Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had planned to talk about a health issue today and I think one just sort of overpowered me and I felt that I had to address it.
Overwhelmingly, I feel troubled with the way and the approach the Mental Health Act is presently taking today. Although I certainly, like every single one of my colleagues here both on this side of the House and the other side of the House, will welcome a new act to help address the problems that we all see today, there are ways we can help today.
The other day I was asking the Health Minister about trying to find another way. There is another way. I’ve been doing research with support from our advice here and we can find a way to help people right now. There are options that are available. There are tools in our tool kit of legislative power to change the lives of others.
In speaking to the loved ones who have family members who are good people, but sometimes they get off their meds because they decide that they know what’s best. Even though all the medical advice and all the facts prove otherwise, they decide what they want to do. It leaves the hospitals and loved ones paralyzed while we watch the continued downward spiral of these people. The RCMP will say there’s nothing they can do because unless they break the law, cause a crime or hurt themselves, they must stand by. The system itself is part of the problem. The system is the Mental Health Act that we are dealing with today.
We’ve heard the Minister with the anticipation that maybe if everything lines up it may come in May, but we also know that this is very unlikely. We’ve heard the Health Minister say that he will probably be in a position to table the new Mental Health Act late in this Assembly, sometime in the fall. That means the new Assembly will be choosing the destiny, the direction the new Mental Health Act will be taking. It will be up to the 18th Assembly to get immediately up to speed on these initiatives and to take some action. I can’t speak for the 18th Assembly. No one can until it’s in place to make its decisions going forward.
But as I said, there is another way. Through hard work and a bit of research provided to me, there has been inspiration and we’ve come up with a solution. We’ve come up with a small change to the present Mental Health Act to provide much respite needed by families.
We’ve seen a recent case where someone was not criminally responsible. Why? There are so many reasons why, but the fact is things can be done. All I want to say as my time runs out is there are options before us and I’ll be bringing this issue back up in the near future. There are ways we can help make a difference to these families and save lives today.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
