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TSIIGEHTCHIC/ARCTIC RED RIVER
Tsiigehtchic residents want health and RCMP services improved in their community, says the president of the Gwich'in Tribal Council.

"That's been an ongoing concern for many, many, many years," said Robert Alexie. "Not only do they have a concern about health care, but they have a concern about a lack of an RCMP officer, but unfortunately there are restrictions to that."

Alexie said RCMP policy requires at least two officers stationed in each detachment to ensure all officers have backup. Smaller communities simply don't have the population to justify the cost of placing two officers, Alexie said.

Tsiigehtchic has about 145 residents.

Population is also a factor in determining whether a community gets a full-time nurse, Alexie said.

"There is a limit, a maximum or a minimum amount of people you can have in a community to warrant a full-time nurse or an RCMP officer," he said. "Unfortunately, Tsiigehtchic, like many communities in the North, falls well below that."

Alexie said while it's understood that an officer won't be placed in Tsiigehtchic, the Gwich'in Tribal Council (GTC) wants to work with the GNWT to develop alternative solutions.

"It's a matter of how we can work together to better provide health care in the communities and provide, not an RCMP officer because we know that's not likely to happen, but how can we provide safety to the citizens of that community."

Alexie said now that the GTC and the GNWT meet twice a year as part of their intergovernmental agreement, it's an ideal time to make decisions and alleviate residents' concerns.

"We have to get it resolved one way or another. We can't keep going back to this issue year after year after year and getting nothing done," he said. "We've come to the point where we've agreed to work together, so let's sit down and come up with options and let's make it work."

The second intergovernmental meeting between the Gwich'in Tribal Council and the GNWT was held in Yellowknife on June 3.

Premier Bob McLeod said during the meeting, participants decided to hold a public gathering in Tsiigehtchic at a future date to address concerns. The meeting will include representatives from the Department of Health and Social Services. A date has yet to be been finalized.

"We committed to facilitating a community meeting in Tsiigehtchic to discuss how to improve health and medical services in the community," McLeod said. "Some communities in the Gwich'in Settlement Area don't have nurses and so when people get sick, they're in a difficult situation."

McLeod said the government also promised to review health-care policies and talk to the Registered Nurses Association of the NWT about possible changes.

"We're committed to looking at our NWT clinical practice guidelines and registered nurses scope of practice and discuss this with the Registered Nurses Association of the NWT to see what changes would be required to allow nurses to attend to patients in their homes," he said.

McLeod said another possibility is to have nurses in Fort McPherson visit Tsiigehtchic more often than they do currently.

McLeod said another item discussed at the meeting was a lack of funding for community justice committees. The committees are a way for individuals guilty of minor crimes to avoid jail or a criminal record, as long as they accept responsibility for their actions, according to the Department of Justice.

Committees are sometimes used in incidents of vandalism, drug or alcohol offences or minor assaults.

The aim is to make perpetrators understand the full impact of their criminal acts, so meetings involving both the perpetrator and the victim are held to work out the most effective form of restitution.

McLeod said the government will look into other possible funding options.

"They're finding their funding is not adequate to meet their requirements," he said.

Alexie said the GTC has started looking into more programming at the Tl'oondih Healing Camp in Fort McPherson and other camps in the Inuvik region.

"We can develop programs at our Gwich'in camp or at the Inuvialuit camp where, rather than being sent to jail, they're in a program," he said. "That's something we're working on right now, not only with us, but the Inuvialuit and the Town of Inuvik."

During the meeting, McLeod and the Gwich'in Tribal Council also discussed the guidelines for accessing Gwich'in lands and tendering contracts.

Alexie said the council's lands department is now working with the GNWT to develop terms.

Both Alexie and McLeod said they were pleased with the outcomes of the meeting.

"Everything seems to be working out good and hopefully it will get better," Alexie said.

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