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11TuesdaySeptember172013HealthWellnessAlcoholByRENEFRANCOEURSahturesidentsworriedabouttheincreasingproblemofalcoholabuseanditslinktoviolenceintheregionhadthechancetoexpresstheirthoughtslastweekduringaseriesofpublichearingsaspartofthereviewprocessforaprivatemembersbillthatwouldgiveSahtucommunitiesavoiceinamendingliquorrestrictions.TheLegislativeAssemblysStandingCommitteeonGov-ernmentOperationsiscurrentlyreviewingBill24AnActtoAmendtheLiquorActbroughtforthbySahtuMLANormanYakeleyaearlierthisyear.ThebillreceiveditssecondreadingintheHouseonJune6.Bill24speakstoanincidentin2012whenaplebiscitenar-rowlylifted40year-oldliquorrestrictionsinNormanWellsandvotingwasonlyopentothetownsresidentsdespitethefactthatcitizensfromacrosstheSahtuusetheNormanWellsLiquorAgencytheonlyliquorstoreintheregion.ThenewpieceoflegislationseekstoenableallSahtucom-munitiestovoteinanyplebi-scitetodetermineifliquorsalesshouldberestrictedattheNor-manWellsliquorstore.Publichearings-heldinDelineTulitaandFortGoodHope-arepartofthebillsconsultationprocessbeforethenalreportispresentedtotheassemblyagaininOctober.Thehearingswentwellandwereallwellattendedwithabout40orsopeopleforeachMichaelNadlichairofthecommitteeandDehchoMLAsaid.Peopleareobvi-ouslyconcernedwiththealco-holanddrugproblemanditsgrowingrate.Basicallythatswhatpeoplewereexpressingthesocietalproblemsintheircommunitiesrelatedtoalcohol.HearinginNormanWellspostponedThecommitteecancelleditshearinginNormanWellsonSept.8duetoatragicincidentthattookplaceinthetownovertheweekend.Ateenageboywasfounddeadafteracanoe-ingaccidentonJackshLake.WeofferourcondolencestothefamilyandtotheentirecommunityofNormanWellsduringthisdifculttimeandasagestureofrespectthecommitteewillreschedulethehearingonBill24Nadlisaidinapressrelease.Themeetinghasbeenre-scheduledforSept.26Nadlisaid.WewereduetobenishedbySept.16butwevenowextendedithesaid.WellbetryingtohaveittabledfortheOct.17sittingandifnotwerelookingatanotherop-portunityinJanuary.Itjustdependshowthingsgo.AstotheoverallconsensusfromthehearingssofarNadlisaiditstooearlytospeculate.WestillhavetovisitNor-manWellsandhearallsides.Idontwanttodrawanycon-clusionsatthispoint.Ourmandateistoreviewtheleg-islationandlistentothepub-lichesaid.ItsnotjustintheSahtuitsanissueallovertheTer-ritoriesandcommunitiesareaskingforhelpheadded.AccordingtotheNWTLi-quorCommissiontherewasa6.82percentaccumulativeincreaseinthelitresofalco-holwinebeerspiritssoldfrom20102011to20122013inNormanWells.AdditionallyaRCMPre-portshows47percentofallpolicecallsinTulitain2012werealcohol-related.InFortGoodHopethatnumberwas66percentfollowedcloselybehindbyNormanWellsat52percent.EarlierthisyearTulitasawanumberofviolentandcriminalactivitiessuchasadoublestabbingonApr.21thatleftamanandwomanwithmultiplewounds.Additionally180bottlesofliquorwereseizedbyTulitaRCMPintwoseparateinci-dentsinApril.Inbothcasesthealcoholwasenroutetothecommunityviasnowmobile.Tulitaliquorrestrictionsdrawthelineataboutthreeofthosebottles375-mlor1140mlofalcoholperpersonintheirpossessionatanygiventime.SahturesidentsvoiceconcernsatliquorbillhearingsPeopleareobviouslyconcernedwiththealcoholanddrugproblemanditsgrow-ingrate.MLAMichaelNadliCommitteeonGovernmentOperationsByRENEFRANCOEURRepresentativesfromtheCanadianCentreonSubstanceAbuseCCSAtoucheddowninYellow-knifelastweektomeetwithgovernmentofficialscom-munityleadersNGOsandotherstakeholderstofur-therstrategizeanddialogueaboutcollaborativesolu-tionstosubstanceabuse.Themeetingisapartofaseriesofcrosscoun-trydiscussionsCCSAisundertakingtogainagreaterunderstandingoflocalcommunityissuesandmoveforwardwithpartnerships.ThepurposewastotalkabouttheissueofalcoholanddrugsintheNorthandparticularityintheTerrito-riesMichelPerronCC-SAsCEOtoldTheJour-nal.Thiswasanoppor-tunitytoexplainsomeofthenationalstrategiesweareworkingonthatarerelevanttotheNWTandbythesametokenwealsoheardfromlocalrepresen-tativesofactivitiesthatareunderway-andtherearemany-andhowwecancontributetothatworkandHealthWellnessAddictionsCentreonSubstanceAbusemeetswithNWTleadersCulturallyrelevanttreatmentyouthdrugpreventionhottopicshowthatworkheremaybeinstructiveforotherareasofthecountry.NWTHealthMinisterTomBeaulieusaidthemeet-inghasopenedthedoorforfuturepartnershipswhentocomestosubstanceabuse.WewillbemovingabroadrangeofideasandtheytheCCSAhavearichhistoryinsubstanceabuseBeaulieutoldTheJournal.Thisisaboutaddingtothatandbuildingtherela-tionshipsothatwehaveagoodhandleonwhatarethespecicprioritiesherepartoftheDNAofhowwedealwiththisissueforFirstNationspeoples.Thatwasverytellinghesaid.TheCCSAthoughtsuchprogrammingcouldbeap-plicableonreservesinthesouthBeaulieusaidalsonotingthatthedepartmentiscurrentlypreparingtorolloutafewpilotprogramsfo-cusedonhealingthroughanonthelandagenda.Moreproposalsforthisprogramminghavecomeinthanwehavemoneytofundsowellbelookingatallofthemandrollingoutsomepilotprogramsim-mediatelyBeaulieusaid.TalkingyouthandaddictionForBeaulieuthechallengeofyouthaddictiontreatmentwasalsoaninterestinground-tabletopicofdiscussiononehehopestohaveasolutionforinthefuture.Wecantreallybuildacentretotreatyouthbutwemightbeabletodedicatealo-cationforacentrethatcouldbeusedforyouthtreatmentprogramminghesaid.Inthepastwevetreatedyouthinthesouthmostly...Thistimeweretryingtoworkwiththeyouthtoidentifythattheyac-tuallyhaveanaddictionissue.Itsverydifculttogetakidthats1416oreven20toadmittheyhaveanaddictionprob-lem.Theyresoyoungsoitshardtomoveforward.Beaulieusaidtheymaylookintostrategieswhereyouthcancometogethertobeneteachotherintheirhealingprocesses.Preventionstandardscon-cerningyouthdruguseissomethingtheCCSAhasworkedonoverthepastfewyearsPerronsaidwhichcouldhelptheNWTdowntheroad.Itsallverynew...withinthelastyearandahalforsoPerronsaid.Thestandardsarticulateinaclearwaywhatiseffectiveprogrammingforyouth.ThosestandardsthatwelaunchedwererecentlyadoptedbytheUnitedNationsandarebeingappliedinternationallysotheresalotofapplicability.IftheyreapplicableinSoma-liaIthinktheyreapplicablehereintheNWT.Thestandardsaredesignedtosupportnewandexistingpreventionteamsinplanningimplementingandevaluat-ingtheirinitiatives.Theyarecomposedofstandardsforsubstanceabusepreventioninschoolsandcommunitiesalongwithguidelinesforfam-ily-basedpreventioninitiatives.Theyincludeamonitoringandevaluationtoolkitaswellasotherinteractiveresourcesforyouthandyouthworkers.EssentiallythedoorisopenforustocontactthemandforthemtocontactusBeaulieusaidoftheCCSA.AccordingtoPerrontherewasarealgenuineinterestexpressedbyattendeesatthemeetingtocontinueworkingwiththeCCSA.Werenotgoingtoshowupandneverreturn.Ourcom-mitmentistocomebacktotheNWTregularly.Wewillbemovingforwardwithourplanforon-the-landtreatmentwhenitcomestoaddictionsasweheardfromthecommunitiesduringtheMinistersForumonAddictionsandCommunityWellnessinJune.NWTHealthandSocialServicesMinisterTomBeaulieuPhotoRCMPTulitaRCMPshowcasethelargeamountofvodkaseizedinApril.sowecanbestrespondtothemPerronsaid.CulturalhealingasthecentreofrecoveryandaddictiontreatmentwasatopictheCCSAtookgreatinterestinatthetablePer-ronsaid.Itisquiteapowerfulnotionandthatwholecul-turalpiecehastobenotonlyembeddedbutreallyforwardwithourplanforon-the-landtreatmentwhenitcomestoaddictionsasweheardfromthecommuni-tiesduringtheMinistersForumonAddictionsandCommunityWellnessinJune...Andwereopentohaveasmanypartnersaspossibleworkingwithusonourinitiativesbecausewedcertainlyliketohave