Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I don’t
agree with the Member — the way he puts that. There are programs and services for addiction services. The mental health unit at Stanton is the more acute-care facility for addiction treatment, more intensive care, under the supervision of the medical professionals.
We have mental health addictions specialists and community wellness workers placed in most of the communities. We invest up to almost $1 million to Nats’ejėe K’eh, which is the treatment centre facility in the Hay River Reserve, K’atlodeeche band land. We also provide funding to the Salvation Army, which has a treatment program that is not recognized as much as it should be. We also spend a significant amount of money in counselling here — family counselling services in Yellowknife and all of the territories. I’d be happy to provide the Members with more information.
We work with the Tree of Peace. Yellowknife Health and Social Services provides services for Yellowknife and the North Slave area, but all of the authorities have money allocated for addiction counselling. When we go into the specific item, I’d be happy to point that out to the Member.
Also, with respect to individuals who are looking…. I realize the Member is from Yellowknife and he may be referring to cases in Yellowknife. In my office I get lots of inquiries and calls from people who want to get outside of the NWT treatment services. They’re treated on a case-by-case basis; they’re treated on a confidential basis. I can tell you that anybody who needs assistance is given support and counselling to do that. What I do ask for is that when I get inquiries from a Member who’s asking a question, or the general public, I would like the initiative and action to be taken by the people in question. We follow that up.
I do not agree with the Member that we don’t have enough of that, although it may not be obvious to the Member, and I will be happy to point that out.
As we go forward, the mental health strategy and action plan as a whole is something I want to revisit. I look forward to having those discussions in this fine process.