Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise to speak on a very important issue in Tu Nedhe. When I speak to addictions counsellors and local health officials, they advise me that the number one cause of health and social problems in small communities is excessive consumption of alcohol.

The Department of Health and Social Services must make the shift from treating people for the causes of heavy drinking to preventing them from drinking. Some of the people are drinking alcohol to a point where it’s affecting their health, their family and their employment, and in some cases worse than that: drinking affects their entire life and in other cases there is even loss of life.

The communities need help and the Department of Health and Social Services should work with local governments and local stakeholders to provide that help. I feel that each community must have an overall community addictions strategy that places the resources and responsibilities at the community level. However, communities cannot do it alone. They need more resources, both financial and human, at their level. They need support from the Department of Health and Social Services to develop those strategies. Moving forward on a strategy with the communities to address this serious issue will have many long-term benefits for both communities and the entire GNWT as far as cost and wellness goes.

A big part of the reason our corrections system is filled with Aboriginal people is the overconsumption of alcohol. I think we all know how much it costs to house one inmate for one day. That is only one example not necessarily directly related to health.

As you can see, prevention work in this area will have long-term benefits for wellness for our communities and huge cost savings for our government, specifically the Department of Health and Social Services and the Department of Justice.