Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When it comes to addictions and mental health, the victims are often forgotten. My questions today will be for the Minister of Justice. I would ask the Minister of Justice what role the Department of Justice plays in ensuring those with addictions and mental health issues are supported by the justice system. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister of Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Most of those supports are offered in the corrections system, seeing as how that is how Justice usually interacts with people who need those supports. There are psychologists in the North Slave and the South Slave, and there are counsellors in all of the facilities. There are traditional healing programs at the South Slave; it especially has a lot of programs like that. There is an Indigenous pre-treatment healing program, which is made in the North. We hope to roll that out to other areas, as well. There is a Northern Sessions program, which offers treatment; I wouldn't say treatment, but mental health and behavioural supports in a northern context. There are a number of these different programs. There are substance abuse management programs offered in all of the facilities. There are programs to help inmates cope with violence and domestic violence. There is a wide variety of supports. One of the big issues is that some people are in for 20 days and out, some people are in for a few months and out, and it's hard to really provide the support that is needed in that context. Thank you.
I would ask the Minister: what legislative supports are in place to assist those who are in abusive relationships and in immediate personal harm or harm to their children?
Emergency protection orders are temporary court orders up to 90 days, and they are available under the Protection Against Family Violence Act. Of course, there has been a report highlighting some of the deficiencies, and so Justice is working with its partners to identify ways to fix those. It's not a perfect solution, obviously. There are communities with no RCMP, and so a piece of paper doesn't feel like it makes you very safe. It's not a perfect fix, but that is what is in place.
I've had constituents who have family members with addictions and mental health issues and who are concerned with the wellness of their children. When I say "children," I'm talking about adult children, as well. They are concerned that the system is not offering the timely personal protection needed, and often, it is unclear as to how or who to contact. Can the Minister tell me, with the Department of Justice, what information and contacts are available and where can that information be found?
Of course, the department of health offers a lot of support through counselling services, and you can always contact those providers in communities. As far as Justice, there is the NWT Victims Services program. What Justice does is provide funding to 11 community-based groups who are situated across the territory, and they provide services to victims. It could just be emotional support, direction on how to navigate the system, what to do, where to go, where they might find a safe place, things like that, and that contact information can be found on the Justice website.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When the RCMP are called in to address a matter related to mental health or addictions, what supports are the RCMP provided, and does it include training in dealing with addictions and mental health as well as a mental health support worker on-site? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
In the territory, I know that RCMP officers undergo trauma-informed training and cultural awareness training. Right now, if they respond to an issue where there is a mental health issue, which is quite frequent, there is not a mental health specialist who accompanies them. Frankly, there are just not the resources for that, at this point, but those are the kinds of things that we need to look at. I'm happy to have those conversations with the department of health and see what options are available. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Thebacha.
