Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the Member’s comments and I would just like to speak to a couple of his thoughts and observations. I think we’ve all probably, as MLAs, had somebody approach us who had the same type of issue that Mr. Hawkins’ constituent had about trying to keep a family member on their meds, someone who has a mental health illness, and the assisted community treatment is designed to do just that. That is giving the tools to the psychologist and psychiatrist that they haven’t had before. When I talked to some psychologists and psychiatrists here in the Northwest Territories, this was the exact model that they were referring that would give them the tools. So, we’re thrilled to have the act in there, recognizing some of the concerns that have been raised over properly resourcing.

I’d also like to talk a little bit about rolling this out. We know it’s going to take us up to a year before this legislation goes live and in that time we have to do a number of regs, a significant amount of training, because business is going to be done in a different way and it also must include public awareness. We must make sure people understand their rights and obligations under this legislation but also the rights and obligations of professionals throughout the system. I believe that was actually one of the recommendations in the committee’s report, making sure that we help people become aware of what all this means and how it affects them and how they can utilize it. So there will be a public awareness piece to the whole rollout.

The Member, at the close, talked about our need to rise up, the need of everybody to rise up, and I agree 100 percent. In the Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan one of the action items, including creating a conversation in helping to destroy the stigma that exists around mental health, and I think everybody in this room has an obligation to help destroy and break down that stigma. In the department we’ve done a couple of things. We released a Mind and Spirit magazine, which we got some pretty positive feedback on, intending to begin the dialogue and help inform people about the stigma around mental health and start attempting to break down. We also released a video, “You’re Not Alone,” and I would strongly encourage every Member of this House to tweet, share, put it on your Facebook, get the information out there so people know they’re not alone and that there are places they can call or go to when they’re struggling.

Lastly, with respect to all of us rising up, I would strongly encourage all Members to encourage all their constituents and everybody they know to take the Mental Health First Aid training program. I’ve made that challenge in the House. I’ve personally taken the Mental Health First Aid training. If you break your arm, chances are that someone in this room will be able to stand up and stabilize that until you can get to a proper medical practitioner, but not everyone can stand up and help somebody who is struggling with a mental health disorder. So, please take Mental Health First Aid. Encourage everybody you know to take Mental Health First Aid. It’s delivered two times every year per region. Every region is funded to deliver Mental Health First Aid twice. It’s a phenomenal course. It helps you identify, but also it’s customized for the North and it can help direct you to resources that exist within your community or region to support people who are struggling with a mental health disorder. So, please, you know we all need to work together to break down the stigma, please, whether you’re planning to come back or not, take Mental Health First Aid. Thank you, Mr. Chair.