Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a rather lengthy return to oral questions, so I hope my colleagues will bear with me. It was asked by Mr. Roland on January 23rd, with respect to alcohol and drug prevention and I apologize for the length of it.
In addition to this $15 million in appropriate funds, the GNWT receives another $579,500 through an agreement with the federal government to deliver programs directly related to alcohol and drugs. I emphasize, however, that this $15 million only represents the money dedicated to direct program delivery in the area of prevention and treatment. The amount actually spent by this government on treatment and prevention of programs related to alcohol abuse is much greater.
We all know the enormous toll that alcohol abuse takes on our communities and the direct links that exist between alcohol and many of the social programs that we, as a government and the legislature, are concerned about.
In addition to the direct program delivery costs, the Department of Health and Social Services also budgets approximately $19 million for programs which indirectly support alcohol treatment prevention and related issues. A large part of the $10 million budget for children's group homes plus the care programs and placement programs for special needs children, will go to assist children from homes effected by alcohol abuse, including those with fetal alcohol syndrome or effect. Another $8 million allocated to community wellness initiatives, family violence programs, and family counselling, will also contribute to assisting families, communities, and individuals, to deal with the impacts of alcohol abuse.
The direct spending by this government on alcohol abuse prevention and treatment programs is approximately equal to the revenue generated by alcohol sales. Indirect spending on programs that help to address community wellness and social programs more than doubles that amount. If it were possible to calculate the indirect costs associated with drug and alcohol abuse of all our government spending, it would demonstrate that the government spends several times more on prevention and treatment than the revenue received for the sale of alcohol. Thank you.