Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier I made a statement on behalf of students from the Chief Sunrise Education Centre on the Hay River Reserve. They made the remark and noted the devastating impacts that alcohol and drugs have had throughout the NWT society. So my questions are to the Minister of Health and Social Services: could the Minister update the House in terms of just what it is that this government is doing, along with the First Nations, in terms of determining the future needs of the old treatment centre that has been situated on the reserve, and would it serve a purpose? Mahsi.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the reserve has actually submitted a proposal on the use of that particular building on the reserve. Their design includes turning that into more of a wellness centre to provide different types of programming for residents of the Northwest Territories, in particular the South Slave. We have received that proposal. We have reviewed it, and we are working with the band now to turn the building over to them, so that they can move forward with the plan that they have put forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
How is this government addressing the crisis of alcohol and drug addictions in the NWT? It is quite clear we do not have a treatment centre that is made in the North for the North.
As I have said many times, in the last Assembly, the Minister of Health and Social Services conducted a working group of stakeholders to go around the Northwest Territories and talk to people about what they foresee or what they would like to see with respect to supporting individuals with addictions. What was clear is that facility-based treatment centres is not the only option that we needed to consider. We heard loudly and clearly from residents that they want options, not one program that is going to be appropriate for everybody. One of the key things that was identified was more on-the-land programming.
In the Northwest Territories, we support on-the-land programming as an option. We have a mobile treatment option that can go around and use existing facilities, which is an option. We have medical detox available in a number of our hospitals and health centres in the Northwest Territories, and we are looking at seeing how we can expand that over time. We do have counsellors in place in all regions and most communities in the Northwest Territories. We have great partners outside government who are providing different types of programming. We have contracts with treatment facilities in the South that can provide a range of programming that we have never been able to provide in the Northwest Territories due to economies of scale.
We are currently looking at implementing a sobering centre here in Yellowknife. That would be a great transition for individuals who are struggling with addictions today who need a safe place to sleep, but can also start to receive counselling and supports that can lead them to taking up some of the other options, whether it is on-the-land programming or some of our facilities in the South. If that program works here in Yellowknife, Mr. Speaker, there are certainly options to looking at expanding that to the South Slave and to the Beaufort Delta, as examples. There is a lot happening, Mr. Speaker. There are more programs today than there have ever been before. The Member is right; we need to continue to do more, but there is a lot happening.
The Minister has stated that there is lots happening in terms of dealing with the crisis that we are facing in the NWT. One reality that we are facing is that, within the period of a year, we will likely see the legalization of marijuana. Perhaps that could precipitate statistically more people using marijuana and perhaps enhancing the problems that we already have. With this government, at that point, I would seriously consider the idea of a treatment centre for the North.
With the legalization of marijuana in Canada, one of our primary foundations in moving forward is promotion and awareness of the negative impacts of marijuana. This is one of the things that we are going to be working on. Currently, marijuana use is already normalized both in the Northwest Territories and across Canada, which is, I think, one of the reasons the feds may have considered moving forward in this way. The message is still the same, Mr. Speaker. We have heard loud and clear from residents that they want options, and we are looking at providing the widest range of options possible and practical in the Northwest Territories. Things like the sobering centre, on-the-land programming, community counsellors, great partners outside government, as well as the facility-based treatment options that we have with our southern partners -- which provide, honestly, a wider range of programs than were ever able to be provided here in the Northwest Territories -- do provide our residents with choice.
I am not saying we have gone all the way. I am saying that a treatment facility in the North is something we are always going to have to keep on the radar. It might get to a point where it is feasible, practical, and beneficial, but there are other things that we need to keep doing in the interim, including sobering centres and other options for people who are suffering from addictions.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the students that we work with on the reserve have this question in mind, and most likely all residents of the NWT. Perhaps this is the opportunity for the Minister to directly respond to this question to the students and people of the NWT. The question is: why will the GNWT not support a treatment centre in the North for the North? Masi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have actually constructed, built, and run four treatments in the Northwest Territories over the last 20-plus years. Where we have had capacity for 32-plus clients in these treatment facilities, at any given time, we might have had a dozen individuals in these facilities. Given the nature of these facilities, a real treatment facility has to be able to provide a wide range of programs, including psychiatric and psychological support, as well as dietary programs and other programs. In the Northwest Territories, we were never able to get a psychologist or psychiatrist to be permanently located in these facilities. There just was not the demand. Also, with an average of 12 people who are choosing, it is important to recognize that, for a treatment facility, you have to be ready. You have to choose to go to those things. We did not have the numbers to sustain them and keep them operating.
Meanwhile, we have entered into contracts with four incredible facilities in the South that provide a range of programming that has never been equalled here in the Northwest Territories with respect to treatment facilities, and we are getting really positive results. I have had an opportunity to meet individuals who have attended these facilities, who have indicated that they like the supports they are getting from these facilities. They appreciate the programming because it is meeting their needs. I even had some of them make reference to some of the treatment facilities that they attended here in the North, and their indication to me at the time was night and day as far as programming.
I am not saying that the Northwest Territories will never reach that point where we can actually fully fund and fully operate with psychologists and psychiatrists and a range of programs in the Northwest Territories, but at this point, the numbers do not work and make it very difficult to run something that will be successful. So we acknowledge what our residents have told us, which is options, Mr. Speaker. We have moved forward with more on-the-land programming, more counselling supports, facility-based mobile treatment options using existing facilities. We are looking at sobering centres. We are looking at a number of different options so our residents can choose which option works best for them. The feedback that I am getting from people who are actually suffering from addictions is that, when they are ready and they use these options, they are getting positive results. We always need to do more, Mr. Speaker, but right now, I do not think there is a justification for the construction of a dedicated treatment facility. It has not worked for the past, and I do not believe we have turned a corner, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.
