Robert Hawkins

I like the last phrase the Minister said, which was he is prepared to be part of something that goes forward here. I am going to offer a quick pro quo to this particular subject. If the Minister is willing to do something, I will stop nagging about it every session. What I am asking for now is that he diverts some of that $6 million and develops a plan. Just because he shut down the detox centre, it didn’t shut down the issue. The people are suffering from these particular things. It didn’t just magically go away. The reality here is simply this: Would the Minister be willing to divert some of...

I’m not going to deny the need for spiritual connection both within one’s self and certainly with the land on a lot of people. It’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. We cannot shoe horn everybody into the on-the-land program and call that a solution. What facts does the Minister have at his hand or with his arsenal defined as the department that he can provide this House and say and show that an on-the-land type of program would help people who suffer from things like crack, heroine, speed and other types of problems that require medical support, not just spiritual support? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My statement again today will be regarding addictions and treatment options that need to happen here in the Northwest Territories. Yesterday I spoke at length in my Member’s statement, and as I said then and will say yet again, the Minister does like stats, so I need to remind him on a couple of them.

Eight-nine percent of people in our jails struggle with addictions, and from a hospital point of view, at least 350 people are hospitalized a year because of substance abuse. The problem with addictions is it preys on everybody in the context, it doesn’t require a specific...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’d like to move that committee report progress. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to table the newspaper clipping from the Northern Journal dated January 31, 2012. The article is “Matrix Program Fights Addiction.” It is a great story about the things that are happening in Fort Smith, Fort Simpson and Fort Providence about working on and combatting drug and alcohol addictions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have to take issue with that particular last point which is saying detox is available across the North. I’m sorry; that is not exactly true. As we all know, the only place with any detox treatment here is at Stanton Territorial Hospital. As I repeated many times over, Stanton is not defined as a detox centre. It is a central wellness for folks. We should be putting people with addictions in an addiction treatment centre for detox.

My point here is we need bold action. This government needs to wake up from its deep slumber and take some action. Will the Minister be willing to develop a plan to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to return to the issue of a residential detox centre required here in the Northwest Territories. I’d like to state for the record, of course, if you really care about this issue, even from a Yellowknife perspective, I want to emphasize it doesn’t matter where the building gets established, where we provide residential treatment for people who have detox needs. I mean, the fact is if we can put it in a regional centre, I would certainly support that any moment that that issue comes forward for any type of a decision.

On that note, a residential centre is much...

The Minister and I have spoken at length regarding this issue that the Northwest Territories requires a detox centre. As I’ve spoken to him, and sometimes I think he even agrees, that Stanton itself, by virtue of its design, is not a detox centre for people who have addictions. That’s the type of focus I continue here, and relentlessly want to pursue and see the government take on that challenge. Nats’ejee K’eh, with all due respect, does not suit that type of need.

When will the department start planning for an appropriate treatment centre, as I’ve discussed here today? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to continue my Member’s statement with some questions on the issue of a territorial addictions treatment centre that is much needed in the Northwest Territories and as and I’ve talked to the Minister of Health and Social Services on a number of occasions. I’ve talked about although it would be nice to have one here in Yellowknife, the fact is if you’re behind this issue, which means you want to support this issue, a territorial treatment centre could happen in any region in the Northwest Territories. It doesn’t have to happen here. I mean, the criteria comes...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The need could not be greater than now for a territorial treatment centre here in the Northwest Territories. As we all know far too well, drugs and alcohol continue to have a profound impact on Northerners’ lives. It’s time for this government to get behind a detox centre, which will help the drug and alcohol problem that many people suffer from.

I’ve come to see the drug and alcohol problem kind of like an iceberg. You know, you can look far off and see the surface of the problem, but you never fully realize the size, the magnitude, what truly lies underneath the...