Alfred Moses

I appreciate all the answers that the Minister stated. However, the realities are, we can provide all these services but if we don’t have the resources to see them through in some of our small communities where we have some of our higher rates, even in the regional centres. You know, I’ve chatted with some of these people who have gone through these programs and have had a difficult time reintegrating back into the community because those services weren’t always provided during the times that they needed. So, obviously, the after-care is still a concern.

The Minister did mention the expedited...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will follow up to questions on my Member’s statement earlier for the Minister of Health and Social Services. As I stated, we’ve heard over the last little while the need for a treatment centre in the Northwest Territories. I do understand that we have four contracted treatment centres down south at any given time, pending that there are beds available.

How many of our NWT residents actually, through the fiscal year 2014-2015, went out for treatment during that fiscal year? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over the years of this 17th Legislative Assembly, I’ve stood in this House many times to speak to the importance of having recovery and treatment programs for the people who are battling with mental health, alcohol, drug addictions, and they need those services. We continue to see those in a high need throughout the Northwest Territories.

You’ve seen in the news recently our Standing Committee on Social Programs did a tour on one of our bills and we constantly heard the need for a treatment centre here in the Northwest Territories. There’s been a lot of underlying issues...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just a couple comments in this section here. I’m glad to see that we’re putting some funding into some of the smaller communities and the schools that they have. But I know in some of the past work that I’ve done when I’ve gone and done work in the schools – presentations, workshops, those kinds of things – there’s always areas of concern, renovations that needed to be made. In some cases there were schools that had mouse problems and rodent problems. I just want to make a comment that I think there should be an overhaul in the overview of all our schools, especially in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think that also needs to be reiterated and emphasized and encouraged to our social work staff, to our health professionals, because sometimes people who really need it are getting turned away and not getting the services that they need. I am speaking from the experiences I have had over the four years, especially since this expedited process has gone through.

I also want to ask the Minister – and it has been brought up in this House before – whether or not he’s speaking with his ministerial colleagues in Nunavut and the Yukon, so we are creating a pan-territorial...

I am glad to hear that. Those numbers are pretty high for the Northwest Territories. I would like to ask the Minister if he’s been working with any of our Aboriginal groups or any other non-government organizations to look at the possibility of creating a facility or using an existing infrastructure, which is one of our priorities that we set out at the onset of this government, to create a treatment facility in the Northwest Territories.

We have 174 residents in 2014-2015 and 109 to date this year. We do have a facility up in Inuvik, Arctic Tern facility, and I do recall at one time there was...

As I said, the youth of the Northwest Territories spoke up about this four years ago. I brought it and I asked questions in the House and we’re still trying to battle to get some really good support service and recovery programs. We’ve got to listen to the youth; we’ve got to listen to our elders who we heard in the communities and our residents of the Northwest Territories. This is more about whether or not we have enough people to have a treatment centre in the Northwest Territories. This is about people’s lives.

I will have questions for the Minister later on today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I begin, I’d just like to welcome everybody back to the House. I hope everybody had a good summer. I can tell everyone is really eager to get right into the issues that affect the Northwest Territories here and our Northerners.

Earlier today we heard in our Premier’s sessional statement that we do have a very slow economic growth, and now in order to be effective we need to acquire effective partnerships with everybody.

I think this is a great time for this government to embrace, focus and support other types of industry that we’ve ignored or haven’t given them...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to report to the Assembly that the Standing Committee on Social Programs has reviewed Bill 56, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2015; Bill 62, An Act to Amend the Coroners Act; Bill 63, An Act to Amend the Victims of Crime Act; Bill 64, An Act to Amend the Co-operative Associations Act, and wishes to report that Bills 56, 62, 63 and 64 are now ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole.

Further, Mr. Speaker, the Standing Committee on Social Programs has reviewed Bill 59, Estate Administration Law Amendment Act, and would like to report that Bill 59...

I understand with the Minister mentioning that in November we’re going to be having our tourism AGM and we’ll possibly be bringing in some of our regional community members who work in the tourism industry.

I wonder if the Minister would be looking at the projects that have been going on by the regions and looking at whether or not we will be increasing our marketing or our operation dollars for some of these tourism operators moving into the next fiscal year, if that’s something that he’d be looking into at this AGM.