areas. As you can see, some of this data is 10 years old. We know that suicide rates are extremely high

Health committee  That's a difficult one for me to answer. We haven't had many consultations on the four-plant issue. As you know, our communities are so diverse throughout our nation. We do have community engagement. I travel within the province and across our nation, and we do communicate with

Health committee  I'll refer back to the accord we signed with the federal government. We've been working really well with this government, with growth and openness, especially after the Daniels decision and the commitment set forward to work nation to nation, government to government, in terms of

Health committee  We feel it's being rushed. This is something that is going to take time provincially, and even at borders: what's going to happen when somebody wants to cross the border into the U.S.? There are a lot of issues for us to deal with, and we really feel it is being rushed. We need t

Health committee  We don't have Métis-specific funding. Everything is provincial health funding and the money that comes to the provinces. In B.C. we have 204 first nations, so Métis are way at the bottom of that list. We always encourage the federal government to step forward and include the Méti

Health committee  Thank you for that, and I'm glad you switched to indigenous and not just first nations.

Health committee  Thank you very much. Mental health is a big issue. We're looking forward to working with the federal government on funding for Métis, which we've never really had before. Drug use, mental health issues in our Métis communities, and suicide among the youth in all our Métis commun

Health committee  Thank you. Mr. Chair and committee members, thank you for the opportunity to participate in your hearing today. I am here in the capacity of minister of health of the Métis National Council. I am also the president of Métis Nation British Columbia. I'm pleased to be here to pro