Mr. Speaker, this is in response to a question asked by Mr. Kenoayoak Pudlat on November 24, 1993, in regard to solvent abuse.
Solvent abuse is not an offence under the criminal code, or any other federal or territorial statute, but it sometimes comes up in court when the solvent has been stolen, or a building has been broken into in order to steal or use solvents. Judges or Justices of the Peace often try to impose probation orders for treatment or counselling, if programs exist under the mandates of Health, Social Services or non-governmental organizations in that community.
Some thought was given a few years ago, by an interdepartmental group comprised of the RCMP and the Departments of Justice, Social Services and Health, to develop legislation for solvent abuse. The thrust of it was to make it an offence to ingest or distribute solvents for the purpose of inducing euphoria, hallucination or intoxication. Penalties included a fine, imprisonment or an interdiction-type order, like the one available under the Liquor Act, but is now rarely used.
A number of objections were raised, one of them being that the legislation criminalized a social problem. That objection could have been met, in part, by not providing for a conviction or record, but an order for treatment and a prohibition against stores selling that person solvents. However, there still remained a serious problem: the legislation was hollow without programs providing for counselling and treatment resources.
Mr. Pudlat's notion of a policy is a good idea, but it would not be effective for any department to have one, unless there are programs available to help. Much time and effort has been spent already by the RCMP, Health, Education and Social Services, in the schools trying to make children aware of the dangers.
Some progress has recently been made in the development of programs. The Minister of Social Services announced on November 26, 1993, that northern addiction services in Dettah will now, for the first time in the history of the north, take a few young persons for substance -- solvent and inhalant -- treatment, something which has been requested for many, many years. This is an important pilot project which will indicate future directions for the government.