Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister of Health and Social Services did a Minister’s statement on the Forum on Addictions and Community Wellness. I want to quote a couple of things. It says not one community in the entire Northwest Territories can claim to be free from health and social problems caused by addictive behaviour.
That beginning statement is very telling about the problems we’re having here in the Northwest Territories. I believe in prevention and, certainly, enhancing established treatment facilities, as the Minister has highlighted in his statement, but I think we need to go just a little bit further. We need to draw the line and say we need to establish true treatment facilities to address these types of problems.
I thank the Minister who has offered two detox centres and two in Inuvik, I believe he said, or sorry, detox beds, my apologies there, but I think that only is just a re-profiling of what we already do. Are they just going to be re-profiled spots at the hospital? I liken it to what the federal government does. They keep announcing decisions already made about new money. It is something we’re already doing? Are these new beds that he’s talking about?
I applaud the government, on the other hand, when they talk about $9 million annually on counselling and treatment. This is a relentless fight. I will not give up on those people who need help, because hard drugs are a challenge out there. There’s not a month that goes by that somebody calls to talk about their children. I can’t say this call comes everywhere, but I can definitely attest that this type of call comes in every month that someone talks about their partner, their friend, their children with these types of problems. We are in a position to better people’s lives.
I worry about this Addictions Forum group. Are they just going to restate what the endless amounts of reports, experts and studies have already told us to do? They’ve told the government to act, but now they decided to strike a new committee. I also fear that laypersons will be helping to drive government policy when we’ve had many experts who’ve already pointed out the right direction. Although they mean well, I just worry we are taking on a topic that they don’t bring the skills to the table.
I will be asking the Minister questions about giving us an update as to what this forum has said and heard. I want to make it absolutely clear, my last point here for the day, that I certainly support the principles of things like on-the-land programming and to that I will stand with my colleagues, but I fear that it may appear taboo to say, this but no on-the-land program will help people with hard drugs such as crack and meth.
I will have questions during the appropriate time later today and I look forward to the answers by the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
