Hon. Dennis Glen Patterson: Honourable senators, I am pleased to welcome the Honourable John Main to the Senate of Canada today. Mr. Main is a two-term MLA — he was acclaimed in the 2021 election — serving the rapidly growing community of Arviat, formerly Eskimo Point, on the Hudson Bay coast, with a population of 3,000, and Whale Cove, a smaller community of 500, north of Arviat, also on the Hudson Bay coast. He is fluently bilingual in English and Inuktitut.

Minister Main is the Minister of Health and Minister responsible for Suicide Prevention in the Government of Nunavut. The minister is in town visiting with federal ministers, and I appreciate the opportunity to spend time discussing Nunavut issues with him and supporting his efforts here in Ottawa.

He met today with the Minister of Indigenous Services, the Honourable Patty Hajdu, to discuss and encourage Nunavut’s participation in Indigenous Services Canada’s Non-Insured Health Benefits program and Inuit Child First Initiative, which is based on Jordan’s Principle. They also discussed the very real issue of tuberculosis in Nunavut and ways to move that file forward through the tripartite table.

He also met with the Minister of Northern Affairs, the Honourable Dan Vandal, to emphasize the serious infrastructure deficiencies in Nunavut and report progress on the Nunavut recovery centre — Nunavut’s first treatment centre for substance abuse — which arose from a federal financial commitment made to the Senate of Canada’s Indigenous Peoples Committee when cannabis legislation was passed in 2018. It will be Inuit-led and staffed, and trauma informed. This vital service for Nunavut, which is being planned by the federal government, the Government of Nunavut and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated is scheduled to begin construction in 2023, but is facing cost challenges due to inflation.

Yesterday, Minister Main met with Minister Carolyn Bennett, discussing mental health and addiction services in the territory and explained how the Nunavut recovery centre not only complements the services already provided to Nunavummiut but enhances them.

After attending here, he will meet with Minister Jean-Yves Duclos. With the upcoming health ministers’ federal, provincial and territorial meeting, it is vital that our federal colleagues understand the crucial role they play in supporting Nunavut as it continues to grow as a territory. Nationally, the Canada Health Transfer is on the agenda for discussion at both the premiers’ and health ministers’ tables.

Honourable colleagues, I applaud Minister Main’s advocacy for Nunavummiut. Qujannamiik.