This is page numbers 715 - 743 of the Hansard for the 12th Assembly, 6th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was chairman.

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Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Tony Whitford

Bill 2 is now ready for third reading, as amended. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Minister, the Premier, for her participation and thank the witnesses for their assistance in this matter.

---Applause

The committee can now turn its attention to Committee Report 13-12(6), Standing Committee on Agencies, Boards and Commissions Report on the Elimination of the Alcohol and Drug Board of Management. The chair now recognizes the honourable Member for Inuvik, Mr. Koe.

Committee Report 13-12(6): Report On The Elimination Of The Alcohol And Drug Board Of Management
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

November 2nd, 1994

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Fred Koe Inuvik

The Standing Committee on Agencies, Boards and Commissions has prepared a report on the Alcohol and Drug Board of Management. We've already read the report into the record, so I would just like to make a few comments. There is one motion in the report, but I would like to give other Members of the committee the opportunity to make comments.

Alcohol and drug abuse is one of the most serious problems facing northerners today. As a result, the funding of alcohol and drug programs has always been a sensitive and important issue in the debates of this Assembly.

Over the past few years, concerns related to the Alcohol and Drug Board of Management were raised regularly by Members in the House, but even with these concerns, the government still eliminated the board at the end of the 1992-93 fiscal year. The Standing Committee on Agencies, Boards and Commissions is disappointed that the government eliminated this board without having consulted the Assembly, either as a whole or through the standing committee. Previous government initiatives to eliminate boards included consultation with the standing committee. The elimination of the alcohol and drug board of management, we felt, should not have taken place without similar consultation.

The standing committee contacted representatives of a number of alcohol and drug programs across the Northwest Territories. The responses received suggest that relations between the department and the various alcohol and drug programs need to be improved. The department must be more attentive to input from alcohol and drug workers. As well, the standing committee feels that there must be some means of monitoring the effectiveness of grants and contributions to alcohol and drug programs.

With those brief comments, Mr. Chairman, and before I get into the recommendation made by the committee, I think we should give other Members of the committee an opportunity to make some general remarks. Mahsi.

Committee Report 13-12(6): Report On The Elimination Of The Alcohol And Drug Board Of Management
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Tony Whitford

Thank you, Chairman Koe. General comments on the report. There doesn't appear to be any further comments on the report. The chair recognizes the Member for Yellowknife Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

General Comments

Committee Report 13-12(6): Report On The Elimination Of The Alcohol And Drug Board Of Management
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Charles Dent

Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Being a Member of the committee, I fully support the report. I just wanted to add that during the life of the Special Committee on Health and Social Services, we frequently met with drug and alcohol workers across the north. One of the big concerns they expressed was that they felt that without this board, they didn't have as good an opportunity to address their concerns in the overall operations and policies of the department to the Minister. They saw that as being an important vehicle for providing such input. I just wanted to say that not only as a Member of ABCs, but as a Member of the Special Committee on Health and Social Services, I was told of the need for some mechanism and I would hope that the government will be able to find such a mechanism to ensure that alcohol and drug workers can have meaningful input to the department when it comes to setting up policies and procedures. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Committee Report 13-12(6): Report On The Elimination Of The Alcohol And Drug Board Of Management
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Any further comments on the report? The chair recognizes the Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Antoine.

Committee Report 13-12(6): Report On The Elimination Of The Alcohol And Drug Board Of Management
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Jim Antoine Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With regard to this Alcohol and Drug Board of Management, I just want to say that the purpose of this board was to give out grants and contributions to different programs around the north. The department has taken this role on. However, there needs to be a continuation of dealing with the issues and concerns that are raised by people in the communities with regard to alcohol and drug programs. I have made many statements in this House with regard to that. I have raised the point that there have been numerous conferences and meetings that took place in the past that brought together people who are involved in alcohol and drug programs from the communities with the Department of Social Services. Recommendations have come out of these workshops and meetings. In fact, I attended a few of those. The purpose and direction of these recommendations was to direct the department to improve the delivery of alcohol and drug services to people in the communities.

However, that doesn't seem to have taken place. I would like to say that committee was told that the department was undertaking an alcohol and drug strategy that would be developed this year by the new amalgamated Department of Health and Social Services and that mechanisms for people to be involved and monitoring the effectiveness of the grants should play an essential part in this strategy. That is a real concern to me.

I have talked to people with regard to this Alcohol and Drug Board of Management. In the beginning, it worked fairly well, but it fell by the wayside and the department took this role on itself. I have asked people in the communities whether we should reinstate this board and the feeling was no. We should look for another mechanism for dealing with these problems. I just wanted to remind the Department of Health and Social Services, as they are developing their strategy, to remember the agreements that were made when the programs were transferred with health services. Some programs were transferred to Social Services as well. There are agreements with regard to aboriginal people in relation to the alcohol and drug program. That has to be kept in mind if they are developing a new strategy for alcohol and drugs. That is my input into this debate. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Committee Report 13-12(6): Report On The Elimination Of The Alcohol And Drug Board Of Management
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Antoine. Any further comments? The chair recognizes the Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Gargan.

Committee Report 13-12(6): Report On The Elimination Of The Alcohol And Drug Board Of Management
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Samuel Gargan Deh Cho

Mr. Chairman, with regard to the report itself, I don't know see anything that says we are going to be eliminating the Alcohol and Drug Board of Management. It was done already?

Committee Report 13-12(6): Report On The Elimination Of The Alcohol And Drug Board Of Management
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Tony Whitford

The chair will turn to Mr. Koe for assistance on this. Mr. Koe.

Committee Report 13-12(6): Report On The Elimination Of The Alcohol And Drug Board Of Management
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Fred Koe Inuvik

The Department of Social Services, at the time, eliminated the board of management in 1992-93.

Committee Report 13-12(6): Report On The Elimination Of The Alcohol And Drug Board Of Management
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Koe. Mr. Ningark.

Committee Report 13-12(6): Report On The Elimination Of The Alcohol And Drug Board Of Management
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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John Ningark Natilikmiot

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, ever since I became a Member of this House about five years ago, time and time again we have talked about the evil use of alcohol when mostly women and children are being abused by their spouses and other males. When we travelled with the Special Committee on Health and Social Services, we not only heard about diseases in the territories caused by smoking and other things, but we also heard their concern about the abuse of alcohol in the territories. In the country, the territories is one of the highest jurisdictions that abuse the use of alcohol. The government is aware of the fact that people in the territories consume a lot of alcohol. There are all kinds of social problems attached to the use of alcohol, even in the small communities. If the government really wants to deal with the problem, I think one of the ways is to have a mechanism whereby the alcohol and drug workers in the communities can reach out for some assistance from the government.

I don't know why the government decided to eliminate the mechanism where the front-line workers were able to access funding and other means to combat the use of alcohol in the jurisdictions. So, as a Member of the Standing Committee on Agencies, Boards and Commissions, I support the recommendation that will be read into the record by the chairman, himself. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Committee Report 13-12(6): Report On The Elimination Of The Alcohol And Drug Board Of Management
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Ningark. The chair recognizes Mr. Koe.

Committee Motion 62-12(6): That Health And Social Services Complete Comprehensive Alcohol And Drug Strategy, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Fred Koe Inuvik

I would like to thank Members for their comments. The committee has made a recommendation and I would like to introduce that recommendation and then we can speak to the motion. I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services complete a comprehensive alcohol and drug strategy and provide it to the committee by December 31, 1994. Further, that the strategy include mechanisms for monitoring the effectiveness of grants and contributions to alcohol and drug societies, and for gathering input from alcohol and drug workers to the department.

Committee Motion 62-12(6): That Health And Social Services Complete Comprehensive Alcohol And Drug Strategy, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Koe. The motion is in order. To the motion. Mr. Koe.

Committee Motion 62-12(6): That Health And Social Services Complete Comprehensive Alcohol And Drug Strategy, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Fred Koe Inuvik

Mahsi, Mr. Chairman, the comments made by my colleagues this afternoon, I think, are reflected in the direction that is given to the government. There is a lot of concern that alcohol and drugs are our number one problem in the Northwest Territories. We have a department that is currently being restructured and reorganized and there are a lot of community organizations out there to combat the problem by providing various services: client services, detox services, and counselling. With the limited amount of money that is being put towards this battle, we have to start looking at how we can assess the effectiveness and efficiency of our money.

Like anything else, we want to get the best return for our dollar and provide the best service we can for our people in the Northwest Territories. We all know that we would like more and we want more and abuse is rampant throughout the north. But, I feel that if we can get a strategy that will outline where we are, where we want to go and identify the resources required to get there, that will help in this battle. So, with that, I support the motion. Mahsi.

Committee Motion 62-12(6): That Health And Social Services Complete Comprehensive Alcohol And Drug Strategy, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Koe. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Gargan.

Committee Motion 62-12(6): That Health And Social Services Complete Comprehensive Alcohol And Drug Strategy, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Samuel Gargan Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I, too, support the motion but I would also like to say that some of the programs being delivered in the communities have to be looked at to see whether they should be continued. The trends don't change even though workers are getting paid to do the jobs. I'm hoping that the effectiveness of these programs is also looked at.

For anybody who is running a program in those communities, most of the drinking doesn't happen during working hours. It doesn't start at 9:00 in the morning, go to 5:00 pm and then stop. Most of the time, that is when the alcohol and drug workers are working. I would like to see that change. Maybe the working hours of those people should change so they can help the people who drink in the evenings and on the weekends. If programs are not serving the community and they are not effective, then the government should stop providing funding.

The other thing the government has to realize, too, is that we are going to be changing the Liquor Act. As much as possible, I would like to see the control of alcohol coming from this act, as well. The drinking age should be changed, perhaps. You should have a licence to drink, perhaps. You also have to look at the drinking hours for outlets, so they consider students. Students are not being affected by the act, but I would hope that we would be able to force changes so if the bars were closed at 10:00 pm instead of 12:00 am or 2:00 am, I'm sure that would have a positive effect on students, as well as parents.

In this comprehensive strategy, I hope the government looks at every possible avenue at their disposal to place controls on the consumption of booze. And I don't mean raise the price of booze again. There have to be other ways of addressing it. I hope that is one avenue, as well as trying to deliver effective programs in the communities. Effective programs don't operate from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

With that, I would like to thank Mr. Koe's committee for its support and I appreciate that we can discuss this at some length so that when the time comes, the government is not afraid to implement the necessary changes to make this effective. We need controls on consumers of alcohol to benefit not only the individual but also children.

Committee Motion 62-12(6): That Health And Social Services Complete Comprehensive Alcohol And Drug Strategy, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Gargan. To the motion. The honourable Member for Natilikmiot, Mr. Ningark.

Committee Motion 62-12(6): That Health And Social Services Complete Comprehensive Alcohol And Drug Strategy, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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John Ningark Natilikmiot

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, not too long ago there was a motion in this House that we no longer tolerate violence, it was zero tolerance for violence in the territories. I think there was unanimous support from all Members of this House. I think it is high time that government demonstrate their support for zero tolerance by doing something in this area, particularly with this recommendation. With that, I support the motion, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.

Committee Motion 62-12(6): That Health And Social Services Complete Comprehensive Alcohol And Drug Strategy, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Ningark. To the motion.

Committee Motion 62-12(6): That Health And Social Services Complete Comprehensive Alcohol And Drug Strategy, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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An Hon. Member

Question.

Committee Motion 62-12(6): That Health And Social Services Complete Comprehensive Alcohol And Drug Strategy, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Tony Whitford

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Anything further, Mr. Koe?

Committee Motion 62-12(6): That Health And Social Services Complete Comprehensive Alcohol And Drug Strategy, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Fred Koe Inuvik

Mr. Chairman, that concludes the Standing Committee on Agencies, Boards and Commissions Report on the Elimination of the Alcohol and Drug Board of Management. I would like to thank all the Members of the committee, witnesses and the government for assisting in the work. Mahsi.

Committee Motion 62-12(6): That Health And Social Services Complete Comprehensive Alcohol And Drug Strategy, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Koe. Does the committee agree that the Standing Committee on Agencies, Boards and Commissions Report on the Elimination of the Alcohol and Drug Board of Management is concluded?