Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last October, this Assembly passed a motion to reopen a residential addictions treatment centre in Inuvik. I was glad to hear about this motion because it has given me a head start on a very important issue for my constituency. The lack of a proper treatment centre with follow-up programs in the Beaufort-Delta is something that needs to be addressed quickly. The Beaufort-Delta Regional Council passed a resolution last November in support of the establishment of a treatment centre, prevention programs, especially to prevent hard-core drug use such as crack cocaine, and funding support for the mental health addictions counsellors and after-care programs in all communities.
It is a sad fact, Mr. Speaker, that during the week of the BDRC's meeting, which coincide with Addictions Awareness Week, there was an armed robbery at an Inuvik corner store by an individual looking for money to buy crack. It would be na‹ve to think this was an isolated incident. With more and more resource development jobs and the extra cash this puts in people's pockets, we will see more of this if we don't make the investment in prevention and treatment.
Mr. Speaker, although I believe that alcohol and drugs are a matter of personal choice, when people who are addicted do make the choice to get treatment, the facilities and programs should be there. The Minister has indicated he will be in a better position to respond to the BDRC's resolution in late March, once he has more details on the additional resources for health care recently committed by the federal government. I look forward to working with the Minister and my colleagues in this House and the Beaufort-Delta leadership to ensure that the new money is invested where it is most needed. I would certainly say that prevention and treatment of addictions is one of those critical areas. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause