Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The need could not be greater than now for a territorial treatment centre here in the Northwest Territories. As we all know far too well, drugs and alcohol continue to have a profound impact on Northerners’ lives. It’s time for this government to get behind a detox centre, which will help the drug and alcohol problem that many people suffer from.
I’ve come to see the drug and alcohol problem kind of like an iceberg. You know, you can look far off and see the surface of the problem, but you never fully realize the size, the magnitude, what truly lies underneath the surface. I can only work with the information I have, and with that I’m trying to provide a picture that the Minister understands.
I know the Minister likes stats and numbers, so let’s give a few a try. Almost 89 percent of the people in our jails are struggling from addictions; and if he doesn’t believe me, he can nudge the guy on the left of him to ask for the facts on that one. On average, 600 people are hospitalized a year because of health problems related to mental illness, and 58 percent of those are directly related to substance abuse. Again, being a Minister who likes numbers, that’s about 350 people per year.
The rate of addictions in the Northwest Territories dwarfs the rest of Canada. Our smoking rates are twice Canada’s average. Thirty-two percent of our people who drink in the NWT are heavy drinkers, more than twice the national average. Even more shocking is the number of people who say their friendships, social lives, physical health and home life are harmed by their drinking. That applies to one in four of the people that consume alcohol, and they live in our Northwest Territories. In our small communities it’s even worse: 43 percent of the drinkers say that this habit has been consuming their lives.
Alcohol is not the only problem. Forty-one percent of our young people between the age of 15 and 24 are now smoking marijuana. One in four residents of the NWT has been experimenting with cocaine, crack, hallucinogens, ecstasy, speed and even heroin. These facts alone should be calling this government from its sleepy slumber and use it as an act or a message to finally take up arms on this issue.
During question period I will have questions directed to the Minister of Health and Social Services about what this government will finally do on this issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
