Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I don't want to step out of the parameters of this legislation that we're dealing with, but we know Minister Allen is the Minister of Justice as well as youth. I'd like to hear from him about what he has done and whether or not he's introduced any programs or any policy initiatives in the business plan or in his time as Minister responsible for Youth to address the concerns that have been raised, in and out of this House, about the challenges and predicaments that our youth are facing at more increasing levels than I've ever heard.
In more serious situations, Mr. Chairman, I've had the opportunity to partake in some of the community discussions in the city of Yellowknife, for example, and of course I can't really speak directly about the needs that are out there in the communities. I leave that to the representatives here from outside of Yellowknife. However, in our city of Yellowknife we are really faced with growing problems and challenges that our youth are facing that we used to only think of as being the urban problems of big cities. But these problems are becoming more of a reality in our city.
We're seeing youths who are being introduced to really hard drugs and being introduced to them at a very young age. We're talking in elementary grade years. Grade 5 and up even. Even younger. These are the kind of drug problems that are absolutely unforgiving. It's not the kind if drug habit maybe was present before where young people could try different drugs and then they'd move on and get on with their lives. This is the kind of drug, crack or cocaine, that makes them immediately enter into criminal activities to feed their habit or to deal with their addiction.
There is a lack of treatment programs for youth, as has already been mentioned. I think it's really not addressing the issue adequately or anywhere near fully if we are only dealing with the issues of handling youth when they come into the correctional system, but not outside of it where they are vulnerable and they're open to exposure to that kind of problem.
I'd like to ask the Minister, himself, what he has done as the Minister responsible for Youth to address any of those areas. Thank you.