Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I raise a fact that we must face if we are going to make some real progress in the territory: Alcohol addictions and the impact on mental health it has in the NWT is huge. It comes home to roost in family violence, low education levels, unemployment, poor health. You name the problem, chances are that alcohol is the root.
I have been in government for a long time and know for a fact that we are not doing enough with addictions and mental health problems. The government has always struggled with this and how to get good long-term results. We tend to forget about the costs of mental health and addictions, the cost that starts in our homes and communities and ends up in our schools, hospitals, courts, and correctional centres. We are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars. Most of that money deals with the results of addictions and not the problem itself. This government must find a way to deal with that problem. We have to tackle the problem itself, and keep working at it year after year. We must find a way to sustain the work on the alcohol problems.
We have a lot of good ideas. We have listened to the communities. We have heard from experts. We have heard from survivors who have rebuilt their lives. Their stories should be enough to convince us that we have to do more. We talked about on-the-land treatment. We tried more community-based treatment approaches than we have now and dropped it. We have the Wellness Court, which just might help to make sure those offenders get support and services they need to turn their lives around. I have no doubts that sending money away to provinces for treatment is a practical and effective solution for those who seek residential addictions treatment. I am positive that we don't do enough in our communities, every community, to help our people stay on the path of sobriety after they've gone for treatment. We need counselling to be available when --
Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh, your tine for Members’ statements has expired.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
We need counselling to be available when it's actually needed and where it is needed. We have to find a way that works better than we have been doing so far. We can save lives. We can build a much healthier, a much prosperous society. The Department of Health and Social Services must make a greater effort to combat the effects of alcohol in the NWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
