This is page numbers 2083 - 2120 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.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What we hope to get from the addictions survey is to learn about what is working with the addictions recovery services that we currently offer at the Department of Health and Social Services and what changes would make those services more effective. We are particularly interested in hearing from people who have lived experience, who have actually used these services themselves or who have close family members who have done that. That survey is available online, and hard copies are available at health centres and other places where mental health services and addiction services are provided. I want to say that, with just one week of the survey being available, we've had more than 300 responses, so there is obviously a lot of interest in this area. We encourage everyone who has an interest in this area to complete the survey by the end of March.

What will happen with the survey results is that they will inform next steps around the need for a territorial alcohol strategy and answer some of the questions of the day, such as whether we need transitional housing for people leaving treatment and whether we need an in-territory treatment facility. Thank you.

Frieda Martselos

Frieda Martselos Thebacha

After-care is a crucial component of recovery. The NWT is lacking in this area of service. Will the Minister consider investing in three after-care facilities that are connected to the mental health workers within Health and Social Services?

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

We are interested in working across departments with the NWT Housing Corporation, the Department of Justice, and Education, Culture and Employment to talk about what kind of supports in transitional housing we can put in place. At this point, we don't have any firm plans to construct the facilities that the Member for Thebacha is talking about, but staff is in place to connect people exiting treatment with counselling and other supports that they require.

Frieda Martselos

Frieda Martselos Thebacha

Addressing the mental health and after-care component is important for all people in recovery. Would the Minister consider walk-in clinics with mental health staff readily available for the public?

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

In our most recent Mental Wellness and Addictions Recovery Action Plan, we talked about the reform that we were planning to undertake in the Community Counselling Program, which is now largely complete. What we have taken on is a methodology called "stepped care." How this works is people are seen in person, often on the same day. There is no wait list. There are no appointments necessary. It is, in fact, possible to walk into one of the 19 Community Counselling Program offices across the NWT and see a counsellor right away, with no wait times and same-day appointment availability. In those other communities which do not have community counsellors, telephone, virtual, and in-person, from time to time, counselling is available. What this new methodology allows us to do is to see people right away and decide whether their care needs to be stepped up or stepped down. That's why it's called stepped care.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Thebacha.

Frieda Martselos

Frieda Martselos Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have no problem with the out-of-territory treatment. The teams that deal with mental health and addictions problems are not available here. We don't have the qualifications for that. Yellowknife might be able to have that, but anonymity is very important to uphold. Therefore, would the Minister consider pursuing after-care facilities as a priority within the life of this Assembly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

After-care is a priority of this government. The focus at this point is on people rather than facilities. Our goal is to reach as many people as possible and give them the widest variety of choices for the kind of support they need for their own mental wellness. At this point, as I mentioned earlier, we don't have specific plans to build after-care facilities, but there is a working group that is looking at that possibility. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.

Ronald Bonnetrouge

Ronald Bonnetrouge Deh Cho

Masi, Mr. Speaker. Following up to my Member's statement regarding the problems of alcoholism in our communities, this is also affecting many of our youth and young men. Can the Minister commit to an alcohol education or alcohol awareness program in our schools, including Aurora campuses? Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is no question, as the Member says, that alcohol is a great hardship for many of our residents and in many of our communities. With respect to an education program, that is something that would be led by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, and we would certainly be interested in working with them if they wanted to develop a curriculum on this topic.

What we do offer now is an awareness program called My Voice, My Choice. That's been around for a number of years, and it's now being revamped and will be relaunched later in this calendar year. The campaign is going to focus on six key areas, and they include things such as looking after our land, sexual health, suicide, healthy relationships, healthy coping skills, mental health, and substance use. It covers many of the areas that the Member is concerned about. As I say, this is currently in the redevelopment stage, but it is expected to be ready for use by schools, if they wish, and Aurora College, if they wish, by the next semester. Thank you.

Ronald Bonnetrouge

Ronald Bonnetrouge Deh Cho

Mahsi to the Minister for that answer. I wouldn't even give them a choice. Force it upon them. Mr. Speaker, one of the priorities of the department is to focus on mental health and addictions by ensuring that services are delivered locally with culturally appropriate methods. Can the Minister provide an update as to actions taken by the department related to this priority?

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you for that question. Our primary focus in this area is on-the-land healing program. This is a community-based program where Indigenous government organizations apply to the department to obtain funding in order to deliver their own culturally relevant land-based mental health and addictions programming.

This fund is very flexible. It can be used to attract people to treatment. It can be used for family treatment. It can be used for after-care. It can be used for treatment itself. This is a community-based program, and it puts communities in charge of what this program is about and makes sure that it reflects the values of the people whose community it is.

There are also two new funds that the government is coming out with that are community-based. One is suicide prevention, and that was just launched about 10 days ago. There has been quite a bit of interest in applications for suicide prevention. The other community-based program is peer support. This is for addictions after-care, and it provides funding to support people who want to set up AA groups or Wellbriety groups. It would give them money for a place to rent and some refreshments and that kind of thing. We have three and, particularly, on-the-land programming, which is based on community-driven mental health support.

Ronald Bonnetrouge

Ronald Bonnetrouge Deh Cho

Mahsi to the Minister for providing all the services related to addictions. I look forward to those funding sources. One of the key positions missing in our communities is an alcohol and drug counsellor. Most alcoholics need someone they can confide in, someone they can trust, someone that they know. Can the Minister commit to providing our communities with an alcohol and drug counsellor position run by a non-government organization?

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

The Department of Health and Social Services and, more particularly, the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority, Tlicho Community Services Agency, and Hay River Health and Social Services Authority are the operational arm that provide these services. Non-government organizations are pretty thin on the ground outside of the major centres. That's why the government is delivering this.

The Community Counselling Program, which I spoke about earlier, is available to NWT residents of all ages on all topics. There is a mental health and addictions worker located in Fort Providence as well as a child and youth care counsellor. There is a community wellness worker position that is currently vacant, but the standard offering in Fort Providence is to have these three wellness workers working with local individuals to provide them with the help they need.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Deh Cho.

Ronald Bonnetrouge

Ronald Bonnetrouge Deh Cho

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi to the Minister for that. Can the Minister commit to the training of our local people to be alcohol and drug counsellors? Mahsi.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

This is an area the department is very interested in. For the last two years, the department has provided support to the Dene Wellness Warriors, who have been working in partnership with the Rhodes Wellness College to deliver the Northern Indigenous Counselling Program, and it's my understanding that the first graduates of this program will be coming out next year. We see a unique opportunity here to hire these NWT residents who have this specialized counselling training and to bring them into our communities in the different roles that we have available there. Thank you.

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 also for the Minister of Health and Social Services. We know that when it comes to people seeking help, even one day of delay to accessing services can lead to an addict changing their mind. Prior to attending out-of-territory treatment, what options are available for people seeking medical detox, particularly after hours or on weekends when just getting a referral from a doctor is not generally possible? 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. It's important to note that, in this area, the vast majority of individuals do not need medical detox prior to beginning treatment. When they do require detox, there are several options: one is to detox at the treatment location or with the facility that's related to the treatment location. Another option is to detox in the Northwest Territories, either through a local health centre or through the hospital with the support of a case manager who would be assisting that person in the treatment application, facility-based treatment.

Mr. Speaker, we do not have a one-day turnaround in this area. I recognize that timing is of the essence. The fact is that we need to apply to the treatment centre, ensure they have space, arrange for medical travel, and then have the person travel down there. This is generally not accomplished overnight. Thank you.

Question 582-19(2): Addictions Treatment
Oral Questions

February 24th, 2021

Page 2088

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

That's kind of exactly my point. It doesn't happen in the window of time that it needs to in order to get at addicts when they are actually willing to seek help. I would like to see some commitment from the Minister on how she's going to address that delay and that issue. Moving on, it's my understanding that the on-the-land fund is valued at approximately $1.8 million annually. How long has this fund been available, and how much has it been accessed annually?

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

The Member is correct. The On-the-Land Healing Fund is now worth $1.8 million. It's been in place since 2014-2015 fiscal year, and the average annual uptake is in the 90 to 100 percent range.