Thank you, Mr. Chairman. By virtue of the fact that I do not belong to the Social Programs Committee as all Members here cannot belong to both Social Programs and Governance, this is my first chance to address my mind to some of these issues. I do not have a long general comment, but I do want to make a few observations and to ask some questions.
I want to start off by congratulating the department on one thing I noticed the department is doing and I hope it is the Government of the Northwest Territories that is doing it. It has to do with the anti-smoking ads on CBC TV that I have been noticing. They seem to come on right before Northbeat. I think it is very effective as it scares me when I am sitting there looking at them. I find them very relevant. I think if children saw them they would think they are really cool ads because they address how it is not cool to smoke. I hope that it works for the children and young people out there because, as we talked about in the strategy session, we have so many people smoking. It is costing us a lot, not just in money, but in the general health of our people.
I want to start off with that, but then I have to move on to alcohol and drug treatment programs, which I think we all agree is a huge problem. We are probably not spending as much money on it as we could and we do not have an adequate facility in Yellowknife or around this area. The Member for North Slave has been asking the Minister for that sort of treatment and I am hoping that the department could somehow address that. Could the Minister address this need for a treatment centre?
With that issue, I wonder if the Minister could tell me, where do people go for alcohol and drug treatment, given the inadequate treatment services in Yellowknife and this area? I think I will ask that question and then I will talk about other issues which have to do with Telehealth and recruitment and retention of doctors. I am trying to learn more about the state of alcohol and drug treatment programs in our Territory. Thank you.