Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to pick up on my Member’s statement from earlier today where I was talking about the root causes of crime in our community. It also has a direct impact on the level of homelessness that we see, especially here in Yellowknife.
I’ve been a Member of the Legislature now for eight years. The topic of a dedicated, stand-alone drug and alcohol treatment centre located in the city of Yellowknife has been a topic of discussion for that eight years, and even before that. I’d like to ask the Minister where exactly is a drug and alcohol treatment facility on the government’s radar going forward.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are no new treatment facilities in the capital plan in the foreseeable future for Health and Social Services. There are many other projects, but there are no new plans for imminent treatment centres.
We’re hearing it from residents, business owners, and constituents about the level of crime in our community, the fact that addictions seem to be getting much worse, affecting young people in our community, and as a government I’m just wondering what we are doing about it. I’d like to ask the Minister how exactly does the Government of the Northwest Territories measure and evaluate the success and/or failure of the programs and services related to addictions in our territory.
There are a number of ways to do that. Some of the most obvious ones, of course, are to see if there are clients and if they return or if they don’t. If they don’t return, is it because they have successfully dealt with their addictions issues?
The fundamental issue goes way back. The Member talked about root causes and it’s something we all struggle with. The first, most fundamental issue is getting individuals born healthy. That’s probably the biggest challenge. As the Member has indicated, in Yellowknife there are concerns. It’s the ultimate, biggest magnet in the community we have. There are a lot of services here that attract people. It is a challenge to deal with all the folks as they come through town.
What the government is currently offering and currently doing is not working. I’d like to get some type of commitment from the Minister that the government in its transition document going forward into the next government will identify the area of addictions and how we deal with addictions as a government as a key priority for the next government. I’d like to get a commitment from the Minister that that will be there and that they will examine all the programs and services related to addictions here in the territory.
That is a significant issue. This issue is on the agenda of every government that I’ve been involved in, and every Assembly, and will continue to be. The decision about priorities with the resources we have available and the best way to do the programming to deal with the issue of addictions and the other areas that the Member has talked about are going to be critical challenges for the incoming 17th Assembly. That issue will be there for them to consider.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to, in my last question to the Minister, ask how it is that the government can in a meaningful way evaluate what we are offering today in the area of addictions. How can we evaluate that in a meaningful way so that we can ensure that the money that we are spending in the area of addictions is being spent the right way and actually making a difference?
We could track, and we do track, the statistics in jails where the majority of the crimes are alcohol related, and the occupancies of our family violence shelters, of our group homes, of the number of children in care that indicate that most of those issues which have alcohol related somewhere in that process. In terms of those that actually go through the door of a treatment centre or make use of community services, there is some tracking done, but that’s more on an individual basis. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
