Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have an emerging crisis in the NWT related to some of our youth. All we have to do is turn our news broadcast on and we are hearing of new levels of vandalism, acts of violence and this amongst youth of alarmingly young ages.

There have been changes to the Young Offenders Act as precipitated by precedence set by the federal government. The move is away from incarceration towards other alternatives and a community approach to young offenders. This is well and good, but what are we doing to offer support to youth, families, and communities, who are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I understand it has been vacant for a number of months now and the Minister has shared the kind of operational costs. I think it’s been vacant for six months. If a good proposal for programming out of that facility were to come forward, how soon could that building be up and ready to go in terms of the structure of the facility at this time? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at one time that facility was contemplated as an option for a family treatment centre for families that had issues with addictions. I was wondering, Mr. Speaker, if the Minister would consider applications or proposals from either NGOs or the Department of Health and Social Services for a use like that for that facility. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it would assure me if I knew that young people who are incarcerated in young offenders’ facilities were able to receive programming which would address some of the issues in their lives which lead them to be in trouble with the law in the first place. I know, for example, through the young offenders’ facility in Hay River, at one time they did have a very good lands program for the youth which is intended to rehabilitate them. I think it was a program with a considerable amount of merit. So could the Minister please tell us, for those who are incarcerated...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So if there are fewer young offenders being incarcerated, then it follows that there are other options and alternatives that are contemplated when these young people do run into trouble with the law. I would like to know what those alternatives are at the community level. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I made reference to gaps in the system. All right, let’s go down to a younger age of a child. The child is not a ward of the GNWT, a major incident occurs. What resources do Social Services have at their disposal to deal with a child who is in virtually the custody of no one on a temporary basis until such time as court cases can be arranged for and applications can be made? What do we do in the emergency-type situations? Does he know? Are there foster placements? Are there group homes? Are there treatment facilities available with spaces, with...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, quite often, as the Minister knows, because I know that in his former life prior to being an elected official he had much experience in the area of children at risk and children who needed to be in care, as did I as well, Mr. Speaker. But, Mr. Speaker, in the cases of emergencies when he talks about community resources in the cases of emergencies and the incidents are occurring with younger and younger children all the time, the two drug busts that have been referred to in Hay River were two 17 year olds from British Columbia who were making crack cocaine...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. This is not solely a Justice or Social Services or Education or RCMP problem. This is a societal reality and this is a northern reality. How many more stabbings, murders, suicides, acts of violence and vandalism are we going to read about before we commit to establishing a comprehensive response to the needs of our communities related to troubled and at-risk youth?

Mr. Speaker, in the words of a very respected educator in Hay River, we, as a government, need not ask ourselves what we are going to do to these youth, but what are we going to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My written questions are to the Minister of Health and Social Services.

How many NWT youth are in treatment?

How many spaces in total are available in the NWT for treatment of youth?

How many NWT youth are waiting for placement in treatment?

What programs specifically targeted at youth, apart from residential treatment, are currently in place?

Would the Minister and the Department of Health and Social Services support the establishment of additional treatment programming for youth in existing infrastructure in the NWT?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, would the Minister’s corporation give priority consideration to anyone who would use that facility for programming related to alcohol and drug addiction? Thank you.