Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak about the youth inhalant abuse program run by Northern Addictions Services in Yellowknife. The solvent abuse program is currently being funded through Health Canada; however, Health Canada will discontinue funding the program at the end of June.
Mr. Speaker, this program specifically targets Inuit and aboriginal youth between the ages of 12 and 17. The treatment program is an eight-bed facility designed to treat youth who have addiction problems to solvents, alcohol and drugs. Since January of 1994 to today, 30 youth from the West and 30 from the East have received services from this program, and there is currently a waiting list of 10 youth who have been referred from various places in the North.
The NWT presently has the youngest population in Canada and the highest birthrate. Over 40 per cent of our population is under the age of 20. Youth 15 to 24 make up 28 per cent of our working-age population, in comparison to 21 per cent for the rest of Canada.
Mr. Speaker, resources are scarce for the youth of the NWT and, in the past, some youth from the North have been sent to the White Spruce Treatment Centre in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, for alcohol and drug treatment at a cost of $16,000 to $20,000 per youth. This centre will be closed in the very near future. Currently, there are over 100 beds for adults in the NWT for alcohol and drug addiction. There are presently only eight beds for youth. If the youth treatment program is allowed to close on June 30th, there will be no beds available to youth for treatment in alcohol, drug and solvent abuse programs.
Mr. Speaker, the youth are our future. With the Department of Health and Social Services community wellness initiative and move toward early intervention, it is important that this program be supported, even if funding from adult treatment programs must be diverted in order to do this.
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