Date
May
15
2007
Members Present
ITEM 1: PRAYER
Assembly Members
Debates of May 15, 2007 (day 7)
Topics
Statements
Member’s Statement On Actions Required To Address Alcohol Abuse
Michael McLeod
Deh Cho
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a common theme we heard in our travels across the Northwest Territories in the last year or so, other than elder abuse, was the fact that a lot of people want to see an Aftercare Program for alcohol and people who are seeking treatment have a couple of options. They can go to southern NWT or they can go to the South. One of the big concerns I know from my region is, again, the Aftercare Program. When they do come back, there really is no programs in place for them.
Mr. Speaker, alcohol is a big part of the Northwest Territories and it’s probably one of the biggest addictions we do have up here. Growing up in Inuvik in the ‘70s, alcohol was normal. With all the activity going on up there, alcohol was easy to get and it was easier to get than pop. As a result, many of the kids that grew up in the '70s ended up with problems with alcohol. If you wanted to seek treatment, you couldn’t have it in your community.
The recent visit up to Inuvik, and I had some of my Social Programs colleagues with me, we were invited up the river to a camp that is being put together by the Nihtat Gwich’in and the Gwich’in Tribal Council.
Speaker:
AN HON. MEMBER
Hear! Hear!
Michael McLeod
Deh Cho
It is a camp, Mr. Speaker, that has a tremendous amount of potential for the people wanting to deal with their alcohol addiction and deal with it close to home. There are some people without that support group that may find it easier to go south, but there are also a lot of people that want that support group with them. I commend the Nihtat and the Gwich’in Tribal Council for seeing that there is a problem and not just talking about it. We talk all we want. They see a problem there and they want to do something about it. Mr. Speaker, alcohol is a killer. Today, it is no accident that I decided to dress in black because black is a colour of mourning. I mourn all of those people that we have lost over the years to the effects of alcohol. Now, as a government, we have to work in partnership with the aboriginal groups who want to quit talking and finally do something about it. Thank you.
---Applause