Mr. Speaker, this Assembly is well aware of the damaging effects of drugs on our communities. Drug dealers prey on the most vulnerable among us. They target young people who think bad things will never happen to them. They go after people with mental illnesses who are struggling just to get through a day. They knowingly sell drugs that are laced with other drugs to people who already have addictions. They do this on purpose, so they have more people to sell to. And if this weren’t troubling enough, we know more deadly drugs such as crystal meth is already here.
The substance abuse problem is not the same in every community. In some regions, bootleggers are causing trouble for communities. In other regions, people with gang affiliations sell crack and ecstasy on the streets and in drug houses.
What is the same is this: Wherever I go in the North, people tell me they want to take action. They want support for community-based responses. And they want information about what works in other places. That’s why this government has developed a unique campaign to meet those needs. The campaign is funded as a strategic initiative under Building our Future and it has ties to the Healthy Choices Framework, another strategic priority of this government. Its development has involved the departments of Health and Social Services, Education, Culture and Employment and Municipal and Community Affairs, as well as the RCMP.
The theme of our campaign is “Not Us!,” not our families, not our schools, not our communities, not our Territory. Not us! We are tired of watching drug dealers hurt our friends. It’s time to come together and say that we won’t let it happen anymore. Not us! is the campaign that will help people make commitments to themselves and their families and with others in their community so that drugs don’t take over. We’re focusing on prevention by promoting healthy choices and lifestyles and the role of personal and family responsibility.
Although this campaign will have some common features throughout the Northwest Territories, it is designed to help communities take a stand against drugs in a way that recognizes their unique needs and strengths. We knew this had to be different, so the focus is on providing support and resources that will help one community at a time. It’s a community first, community-driven campaign.
Here’s how it works. Our community justice division will help interested community groups, including community justice committees, to develop a plan for fighting drugs. It will be different in each place. Some communities want to work with kids. Other communities want help to get their local social agencies working together more efficiently. There’s no right or wrong plan to deal with drugs. Local people know what local needs are.
To support the community work, we’re developing a website, public service announcements, and promotional items communities can use. We’re also developing kits that can be used to create community-level campaigns. Schools can make their own posters using Not Us! themes. Youth groups can make their own Not Us! T-shirts. Even individuals can create their own items. Our website will have community sections, run by communities. They decide what they want their sections to be. Some will want to post their customized resources there. Others will want to link back to their own websites. All of these actions, whether they be community-wide or by an individual, are great. This campaign is all about supporting these actions. It strengthens local programs that address addictions and mental health.
As Minister of Justice and Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, I am pleased to see the partnerships on the campaign in tackling drug problems. As well, the involvement of the Department of Health and Social Services, Municipal and Community Affairs and the RCMP is essential to this work. We have very talented staff in our communities who work on addictions issues every day. We want to support them.
We are working with a group of Hay River residents to launch the territorial Not Us! campaign there on March 29th, while also profiling the work the community has done. I’ll be there and I invite the Members to attend too. After that, we’ll start visiting communities all over the NWT and help those who are interested in launching their own campaigns. In some places, people will want to talk about alcohol. In others, we’ll talk seriously about hard drugs like crystal meth, crack and ecstasy. Wherever we go, we’ll work with families, communities and schools to improve the physical and mental well-being of our youth. We’ll encourage people to find common-sense solutions that will work in the long term.
Reaching every community in the Northwest Territories will take time. But it will be worth it to give communities new ways to protect their families from dangerous drugs. I am looking forward to working with Members of the Legislative Assembly and every community in the Northwest Territories on this important initiative. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
