Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions will be directed to the Minister of Health and Social Services.
Will the department consider funding willing communities to establish a working committee to counsel potential individuals who would like to enter the substance abuse program? At the present time, the interested individuals who want to go for treatment have to seek counselling elsewhere, so they have to leave the community. And the community members know best who need the help, and they know each other. So will the department consider funding potential communities with these committees? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Mackenzie Delta. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this area where the Member is speaking to has been identified. There were changes put in place to ensure that programs for wellness and recovery addictions can be in one pot of money and be flexible. So within health and social services, we have the Community Wellness and Addiction Recovery Fund which Indigenous -- regional Indigenous governments can apply, and then there's a deadline if there is no uptake in the regional governments and the community Indigenous governments can apply individually as they're -- you know, for their needs of their community. But what I can say is for the Member's riding, the Gwich’in Tribal Council, which would cover two of the communities through -- well, actually three of the communities that the -- were approved for $303,033. And then the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation has a multiyear agreement that does also provide programming individually for those communities. There's also an additional pot of funding that Tetlit Gwich’in band council has accessed and their CA is in progress. There is the suicide prevention fund so that can be used to promote wellness and programming within those communities. Again, there has been $72,000 allocated in this budget for Gwich’in Tribal Council to provide programs and the Tetlit Gwich’in Council, $71,000 signed for those communities. So all of that money has been allocated to be able to be used in those communities as per the community wishes. So, you know, and then alongside of that health and social services still does provide clinical counsellors. The health and social services still provides if there is a need for out-of-territory treatment, so there is many -- and then if they're NHIB clients, there is medical travel to help assist to support those that are under those NHIB addiction recovery programs. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for all that information. That's real good news to hear that money has been allocated. There's another barrier that, you know, that we have to look at policies and procedures that will go hand in hand with these committees if they're established at the community level. Will the department look at assisting these communities with policies and procedures in order to make this committee work effectively? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as for, you know, I think committees, we do have the regional wellness councils that do help, and there are members from the Member for Mackenzie Delta's riding on the regional wellness council. They do provide feedback. Mental health and addictions have been one that has been highlighted by many of the regions and especially from the Beaufort Delta. This area -- you know, the thing is that we do collaborate with the communities on the GNWT provided programs. There has been, you know, some work done in the Beaufort Delta on how we provide services within our communities at the community level working with Indigenous governments. But as well as those funds that we give, like all of the money that I had mentioned before that we give to those Indigenous governments, that is on them to decide how they want to use those monies and we don't have any -- like, other than it's used for wellness and recovery and addictions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Are there any active committees like that are actively working in to helping their residents of these small communities that we can learn from that are active within the NWT at the present time? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would have to have further conversations with the Member to understand the committees that he's wanting information about. As I mentioned, we have the regional wellness councils that give the input to NTHSSA on how programs work. Those are vital committees. They're members from the local communities. And, again, the direction of how those monies that are flowing to the Indigenous governments would be through their own committees to do that, so. But I'm willing to have more conversations with the Member to figure out how to respond to if there is more work that can be done to support Indigenous and small communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
