Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On the land addictions and mental health treatment, this is the only direction we have heard from the Minister of Health and Social Services when asked several times about the future direction of addictions treatment in the North. I’m sorry, but this is not enough. For this, I am going to be bringing today my version of a five-step program and hoping that the Minister and the department are paying attention.
For starters, we all have had enough. Enough talk, enough debates, enough studies and enough strategies. Enough already. You are just wasting valuable resources, time and energy of dusting off old notes and replacing them with new ones. Addiction is addiction. It has not changed. It has not modernized. The only thing that has happened over the years is now it is worse than ever.
Secondly, we need a detox or withdrawal facility now, preferably in a location that has experienced the highest growth of rampant addictions of all types, who takes in those outcasts from all the smaller communities, and who has the highest percentage of dysfunctional residents in the territory. I am sure that Yellowknife might just fit that perfect candidate for a facility, but to make this one succeed this time, and not repeat the failure of the Somba K’e Healing Centre since 2003, we must have the right medical staff, expertise and funding.
Thirdly, let’s evaluate the 30-day dry-out period requirement for Nats'ejee K'eh Residential Treatment Centre in Hay River as this medical dry day requirement in other jurisdictions has been reduced greatly and has shown success. Maybe this way we can actually get the facility to 100 percent occupancy and not the 50 percent showing that we have been seeing today.
Fourth, we need to establish the proper halfway house programs in all 33 communities so that healing and reintegration happens with the support of family. While we are in these communities, we should create mobile centres of addictions counsellors to connect with all these communities to identify new clients willing to take that first step forward.
Finally, once this primary care detox and addictions program is up and running, we should identify the establishment of two other major addiction treatment facilities to be placed in both Inuvik and Norman Wells so as to complete the proper coverage of geographic addiction under the proper standardization model.
In closing, with over 89 percent of dysfunctional addicts walking the downtown streets of Yellowknife from outside the capital, we don’t need an addiction centre here in Yellowknife. We need a detox centre. Simply put, why? It is because we need the proper expertise to monitor the medically controlled drying out period…
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Why, again? Simply put, we need the proper expertise to monitor the medically controlled drying out period, which is the most dangerous time in the healing process, and should there be a medical emergency, your medevac costs are that much lower. That’s it, Mr. Speaker. A five-point plan. It’s as simple as that.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
