Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is kind of a difficult question. I do not know even know who to pose the question to, so I am going to pose the question to the Minister of Health and Social Services. It's about elder abuse. Mr. Speaker, there is a real fear that there will be increased elder abuse, financial elder abuse, as a result of the legalization of cannabis. I would like to ask the Minister whether the Department of Health and Social Services has had discussions on that issue that may be looming. Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for raising the issue. It's not one that has actually been raised to us before. Having said that, the NWT Seniors' Society is an amazing organization. They have done a significant amount of work in these territories to put out literature and programs to educate people on elder abuse as well as help individuals combat elder abuse and provide resources to them so that they know where to go to and where they can get supports when those types of things are occurring.
They have not reached out to me indicating that they are concerned about the potential growth in this area as a result of cannabis. Having said that, I take the Member's point. I will work with the department to draft up some communication with them to see if there is an opportunity for dialogue. We do not know if this is going to be a problem, but we should be ready.
I have noticed in my work in my business as MLA how helpful the social workers are to the communities in all aspects, right from children to youth. I would like to ask the Minister if there will be any special training given to the social workers in this area, where it pertains to maybe as a result of the legalization of marijuana where it pertains to elder abuse.
Once again, I acknowledge that it is a valid conversation. I haven't had the conversation. I hear the Member. I am going to talk to the department, and I would like to reach out to the seniors' society. They are an important partner. I also point out that we are an important partner in combatting elder abuse. I have not done any analysis on this. I would like to know a little bit more about what's happening out there with respect to this particular topic before I make a commitment.
As many people in here know, I bring the issue of unemployment and the employment numbers of the small communities up many times in the House. That's even increased when we start talking about between the ages of 15 and 24. Then the employment rates are really low, when you get to that age category. That is the age category that I am concerned about that may be approaching the elders. You know, most times, Mr. Speaker, elders do not even mind doing it. They would give their last $20 to the youth in their own families, but I would just like to ask the Minister if there is some thought about any very specific treatment that could be targeted at that group, the youth, some sort of youth treatment very specific to cannabis to prevent future elder abuse in the small communities.
Once again, I take the Member's point. This is not a problem that we know exists or will exists. It's potentially there, and I am prepared to reach out to the NWT Seniors' Society to get their thoughts on whether they are concerned about this and whether or not they have had any discussion on plans. As far as education and training for our youth, we have been reaching out to youth. We have been working with Education, Culture and Employment to make sure that the message is out there on the harmful impacts of cannabis on the developing brain for youth up to 24 years old. That's going to continue. We need to continue to get that information out because every day there are new kids, and every day there are new 23-year-olds, and every day there are new 22-year-olds, and so we are working to get that information out there on a continual basis, making it part of our messaging going forward.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
