Thank you. Members' statements. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to address the concern that plagues each of our communities in the Northwest Territories. That concern is alcohol and drug abuse. When someone is addicted to alcohol and/or drugs, it does not only affect the individual, but it also has a negative impact on the family and the whole community. At the present time, we as government are sending our own people to southern treatment centres where they do not know anyone, where the culture is totally different, and where they feel lost. Upon returning home, there is no aftercare for these individuals, and within a month these individuals are back using alcohol and drugs again.
Mr. Speaker, we must look at taking a different approach to healing our communities, our families, and our people. We need to provide a healing process where the whole family's involved in healing themselves. There are programs in other jurisdictions where they provide counselling services for the whole family for an extended period and not just the addict. Most notably, there's a centre in Whitehorse that provides this service for the whole family to benefit.
Mr. Speaker, as the government, we do not have to try and develop new innovative programs for our people. It is right there. We just need to implement the program for our people and their families and their communities. When we have an individual who is addicted to these substances, it affects multiple departments within the government. It stretches our resource people within our communities. These resource people have families and spending time with their families central to their mental health. If we target these individuals and his or her families, we will have a healthy community. Having a healthy community ensures the safety of all the residents of our communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will have questions for the appropriate Minister at a later time. Thank you.
Thank you. Members' statements. Member for Great Slave.
