Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the programs we have to deal with addictions and alcohol and drug abuse are geared, as the Member knows, to trying to deal with the many complex issues presented by alcohol abuse and addictions. The issue of crack cocaine addiction is one where there is no discreet program. We have been dealing with them on a case-by-case basis. There are other jurisdictions where this is a much larger problem and they have set up special specific facilities and programs to deal with these particular situations. We’ve been dealing, as in the Member’s case that he...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in regards to the aboriginal health fund, the one step of progress that came out of the meeting with Minister Dosanjh and all the provincial and territorial Ministers was that the co-chairs and Minister Dosanjh and Minister Smitherman from Ontario, who is now the co-chair on behalf of the provinces and territories, are going to sit down with the aboriginal leaders that were involved at the First Ministers’ meeting, and meet with them to start the discussions about the detail of how this fund is to be accessed, how the money is to flow, and how it will be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we do have some more detail in terms of how the $150 million is going to be allocated. There is a $75 million travel fund over five years. It is going to be split between the three territories: 70 percent to Nunavut, 20 percent to the Northwest Territories, and 10 percent to the Yukon, which will bring our share roughly to about $3 million a year. With regard to the territorial health access fund, it is $65 million over five years. It is going to be split equally among the three jurisdictions. Our share will be roughly $4.3 million a year. There is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we stand ready to sit with the Member. So there’s no confusion, Mr. Speaker, we stand ready to meet with the Member or the Social Programs committee to look at how we are delivering those services, and we do agree that there is a huge impact of resource development that is underway and we want to best be able to deal with that. So the offer is there and we would be happy to do that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member has raised an issue that we have discussed before, and I would like to inform the Member in this House that we are taking the steps and we are going to be planning to address those shortcomings. We’ve been working on it for some time. So I’d like to give him that assurance. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, many of the legislatures across Canada are in session and what happened late yesterday was when we concluded our meetings, many of us had plane times booked so that we could get back to our respective jurisdictions in time for session. So the press conference was delegated as it normally is to the Minister, the two co-chairs: the federal Minister and the provincial/territorial Minister which, in this case, was the Minister from British Columbia.

Mr. Mar had the benefit of soon to be going up for election and was staying in Vancouver to visit relatives, so...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the three territories, going back to when the agreement was first made at the First Ministers’ meeting, trying to anticipate some of these questions.

While we were in Vancouver we had the opportunity for a meeting with Minister Dosanjh and his staff on the Saturday after the regular meetings were over. From that the officials -- the deputies, from the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon -- sat down with the assistant deputy minister of Health from the federal government and they talked about some of the detail that we...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d be happy to work through the Sahtu authority and the staff that’s there, as well as the Member, and look at the most appropriate way to deal with this issue. If that entails, as well, meeting with the leadership to talk more specifically about alcohol and drug concerns, then, yes, we will do that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there were some efforts made on the idea of trying to put mobile treatment into place in some communities, and I’d be glad to share that information with the Member and then we can take a look at it with the same information base and try to determine what is the best way to proceed. I agree with the Member that there is potential for mobile treatment, and that was the idea when we started those efforts some time ago. So I will get that information for the Member. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to talk to the Member about this particular situation outside the public confines of this House and share with him the latest briefing note I have, which just came across my desk here in the last few minutes. Thank you.