This is page numbers 1413 - 1442 of the Hansard for the 19th Assembly, 2nd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was health.

Topics

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Just to be clear, an Indigenous language can be added onto the English and French. We still need the English and French as part of the active service. It was my understanding that, during this active offer training, employees were encouraged to answer in any Indigenous language they are able to speak. I will look into that, and I will ensure that that is actually happening because the Member has different experiences or a different understanding of that. I will double check and I will get back to the Member.

The official languages guidelines are currently being updated by the Indigenous Languages and Education Secretariat in ECE. I believe they were last updated in 1997, and so this is part of the Indigenous Languages Action Plan. Through that update, we are going to ensure that these aren't questions anymore, that everyone knows these, because that's the direction we want to move in.

Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

I get what the Minister is saying, but if I wanted to answer the phone as an Indigenous person in my government office and say, "Hello, drin gwiinzii" or "uvlaami," why would I have to say it in French if I'm saying it in two different languages? If a French person needs a service in my community, if a Muslim person, a Somalian person needs language, there is the translation service provided. They can request it. What I'm asking is: why do we have to make Indigenous people have to say it in French? What's wrong with saying it in their own language? It's another language. It's giving an active offer, saying we can provide service in another language.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

There is nothing wrong with saying it in an Indigenous language, but the fact is that GNWT is a public government and Canada is a bilingual nation. Until Indigenous governments take over certain services and service delivery, those are the laws that we have to follow.

I don't think that answering in one language denigrates or reduces the value of another language. I was talking with my spouse about this the other day. She was saying her granny spoke many languages, and when I think back, my grandpa spoke many languages. He was from Fort Chipewyan. He spoke English, French, Chipewyan, Cree. I don't think there is anything wrong with offering service in a number of different languages. I think it's something that we can all strive for as opposed to resist.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess what I'm saying is that our policies have no teeth. Our Indigenous languages have no teeth. To say it's important, we have to add the French in. We don't have to add the Inuktun in. We don't have to add the Chipewyan in. We don't have to add all these other ones, but we have to add the French in. This is what I'm saying: why? I get it that, but again, it's not an "us against them." If we're saying it in whatever, we're saying hello, if somebody needs a service, but why? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

The direction we're moving in is that, if you are answering a phone in a government office in a region where there is a number of Chipewyan speakers, then my hope is that, in the coming years, there will be a requirement to answer in that Indigenous language. Wherever there are sufficient numbers of speakers, I hope that there will be a requirement to answer in that language the same way there is with French in those four communities, where there is a significant number of French speakers.

We are definitely moving in the direction that the Member is talking about. ECE has the French Language Secretariat and the Indigenous Languages and Education Secretariat, and those two groups work very well together. The French language in the territory is strong. There is a number of French speakers, both natural-born French speakers and people who come through the immersion program. In response to that, the GNWT has really developed a robust French-language service regime in the territory. That is what we aspire to have, or that's how we want the Indigenous languages to be delivered in the future, as well. The two languages are working together. There is no "us against them." I know the Member points it out, but I just wanted to point it out myself because it's often seen as "us against them." It's a red herring. It seems to be taking money away, funds away, something away from Indigenous languages when we deliver services in French, but that's not the case. The case is to expand all languages, all official languages. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Does the department collect and compile statistics on relapse and recovery? If so, where are these available to the public, and how are they being incorporated into departmental work? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What the department does collect is that people have finished their program. They don't go back to them to determine whether they have relapsed in their program. I will mention, however, that there is a survey that will go out early next year to people who visited the treatment centres to determine what has worked for them and what hasn't worked for them and try and build some best practices out of those responses. Thank you.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

When can the public expect the department to create a comprehensive relapse prevention program, and will the Minister commit to providing Members with a plan for the new supports she mentioned earlier, including key performance indicators and timelines?

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

At this point, we don't have a relapse prevention plan, and I'm not aware that there is work being contemplated for this. A person can relapse for a lot of different reasons. They are not necessarily programmatic, that something was missing in their treatment or after-care. There are a lot of different factors that push people into addiction and pull them out of it. What we're doing is a range of supports that is providing people with after-care, with a way to hold onto their sobriety, but we don't have a relapse prevention plan that is called that.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

What is the Department of Health and Social Services doing to reduce wait times for people who are seeking detoxification in order to enter treatment?

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

What we recognize is that we need a model that is more widely applicable in the NWT outside of the hospitals, to assist people with medical detox. We are working now, the department is working now, on creating a model that will make detox more readily and widely available in the NWT. For some people, of course, that's all they need. They go on without formal treatment, and they are able to achieve sobriety. Of course, for other people, that's a beginning step in a continuum of supports that would allow them to achieve sobriety.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Great Slave.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That's great to hear, that they are developing a model. It would be nice to have a time frame that went along with that. My last question is: will the Minister commit to developing sustainable on-the-land and residential detoxification and treatment centres for addictions and mental health in the North? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

I always appreciate the opportunity to plug our on-the-land healing fund. It is $1.8 million annually. It is a very flexible program. People can use it for on-the-land, individuals, after-care, family-based treatment. It is allocated to Indigenous organizations. It is easy to get, and it is very much a community-based program where people can decide on their priorities and how they want them implemented, whether they want to hire staff and so on and so forth. This is on offer to all communities, all Indigenous governments in the NWT, and I encourage them to apply for it. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Thebacha.

Question 410-19(2): Addictions and After-care
Oral Questions

October 27th, 2020

Page 1433

Frieda Martselos

Frieda Martselos Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the Minister agree that on-the-land programs could be used for a form of after-care in the smaller communities and regions? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm aware that Salt River First Nation had a very successful mobile treatment program with the Poundmaker's Lodge a couple of years ago, and I think that that was really a model for the rest of the NWT about creating a partnership with a southern addictions treatment centre and bringing it North, and bringing it directly to the people. I think there's a lot of potential in that, and certainly, I encourage people to explore that option for their communities if they think that would be useful. Thank you.

Frieda Martselos

Frieda Martselos Thebacha

Would the Minister agree that some of the monies for the on-the-land programs could be used to hire and coordinate a program for after-care once the client returns home?

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Absolutely. That is possible. One of the contemplated uses of the on-the-land healing fund is, in fact, after-care and family-based after-care. The Indigenous governments decide on the program. It is a community-based program, and they apply for the money to implement it in their communities according to their own needs. Certainly, the money could be spent on after-care.

Frieda Martselos

Frieda Martselos Thebacha

Would the Minister agree, considering past problems, that external delivery of addiction services is more favourable for the client on the basis of anonymity, privacy, and the success rate is much higher than it was in the past?

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

As I've said, Mr. Speaker, in my return to oral question, Nats'ejee K'eh worked at a 38-percent capacity in the last three years it was opened, and we've been able to double the number of people who get residential treatment for the same money over the last six years.

What we understand is: the hitch at Nats'ejee K'eh and other northern treatment centres is confidentiality. I think we all know that everybody knows everybody, and they don't necessarily want to restart their sober lives in the NWT. We find that having options provides for a more responsive time to get in rather than longer wait times, which was the case at Nats'ejee K'eh. We also have gender-specific and co-ed programs, and Nats'ejee K'eh only had gender-specific programs. We also have locations in different parts of Alberta and B.C. and one in Toronto so people can choose where they want to go.

Finally, some of the locations are locations in which Indigenous values are driving, the values driving care such as Poundmaker's and Thorpe. We believe that what we have on offer now presents a wide range of options for residents of the NWT.