Julie Green

Yes, thank you. I'm sure the Member appreciates that we want the initiative to come from the Tlicho government, and so we are interested in seeing any proposals they have that would expand their service delivery, would make it more culturally appropriate to their region, more specific to their region. We have the specific funds that the Tlicho government applies for, such as ontheland healing. But we're interested in seeing proposals for other services that we provide that the Tlicho government would like to provide instead. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Member for raising this issue. The staffing shortages that we see across the NWT are particularly acute in the Tlicho region and Behchoko in particular.

There are vacancies for the manager of health services, the nurseincharge, two nurse practitioners, two public health nurses, five community health nurses, one clinical nurse educator, eight community social workers, two child and youth care counsellors, one child and youth care supervisor, two individual and family counsellors, and one trauma counsellor. In other words, I don't know who's working in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to clarify my previous statement. It's not that I don't think that any life is important. Obviously every life is important. And the Department of Health and Social Services provides a suite of services to people who are looking for addictions recovery and aftercare. There's no reason for people not to engage in that process starting today by making an appointment with the community counselling program in their community. The sameday appointments are available.

In terms of having a conversation about a treatment facility in the NWT, I'm prepared to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I acknowledge that addictions is a huge issue in the Northwest Territories. We spend a considerable amount of time reflecting that in this House; this House, which is comprised of both Indigenous and nonIndigenous people. And we have a suite of programs that I've spoken about in the past that are available to assist people who have addictions. The starting point, of course, is that the person wants help, and that can be the most difficult step. I've seen that in my own family.

In terms of building centres, we do not have any on the books at this time except...

Yes, thank you. I'll return with that information. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I'm not familiar with this report so I'll have to come back with that information. Thank you.

Yes, thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I commend the Member for providing a listening ear. He's right; often that is exactly what people need.

As I mentioned previously, there are services available. They've been available throughout the pandemic. We have counselling available on a sameday basis. We have the child and youth care counselling program to assist youth with their mental health issues. So at this point, I think our biggest challenge is staffing.

We do have a number of vacancies. Yesterday in response to a question from another Member, I mentioned that a shortage of housing was...

Thank you, Madam Speaker, and I appreciate the question from the Member. There's no question that the pandemic has been a very stressful time. It's produced a lot of anxiety, a lot of depression, and people are reaching out for services. We have, since the beginning of the pandemic, been tracking social indicators and publishing them on our website. They are examined quarterly. And what we see is that the use of our programs has varied over time. It was lower at the start of the pandemic and greater now, and it depends on the particular service that we're talking about. But when it comes to...

Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I'm not aware of a wholeofgovernment approach which would take in all the subject areas the Member mentioned, and we don't have a specific Tlicho plan. As a territorial department, we provide programs and services for the whole territory. We have quite a number of funds that are available by application from communities and Indigenous groups such as the ontheland healing fund, peer support, addictions and aftercare, suicide prevention, and so on. So there are a number of ways that communities can build up their own resources by making applications to...

Yes, thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, this is an unusual occurrence, but I'm not sure which report the Member is referring to. But if she can tell me which report, then I can certainly come back to her with a response. Thank you.