Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in an effort to try and get the community more involved in Inuvik in what I do here, I requested the Social Work Program of Aurora Campus in Inuvik to prepare a statement and a line of questioning for any of the Ministers that they felt was a concern in Inuvik. Mr. Speaker, I will follow with the statement prepared.

Currently, within Inuvik and the Beaufort Delta region, there is no detox available to those suffering from alcohol addictions. The health planning project, Community Profile of Needs, which was completed in 1996 documented that alcoholism was cited as a major social issue within virtually every community within the region. Further to this, detox was clearly stated to be a community need. It has, in fact, been openly identified by employers, government, superintendents, regional education authorities, as well as Aurora College, that alcohol abuse is impacting directly upon the educational and work environment in our region.

The Inuvik interagency committee has been actively advocating for a detox centre and had, in fact, been informed that one would be built and located within the new hospital complex. Recently, Inuvik received word that this was no longer the case and that one medical detox bed would instead, be provided within the regular medical unit. There is a big difference between a two to three day medical detoxification as compared to a social detox. As a result, residents of this area continue to be faced with the reality of having to travel out of their region to receive such necessary services. This creates barriers to health and wellness. The window of opportunity to help someone who is drinking is very short. Clearly, detox needs to be available within our region. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.