Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we know that mental health is a critical issue in our communities. The Department of Health and Social Services has set out a five-year plan, called Mind and Spirit, promoting mental health and addictions recovery in the Northwest Territories.
Within Mind and Spirit, the department plans to focus on children and youth, mental health, and addictions recovery, all areas where communities badly need support. Mr. Speaker, to get this work done, we will need trained experts on the ground, people who are committed to our communities in the long term.
Residents of Tsiigehtchic recently had the benefit of a local mental health worker, someone who could provide counselling services, help with case management and suicide prevention, promoting mental health, and coordinating medication and monitoring for Northern people where they live.
Unfortunately, that worker was needed somewhere else and now works out of Inuvik. That means the worker was in Tsiigehtchic just long enough for people to start getting used to them, to become comfortable with them, and now they are gone. Even if another mental health worker comes to town, residents will feel like they are starting from scratch.
Working in mental health is a position of great trust, Mr. Speaker. When communities are used to people coming and going, it can be hard enough to welcome someone new, much less to open up to them about their most personal questions and challenges.
Moves like this are disruptive, Mr. Speaker, and the anxiety and uncertainty they cause run counter to our goals of supporting good mental health.
Of course, we can't control how individuals feel if it is time to move on to try different work or even life in a different communities. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Thank you.
---Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. Of course, we can't control when individuals feel that it is time to move on to try different work or life in a different community. When our health authorities assign work or move positions, they need to consider the impacts of those decisions on the people who they serve.
To deliver reasonable services and adequate support, we need to build a mental health system committed to encouraging long-term presence in our small communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
