Tom Beaulieu

Thank you, Madam Chair. To my right I have the deputy minister, Debbie DeLancey, Health and Social Services. To my left, the assistant deputy minister, Derek Elkin.

I am aware that the department has a lot of work on the go now at this time, but I am prepared to talk to the senior management to try to get this going as soon as possible. Thank you.

At this time we have within the communities – I’m not sure if it’s all 33 communities – addictions counsellors and also some mental health counsellors at the community which we talked about a little bit last week. But we do have addictions counsellors. That would be a good place for individuals hoping to access, whether it’s residential treatment in the facility or hoping to work with a counsellor to get some sort of programs on the land that could be available through the various non-government organizations or community governments across the territory. Thank you.

The Department of Health recognizes that there are a couple of facilities in the Beaufort-Delta that were previously used for treatment facilities and we are prepared to look at the feasibility of using those for treatment centres as we go through our inventory of existing infrastructure. Thank you.

There is a way and we are working with the various health authorities across the Territories. We’re going to work with the boards, the public administrators, the CEOs of all of the health and social services across the territory to get that message out. To get the message out that says these are some of the causes of the sicknesses that are occurring across the territory. That’s why when we say we’re moving into prevention, with prevention is promotion and communication with people in the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The cancer rates across the Territories of the various cancers, like colorectal cancer is at 24 percent, breast cancer is at 17 percent, prostate is at 14 percent and lung cancer is at 10 percent. Some of those cancers obviously are tied to lifestyle; some are tied to other factors. It could be water, as Mr. Yakeleya indicated. The intention is that when we do put a report out, it will cover all of the cancers across the territory and if smoking is a big factor in the cancer rates across the Territories, then, yes, it will be indicated in the report.

The cancer rates across the Northwest Territories have gone up. Between 1992 and 2009, cancer rates are 162 cases per 100,000 to an increase of 283 cases per 100,000. In Fort Good Hope it is a bit higher but it is not significantly higher than that particular NWT number. It’s 331 cases per 100,000. That doesn’t mean we don’t want to focus on the issue. As the Minister, I would be prepared to discuss some sort of strategy to address the issue of all of the people in the Northwest Territories that have loss through cancer and try to address that issue in a more across-the-board way.

Yes, this department would be prepared to deal with Housing, Education and the Income Support Program, housing programs, public housing programs, so that we can prioritize the counseling needs at the community levels. Thank you.

The intention is to fill the vacancies of the mental health and addiction workers that are currently in place. Right now there are vacancies which are causing the backlog, and the intention is to move some of those people, if necessary, to out-of-territory options in order to get the counseling necessary for the individuals. But a key is to try to fill the vacancies, which we are having some difficulty doing at this time. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The intention of the department is to continue with the Community Counselling Program, trying to address some of the wellness services in the community, increase the wellness services in the community, and also reviewing the Mental Health Act. The department is waiting for the release of the national mental health report from the Canadian Mental Health Commission. I will be attending the National Mental Health Summit in Winnipeg in February as a part of the release of that commission report. Thank you.