Tom Beaulieu

The first set of recommendations, the most prominent set of recommendations were around treatment on the land. So we are developing a treatment on-the-land program with the communities. We are receiving recommendations from those communities. We are proposing to run some of those recommendations or proposals as pilot programs. We are trying to develop a youth treatment program. Like I said, there’s a consultation process in Fort Simpson where we’re trying to develop an on-the-land youth program. We’re looking to other jurisdictions to see what they’re doing with mobile treatment, I think...

I can say that on-the-land treatment program is going to be very specific. It’s going to very specific to that community. I doubt if one program is going to even fit into two communities. Just about every individual community would have their own on-the-land program. There is going to be slight differences in every one of them. That’s why we’re really relying on Aboriginal people in the communities that said to us when we travelled and when the forum travelled, we want on-the-land treatment, so we’re asking them to come to us, bring us a proposal on what it is that they see on the land, and we...

Yes, the Department of Health and Social Services works in partnership with Human Resources and Aurora College to develop some supports that would put a number of initiatives in place that will allow us to recruit and retain positions at all levels throughout our system. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are not planning on updating the Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan. The Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan is something that is taking us from now to the end of this government. There is no time to update it. Within that action plan, we called for a Minister’s forum and visit with the people to get information from the people on what they think will work in this area. That’s what we’ve done. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. From October 23rd to 25th last week, we had gathered 50 people, 60 people in Fort Simpson to look at the development of an on-the-land youth treatment program. We need to be able to get that information and we’ve hired an individual specifically to develop that program. We need to look at what the youth had to say, how they see the program developing.

Now, I have to say that when we were travelling in the Sahtu, the people over there certainly want to see not only the youth go out on the land but the elders and the youth together to go out on the land for treatment. I’ve...

One of our initiatives, through the Aboriginal health and community wellness division, is to develop wellness plans in all of the communities. Within those wellness plans, we are going to determine whether or not an on-the-land treatment program is what that community wants. Once that has been determined, our intention is to try to fund all of the treatment programs that are being proposed over the next couple of years. Money permitting, our intention is to try to fund them. Thank you.

Thank you. If the Gwich’in are able to line up some other uses for the facility. I recognize that they have talked about the other departments that may be able to use that facility and then it becomes feasible for them to operate. At that point, they said that that building could be available for a treatment program or two. So if they’re able to run some other programs and I can’t remember specifically, but he mentioned that they had worked with ENR, they’ve worked with Justice to make that a possibility. If that place is operational and we have a program developed, we certainly want to put a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department has approved three proposals for on the land. We are going to treat them as pilots so we can do an evaluation of those. That will give us good groundwork needed to work with communities to develop further on-the-land treatment programs. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we have. We’ve met with them. We had some discussions. The deputy minister went up to Inuvik one time when I was not able to go and also had some further discussions with them. I met with the vice-president of the Gwich’in Tribal Council here in Yellowknife about two weeks ago, I would say, and we talked specifically about the use of that facility. He recognizes, and the Gwich’in recognize, that it would just not be able to be completely a centre used for only treatment, but that that centre could be used for other things. It could be seasonal. So we’ve had that...

Mr. Speaker, I’m sorry; I didn’t hear the Member’s question.