Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Last week the Minister of Health and Social Services made a Minister’s statement on a forum on addictions that happened last Friday here in Yellowknife. In fact, he was quoted on CBC that he said that people say that government doesn’t listen to them. Well, on this side of the House we often get that same type of feeling that government doesn’t listen to what we have to offer.
I believe this is about the third or fourth time we’ve done a theme day here on mental health and addictions. If not one, it was the other. The Minister’s statement last week has sparked a lot of discussions, a lot of questions, and in fact when I did bring it into the House, we had a lot of questions on this side getting verification on a few different things.
I went home this weekend, and in the Yellowknife Airport, in the city here, and in the community of Inuvik a lot of people are asking why was the Minister making a statement, making the perception that this government is doing something good for the people when it’s not. I heard that from the community, I heard it from the residents, I heard it from the service providers. People who actually work in this field ask us why does the government says we’re doing good things like the detox centre, why are we sending people down south and not working with them here in the Northwest Territories.
It’s not only the residents, it’s not only the service providers, but it’s the coroner as well. There was a report that was just released that said all alcohol-related deaths were 49 percent; for suicides, 57 percent; accidental, 76 percent, or homicides. That’s no laughing matter. That’s serious and we have to come back here and do another theme day before we see action taken in this regard. I hope not.
There are service gaps. Obviously, there are service gaps, because there are people that are going through the system right now where we need help. A lot of those service gaps are actually identified in the Shared Path Towards Wellness. How many reports, how many discussions, how many consultations do we have to do before we see what we had written down just last June or even a couple of years ago or the year before to actually put that plan into action?
The people of the Northwest Territories want action and they want it now. The sooner we start doing something about addictions and treatment programs and putting our plans into place rather than just discussing them, then we’ll have healthier people, healthier residents of the Northwest Territories who are going to benefit the economy, who are going to benefit our communities…
Mr. Moses, your time for Member’s statements… The Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
