Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the Minister agree that on-the-land programs could be used for a form of after-care in the smaller communities and regions? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm aware that Salt River First Nation had a very successful mobile treatment program with the Poundmaker's Lodge a couple of years ago, and I think that that was really a model for the rest of the NWT about creating a partnership with a southern addictions treatment centre and bringing it North, and bringing it directly to the people. I think there's a lot of potential in that, and certainly, I encourage people to explore that option for their communities if they think that would be useful. Thank you.
Would the Minister agree that some of the monies for the on-the-land programs could be used to hire and coordinate a program for after-care once the client returns home?
Absolutely. That is possible. One of the contemplated uses of the on-the-land healing fund is, in fact, after-care and family-based after-care. The Indigenous governments decide on the program. It is a community-based program, and they apply for the money to implement it in their communities according to their own needs. Certainly, the money could be spent on after-care.
Would the Minister agree, considering past problems, that external delivery of addiction services is more favourable for the client on the basis of anonymity, privacy, and the success rate is much higher than it was in the past?
As I've said, Mr. Speaker, in my return to oral question, Nats'ejee K'eh worked at a 38-percent capacity in the last three years it was opened, and we've been able to double the number of people who get residential treatment for the same money over the last six years.
What we understand is: the hitch at Nats'ejee K'eh and other northern treatment centres is confidentiality. I think we all know that everybody knows everybody, and they don't necessarily want to restart their sober lives in the NWT. We find that having options provides for a more responsive time to get in rather than longer wait times, which was the case at Nats'ejee K'eh. We also have gender-specific and co-ed programs, and Nats'ejee K'eh only had gender-specific programs. We also have locations in different parts of Alberta and B.C. and one in Toronto so people can choose where they want to go.
Finally, some of the locations are locations in which Indigenous values are driving, the values driving care such as Poundmaker's and Thorpe. We believe that what we have on offer now presents a wide range of options for residents of the NWT.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Thebacha.
Mr. Speaker, would the Minister agree and consider three standalone facilities for aftercare to be built, one in the South Slave, one in the central region, and one in the Beaufort Delta, to help clients who do not want to go back to the communities upon return for recovery centres? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
What I heard when I was on the Standing Committee for Social Development and we toured the treatment centres in the South is that people were most concerned with housing, in particular. They wanted to not return to overcrowded housing, housing over which they had no control of their environment. They were living on a couch and that kind of thing. What they really wanted was a house of their own. Not necessarily even a house but an apartment of their own. That seems to be one of the key factors in making after-care work, and there is, in fact, some language in the mandate about trying this approach to see if, in fact, it will assist people to return North, first of all, and to maintain their sobriety.
Then, of course, the other thing we're doing is this survey next year, early next year, to find out what's working for people and what isn't. We certainly will make MLAs aware of that work so that they can consult their constituents. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.
