Well, I disagree with the Minister’s
assertion on that, because quite frankly, we don’t have a specialized program that deals with crack. That’s taking over a number of our areas in the community, and it’s becoming the drug of choice, which is a real shame.
Sending someone to intense treatment in a hospital is not an appropriate use of our hospital. Furthermore, when we describe it as “We send them to the mental health unit,” I wouldn’t typically want to describe someone who has a drug addiction problem and wants to seek treatment as having a mental health problem. I would say that’s someone who has been attracted to a dark side of life, and they can’t shake it and they need some help. I don’t think sending someone to a mental health unit is the appropriate source.
The Minister further asserted that Nats’ejėe K’eh is the treatment centre. I do recognize that, and I’ve spoken in favour and support of that in the past, and I will today. But the fact is that it’s an alcohol, spiritual-based program, and if you’re burdened with the pains of crack addiction, that’s the last place you need to be. You need to be in an intensified treatment centre that focuses on those things. The way the existing program goes now, you have to be sent to Nats’ejėe K’eh, fail and then be further referred out south. Now, I’m not saying that’s the exclusive formula for how that process happens, but that’s the typical formula.
The Minister has suggested that she will get us details and whatnot, but I still have a number of questions outstanding regarding treatment programming and services provided in the Northwest Territories. When I say investment, I’m talking about real investment that provides real programs for people in those areas. The Salvation Army, I understand, offers a program. I know the Tree of Peace offers a program. I understand they’re successful for the levels of what they offer. But they are not the high-intensity
programs
required when you have that addiction. We do not have family-related programs, so when you have a codependency on drugs, we have nothing that focuses on that. We have nothing for children that offers that.
What I’m stressing is we have a number of these addictions. It’s not new to this Minister; it’s not new to this Assembly by any stretch of any imagination. The fact is, as I said today about watching drug dealers take over our community, it’s time this sort of spectator sport ends, from the sense of a bureaucratic approach. I believe to the bottom of my heart that this territory needs a high-intensity
crack-addiction treatment centre to deal with people in that scenario. If we can’t help them with the demons in their life, I don’t know where they have to turn. The problem is, I think, that this government continues to offer a soft “sit around and talk through your problem” process, and the fact is that this requires a high-intensity
situation of treatment.
Sending people to the hospital for addictions is not a reasonable approach. I don’t think it’s fair when we talk about the stress that Stanton itself has. It has been highlighted by other Members about burdening Stanton with office space. It’s not designed that way. In my opinion, Stanton isn’t designed as a treatment centre for people like this. We need a facility that focuses on this. Personally, I really don’t care where it is; I really don’t. If it’s in Sachs Harbour or Resolution, I don’t really care. The fact is this is the type of real investment in people we need to make. I think you’ll hear outstanding support even from people in the Yellowknife community. They don’t care if this is built here; they just want to see it built.
The fact is that people are suffering from this problem. Whether you’re a parent watching your children, whether you’re a spouse watching your partner, whether you’re a child watching your parent, it doesn’t really matter. The fact is that people want solutions to this problem, and I don’t think it’s being met head-on. Money is being given to service organizations to sit there and talk, who I think to some degree are worried about their little “kum ba yah” approach, and having people come in and sit there and talk their way through it. We’re not talking about soft drugs, where people can control themselves or get some support from friends and neighbours to work through the problem. We need real intense treatment, and I think that is the real move on this problem that needs to be done.
As I cited, I don’t see a significant investment in that area. As I even further highlighted the other day, we just gave away, to a large extent, our only treatment centre for this type of thing. That’s not speaking in any negative fashion to the fact that it’s going to actually finally be put to good use. I believe it will have a good use as a training centre, and I think that’s fine. I’m glad to see we’ve stopped heating an empty building for a number of years — which kind of draws into the question of why it sat empty for so long.
My time is running out, and I’m sure I made my point a number of times. Maybe Cabinet’s smiling because they agree with me on the sense that this issue needs to be done. Do I hear they’re finally willing to make that commitment? I’m not sure.
I’m going to leave it at that. I think I’ve made my point a few times. This is a significant issue in my riding downtown; a lot of the citizens have always
highlighted this and they look for leadership from the government.