WHEREAS rates of mental illness in the Northwest Territories are disproportionately high in comparison with other Canadian jurisdictions and a high proportion of persons involved in police incidents suffer from mental illnesses;
AND WHEREAS implementation of the federal Safe Streets and Communities Act will dramatically increase the costs of policing, courts and corrections services;
AND WHEREAS introduction in other Canadian jurisdictions of mental health courts as diversion programs from the criminal justice system are proving successful in improving illness treatment success rates and providing cost benefits to the policing, court and corrections services;
AND WHEREAS the 16th Legislative Assembly passed a motion on August 25, 2011, calling on the GNWT to begin research to examine options and potential benefits of a mental health court diversion program as an adjunct to the NWT Court System;
AND WHEREAS the Department of Health and Social Services is enhancing its approach to mental health program delivery through the development of a new strategy;
AND WHEREAS strategic cooperation between the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Social Services is essential for the effective delivery of mental health programming and the introduction of effective diversion measures;
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that the departments of Justice and Health and Social Services work cooperatively to bring forward a plan for introduction of diversion measures including specialized courts and integrated case management for review in the 2013-2014 business plans;
AND FURTHER, that the same departments provide the Standing Committee on Social Programs with a work plan at the earliest opportunity that will describe how this objective will be achieved, and that reflects the individual departments’ responsibilities in achieving this goal, on which to base accountability;
AND FURTHERMORE, that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a comprehensive response to this motion within 120 days. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The motion is in order. To the motion. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think it’s clear that everybody knows that we have a disproportionally high rate of mental illness in the NWT. The terrible history of our residential school abuses and abrupt removal from homes and cultures has contributed, obviously, and resulted in multi-generational impacts. There’s been some good work done, especially recently with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission playing an important role, but it’s also recognized that the need for diagnoses and healing remains high.
The unaddressed mental health issues are resulting in some tragic consequences, as evidenced by the complete disappearance or tragic violent deaths of individuals profiled in the news in recent months and really over the past number of years. In many cases, these are people who have been in and out of our correctional system and a resolving and repetitive cycle that is in itself tragic.
Not only are the human costs unacceptable, the costs to our health, education and justice systems are huge. Both beg some relief and resolution.
Recently, the federal crime bill has put in place further pressures on our corrections system that, according to our Justice Minister, will be unsustainable when the full impacts are realized. These issues are well known and have been discussed in this House.
This motion speaks to this situation and the serious need to act quickly to put in place effective prevention measures that will both improve the effectiveness of our delivery of mental health and diversion with those with mental health illness away from the humanly tragic, repetitive and costly correctional system.
The motion follows up on a previous motion from the 16th Assembly which referred to the research done on mental health diversion courts of Canada and elsewhere. A response to a trend of trivializing the mentally ill across North America is what this diversionary court represents.
There’s abundant evidence of success at very modest cost in Canada. The Toronto court, for example, was based on existing budgets of involved partners and had no separate government funding. Judge Richard Schneider stated that the federal Health Court has saved the health system millions of dollars. Similarly, a New Brunswick Mental Health Diversion Court has no budget of its own. It relies on the support of partner organizations, all but one of which are provincial government entities.
The record is clearly a high degree of success, both in addressing mental health of many individuals and embracing the cycle of repeated criminal offences and incarceration for the saving of millions of dollars.
The Minister has recently tabled a Mental Health and Addictions Strategy which is welcomed by everyone. Incredibly, though, the strategy for goals does not include prevention. This despite the repeated call for action at this foundational level and the Minister’s apparent support for such programs.
The Minister may claim that prevention is there, but I urge you to read the goals and see prevention in them.
During questions earlier this session the Minister of Justice revealed being done by his department and by Health and Social Services, will not allow consideration of action on this before the ‘14-15 business plans, despite the work being called for in the 16th Assembly with work being initiated already at that time.
To me, this is too late, Mr. Speaker. The toll on human and financial costs is too great to delay this long wait, while people who could be diverted to progressive measures instead get pulled down on the spiral and treadmill of corrections and untreated mental illness is intolerable.
I appreciate the support of my seconder, Mr. Moses, and I look forward to any comments and support from my colleagues and I do call for a recorded vote. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The motion is in order. The Member has asked for a recorded vote. Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The government is committed to improving mental health and wellness services in the justice system and it’s absolutely going to take a partnership between the Department of Health and Social Services, Justice, as well as the other social departments.
We have followed up on the motion that was put forward in the 16th Assembly and also recommendations from Member Bromley and committee to move forward with this, and I have committed previously that we are going to move forward and come up with some decision points that can be reviewed by committee. But the first thing that happens and has to happen is we actually have to finish the research and get out there and get all the information together.
We have developed or we are in the process of finalizing a work plan, which we hope to share with committee in August, and that work plan is going to identify what the objectives are, what the different roles of the different departments are, all the things that they’re asking for in this motion and that will be available in August.
But the motion that is before us today goes a little bit further and asks us to introduce diversion measures, including specialized courts. This may be something that we do actually do, but before we actually agree to do a diversion court, we have to finish the analysis, finish the research and get that information in front of committee. That information has to be in front of committee so that we can all make an informed decision together. We want to have that information in front of committee before the end of this fiscal year so that we can actually do design on whatever the recommendations happen to be, whether it’s a diversion court or other integrated programs or other diversion prior to court. I mean, we need to have all that information in front of committee so that we can make a decision so that in the next fiscal year we can actually do design.
There’s a lot of things that sort of happen and interact with this. For instance, if it comes to diversion court, a diversion court will not be successful without the support of the judiciary. So we need to make sure that whatever programs are in place to divert people in, meet the needs and the desires of the judiciary.
So there’s still lots of work to be done. We’re going to do the analysis. It’s going to be in front of committee so they can make decision points this fiscal year, and we can proceed with design in the next fiscal year depending on whatever direction is given and we can move forward.
So although we’re on the same path, we have a slightly different opinion. We look forward to working with committee to actually make those decisions when we’re ready. Given that this is a direction to Cabinet, Cabinet will be abstaining. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. I’ll allow Mr. Bromley some closing remarks, if he chooses.
