Robert Villeneuve

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to recognize two of my big supporters again, my Mom and Dad and a couple of my former constituents, Margaret Jerome and Andy and Alida McKay. Welcome.

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Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, February 11, 2005, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Range Lake, that the following appointments be rescinded:

Mr. Robert Hawkins, Member for Yellowknife Centre, to the Standing Committee on Social Programs;

Mr. Robert Villeneuve, Member for Tu Nedhe, to the Board of Management as an alternate; and,

Mr. Norman Yakeleya, Member for Sahtu, to the Standing Committee on Governance and Economic Development as an alternate.

And further that the following appointments be...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to use my Member's statement today to wish all my Tu Nedhe constituents, my family, my colleagues, old and new here in the House, and the people of the Northwest Territories a safe, happy and prosperous new year.

It has been just over a year since I have been working for the residents of Tu Nedhe. I am confident in saying that the seeds of social and economic development initiatives within the Tu Nedhe constituency have been planted. I am looking forward to some of these initiatives growing and flourishing. I am confident that my constituents...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d also like to recognize two of my strongest supporters from Tu Nedhe, Mom and Dad, nice to see you here. Thank you.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess maybe what I am looking at with the new funding arrangements this government has been coming across now with this new election in place and stuff, I am just wondering if the Minister can give the public some indication as to his commitment to see that this problem is near epidemic and is not going to escalate any more than what it’s coming to right now and that he will look into the possibility of having a standalone management facility that deals strictly with that drug addiction. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not sure really what the Minister’s sense of urgency is, but, to me, I think this is a very urgent matter, and I think it is something that should be a real priority for the Department of Health on healing facilities and treatment programs that are available to residents, especially residents of Yellowknife that already have a large influx of people coming in all the time every year and the population is steadily growing. With regard to one of the facilities that does offer some kind of assistance to people who are looking for treatment for their addictions...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to also talk about the critical need for a drug treatment centre in the NWT. This grave concern I have is not because of the numerous calls I have received in regard to this issue, it has also developed into something more personal now. This epidemic is becoming increasingly more visible in our everyday lives with close friends, relatives and families becoming victims to this crisis in only a matter of a few days or weeks, Mr. Speaker.

We are all aware that the migration patterns reveal a distinct urbanization trend toward larger centres and more...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to also express my support for this motion, not just due to the fact the intent of the motion is to get an addictions treatment centre in the NWT, Mr. Speaker, but also, as I had stated in my Member's statement, that this is something that has become quite personal now as people who are close to me are being affected by this drug and the addiction that it carries along with it.

I know, Mr. Speaker, that the problem is predominant in our larger urban centres in the NWT, in Yellowknife, Hay River and Inuvik and such, but we also must consider the smaller...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t know what kind of new contractual arrangements the government made with the Salvation Army, but I was speaking with the program director yesterday. She just informed me that all of the people who are self-admitted won’t get any funding for this and neither does the Tree of Peace. There was an announcement in this House last year recognizing the Salvation Army as a legitimate treatment centre, and they even received a letter just confirming that recognition, but I would be glad to see that the Minister is going to provide some information with regard to what...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My question is also directed to the Minister of Health and Social Services with regards to the lack of medical detox facilities in Yellowknife and other communities. I just want to ask the Minister if he can tell us, the Members, and the public in general, in the five-year capital acquisition plan of the GNWT, going up to 2008 or 2009, there is approximately $60 million that is allocated for capital infrastructure requirements. That is not counting all this extra money that they are getting out of the federal government when the new health care reform comes through. I...