Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I, as well, will be speaking about the issue of alcohol. As a territory, we strive for a sustainable society and a strong economy. That is built on two key factors. You need a healthy environment and healthy people. Mr. Speaker, I can tell you, based on my 56 years of life experience, that the single biggest impediment, in my opinion, in the Northwest Territories to healthy people is the abuse of alcohol. I know that from my personal experience. I know that from working in Health and Social Services and from being Minister in this House to see the endless struggle we have trying to lower the indicators that tell us we have a prodigious appetite for alcohol and drugs. It affects all the other problems that we do have.

If I had one single wish for this territory, before resource revenue sharing, before decentralization, it would be first and foremost to ask that we be granted no more abuse of alcohol, and from that instant on life would change for the better in the Northwest Territories.

The issue for us is twofold. We have generations of alcohol damaged people, FASD, young and old. Our jails are full. Our family shelters are full with alcohol-related issues. That is one challenge. The other challenge, and even more important in the long term, is the prevention side by trying to have babies born healthy. Otherwise, as a jurisdiction like other jurisdictions across this country, we will never have enough money, institutions, treatment facilities, homes and jails to fill to keep pace with the alcohol-related problems.

The challenge for this government is in fact to make a dent on the prevention side. We aimed at increasing our expenditures in Health and Social Services on the prevention side up to 1 percent. That figure is going to have to continue to rise if we are serious about doing serious battle and improvements with these indicators.

Mr. Speaker, it is not as simple as tobacco, unfortunately. As my colleagues have indicated around this table here, that the reality is adult sports, for example, are all tied to alcohol. That is where the key components in the whole exercise, be it hockey, curling, baseball, basketball, you name it. Young folks see that. We know that there are families…

Mr. Speaker, I request unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

Speaker: MR. SPEAKER

The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Miltenberger.

Speaker: MR. MILTENBERGER

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we know that there are cases where the adults drink upstairs and young under-aged children drink downstairs in the same house under the assumption that it is better to have them drink where there is other type of supervision. So the issue of denormalizing the use of alcohol is a fundamental one. That is our challenge.

As we move into the 16th Assembly, we are going to have to raise the amount of money we put into prevention if we are, in fact, finally going to make a dent on these terrible statistics. Thank you.

---Applause