Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question also is for the Minister of Health and Social Services. It’s dealing with our priorities set out by the 17th Legislative Assembly, enhancing addiction treatment programs using existing infrastructure. To date, with our priorities, has the Department of Health set up an inventory to begin identifying any of the existing infrastructure that are currently available to accommodate treatment programs specifically in the Beaufort-Delta region? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The GNWT has not looked at the current inventory for the possibility of using our inventory for treatment facilities. However, I think I should clarify that the intention, I think, is that we would look at what we have in place now for health and social services for treatment as opposed to building new infrastructure. So the idea of looking at current infrastructure was more or less looking at what infrastructure we had on the ground now as opposed to building something new. Thank you.
I understand that we’re not looking at building any new infrastructure, especially with the situation that the GNWT is in. However, I’d like to see an inventory of the buildings that are not being used right now in the Beaufort-Delta that can house such treatment programs for the people that are going through the system and don’t have that opportunity to get those services that they need. Thank you.
The Department of Health recognizes that there are a couple of facilities in the Beaufort-Delta that were previously used for treatment facilities and we are prepared to look at the feasibility of using those for treatment centres as we go through our inventory of existing infrastructure. Thank you.
In some of the other departments, the Department of Justice, they have a really good diversion program. The Department of ECE has a really good on-the-land program. Has the Department of Health looked at these successful programs and thought about implementing them in the treatment sector for both the youth that are battling addictions as well as adults that are battling addictions, to create an on-the-land treatment program within the Northwest Territories? Thank you.
The Department of Health and Social Services supports different alternatives to getting people to on-the-land activities. We have made $50,000 a year available to all of the communities if they want to do some on-the-land activities. It’s been a request from the communities and I’ve asked the Department of Health and Social Services to look at the possibility of developing on-the-land treatment programs across the North. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final supplementary, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services, for that answer. My last question is in regard to the same thing with the programming. We have a lot of programs for people that are institutionalized. We have a lot of programming for people who are incarcerated in the Northwest Territories. There is a really good article about it today in the News/North. For those that aren’t in those institutions or that are in the community that are suffering and aren’t getting those services, what are the programs in place for those individuals in the communities? Thank you.
At this time we have within the communities – I’m not sure if it’s all 33 communities – addictions counsellors and also some mental health counsellors at the community which we talked about a little bit last week. But we do have addictions counsellors. That would be a good place for individuals hoping to access, whether it’s residential treatment in the facility or hoping to work with a counsellor to get some sort of programs on the land that could be available through the various non-government organizations or community governments across the territory. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
