Jackson Lafferty

The next question I have is: would the Minister commit to calling Northwestel to convince the company to provide critical cell phone coverage that commuters and truckers need on the stretch of highway? One would assume that she has clout over them as the Government of the Northwest Territories is their biggest customer.

I'd like to thank the Minister for providing that information. As you've heard, it is climbing up every year, almost $500,000 every year, that money. Obviously, it is a worthwhile initiative, but at the same time it should be happening in our region, as well. I would like to touch on the next two questions pertaining to that. The third question I have is: what plans does the Minister have to finally establish a truly successful residential treatment centre here in the territory, involving on-the-land treatment approaches and an integrated system or community-based follow-up and support program...

Masi, Mr. Speaker. As I alluded to in my Member's statement about the on-the-land treatment program, so I do have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Mr. Speaker, the first question I have is: how many treatment facilities has the GNWT operated and subsequently shut down over the past 25 years? Masi.

Masi, Madam Chair. I certainly hope this is not one of those projects that has been deferred, because, on the left side, from the northern perspective, there have been some upgrades. I'm just wondering if the Minister is referring to that side, because I'm referring to the southern side, which has beautiful lake access. There can be further expansion in that area. If not, I certainly hope that the Minister will consider it down the road. I'm not talking immediately, but my community is growing and, with the tourism population growing, as well, there needs to be further expansion to the...

Masi, Madam Chair. Just to finish off, distribution. Obviously, each Member always has a keen interest in the funding going to our region, and more specifically I'm speaking about Gameti. My four communities, what was their contribution? If the Minister doesn't have that at their fingertips, then if they could provide that, it would be greatly appreciated. Masi.

Masi, Madam Chair. Definitely, I think this is an area of interest. If there could be some sort of a nominal increase, I think it would go a long way in the communities.

Madam Chair, just moving on to the Canadian Agricultural Partnership. This is highlighted as an agreement between the federal government and the Government of the Northwest Territories. As you've heard and noticed, the Gameti has been involved with growing their own vegetables, potatoes, and even animals there. They have done a lot to start off, but, at times, there were some struggles with getting funding through the GNWT. I...

Masi, Madam Chair. Similar to the Member for Thebacha, the breakdown in the regions. Obviously, I'm very interested in the breakdown to my communities. If the Minister doesn't have it, could that be provided, as well? Masi.

Masi, Mr. Speaker. It's great to invest $2 million, but that's for the whole territory. As you can imagine, there are 33 communities and various regions we have to deal with. When you do a calculation, just on the $200,000 per group, that's not enough. We're spending $2 or $3 million sending money elsewhere, out of the territory. It should be invested in the Northwest Territories. My final question, Mr. Speaker, is: in the past, we had Nechi training through Poundmaker's in the Tlicho region back in the early 1990s, and we've had upwards of 26 qualified counsellors graduate out of this program...

If the Minister can provide the detailed breakdown over the past 25 years, that would be great. The second question I have is: how much does the Minister's department spend annually to send Northerners out of the territory for residential addiction treatment programming? Mr. Speaker, the Minister has referred to four treatment program down south, treatment centres. How much do we spend on an annual basis?

Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Microphone turned off].

[Translation] Mr. Speaker, there has been success in the regions. I would like to say they have had on-the-land addictions programming in the past. One such program was held in Gameti at Faber Lake in the '90s. An elder ran the program for inmates, with a focus on both counselling and teaching survival skills.

Mr. Speaker, another project that was very successful was in the Sahtu region in the early 2000s. It was also operated by an elderly couple, with a focus on traditional skills and lifestyle. They did a lot of helping and healing. We know, in...