Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Excellent news. Can the Minister inform this House of other initiatives that he might be able to take to provide support to the SADD organization and this conference? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The Honourable Minister responsible for Youth, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I can confirm the Member's question. I have and will approach other provincial and federal counterparts to keep our strong lobby effort going to ensure that this conference becomes a success. It is important to the Northwest Territories as well as other jurisdictions across Canada who will continue to work with our Members here in the House, and our departments to ensure that we have fun and complete this fine effort. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Item 6, oral questions. The Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is also for the Minister of Youth. I received a call earlier today from a young lady in Fort McPherson, who is trying to work with the youth, but she is finding it awfully frustrating to access different programs to assist them to deliver different initiatives and opportunities for the communities, especially with the summer programs for youth.

I would like to ask the Minister responsible for Youth, is there any booklet or list of funding projects that may be out there, so community organizations or individuals working with youth find it easier just to go on? Who are the contact people? How much money is in the different programs? Do you have a list of those programs so that it is more accessible to communities?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for Youth, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have tried to compile all the information on the number of funding agencies with the various departments. Unfortunately, to this date, we have not. We had projected that perhaps we will have that ready by September 1st, but it is an ongoing process.

Our executive assistant has been working with the social envelope group to try to compile that information and present it at a later date. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Maybe the Minister can help out if he can identify an individual, or someone within the department, that these people can contact, so that they do not have to phone their MLAs, or try to lobby the band.

Is there a person within the department who someone can contact to get more information on what programs are open?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for Youth, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Currently, I would advise them to contact our executive assistant, Mr. Tom Williams, to inquire about the information necessary to apply at the various departments for funding. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Are there any regional youth programs available in the Inuvik region that they can access?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for Youth, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this moment, I can only advise the Member that they should inquire to the various departments, specifically to their interest. We are trying to compile this information so we can disseminate it to various members of the communities. At this point, that is all that we can really do. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister identify how much money is available for the youth at the present time?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for Youth, Mr. Allen.

Mr. Speaker, I am sorry, I could not provide that information at the moment. As I said earlier, we are still trying to find out the funding agencies and what is available to the public. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Item 6, oral questions. The Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question today is for the Minister of Health. Earlier this week, I asked her about an overall strategy for mental health and addictions. The question was taken as notice, so I will not ask the same question, Mr. Speaker.

However, I have constituents who come to me with concerns about what this government is doing for people who are trying to deal with addictions and mental health issues.

I am wondering if Mrs. Groenewegen can tell us what kind of priority, the government feels this should take. What they are doing to deal with this? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, mental heath and addictions is indeed a priority of my department. At this present time, we are developing a territorial strategy. As I have mentioned previously in the house, during this Session, there is over $7 million in funds, which are allocated out of our budget, to deal with various initiatives to address addictions problems.

We are trying to take a very holistic approach, examining linkages between mental health, addictions, family violence, and suicide. We cannot look at addictions in isolation because, as all of us know, there are many underlying causes to addictions. So we are trying to take a holistic approach, an inclusive approach. Also, we are cooperating with our non-government organizations to make sure that we come up with the best strategy available. Then, the next step will be to identify the cost of implementing such a strategy. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Supplementary, Mr. Bell.