Tom Beaulieu

Thank you, Madam Chair. The $300,000 is, in the opinion of the department, new money. It is not something that this is an action plan that we are developing now. Like I said, it will be tabled in the House tomorrow. Yes, it has been discussed with the committee. We think that this forms a very huge part of our Prevention and Promotion Strategy. It is one of the bigger parts, aside from the wellness plans and so on. We have some other stuff that is in the works, like the community wellness plans which are funded by the federal government, that we are working on now. This is something that we...

Mr. Speaker, some of the ones – this may not be all of them – that we are looking at are licenced practical nurses, psychologists, medical service providers, and also we are hearing lots of information, getting a lot of information from naturopaths. So there could be quite a few of them under one umbrella. We have hired some legal people to look at it. We have a contract with them throughout this year and next year to make sure that we are doing this right and that we are not infringing on anybody’s legal rights. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I agree that just on pure numbers it’s highest in Yellowknife. On a percentage basis, they’re probably one of the lower communities that are suffering from addictions. Issues with addictions and mental health, and so on, are fairly high on a percentage basis in the small communities. The intention, though, is that if we go down the list here, there are fairly good supports within the city, as well, as it is in some of the regional centres, but especially here in the city where we have most of the doctors living. The Minister’s Forum on Addictions is a part of the Mental...

Mr. Speaker, the program at the North Slave Correctional Centre is not yet developed, but anything that this department can do to assist Justice in the development of counselling and the work inside the correctional centres, we are prepared to do. Thank you.

I don’t have that information with me as far as the percentage. I would say that more of the money would be spent on the prevention through lifestyle changes and also looking at other things like the environment.

Thank you. I don’t have that information with me here, but I can provide that information to the Member. That’s the number of different treatment centres and the number of people attending those treatment centres. No problem. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. This is the last region that doesn’t have a Healthy Families program. We have gone from the original communities, which I don’t have right now but I think are Fort Smith, Hay River, Behchoko, Yellowknife, and then we’re expanding into the Deh Cho, by having a Healthy Families program in Fort Simpson, with satellite offices or satellite programs, in Fort Providence and Fort Liard. Then we’re expanding into the Beaufort-Delta and Inuvik with a satellite program in Fort McPherson. This is the only region that didn’t have a Healthy Families program, so we’re expanding into...

Thank you, Madam Chair. That is the supplementary appropriation that comes to the Assembly from the department every year and would be the Canadian Blood Services and people that go for southern treatment. Adults and children that are in southern treatment are three of, I think, the largest costs from that supplementary appropriation.

Youth are counselled also with community counselling programs. We have about $6 million in the Community Counselling Program across the territory, and they counsel adults and youth alike.

As far as actual youth facility infrastructure or building for youth treatment facilities, the department hasn’t looked at that closely. We do know that the treatment of youth in a facility environment or in a treatment centre, the numbers for the territory are very low. I think we’ve treated 12 youth in three fiscal years, the past three fiscal years, because the majority of situations with youth are that...

Madam Chair, the contract is achieved through competitive tender. We don’t have the term of the contract with us here today.