Yellowknife (Nov 03/04) - MLAs banded together to demand the government take immediate action to address substance abuse problems in the NWT last week.

A motion introduced by Sahtu MLA Norman Yakeleya received unanimous support from colleagues.

His motion called for three things: the establishment of a treatment centre in the NWT solely dedicated to hard drugs -- crack, cocaine and heroin; a separate addictions treatment centre for youth; and the re-opening of residential clinics in Inuvik and Yellowknife, which were closed in the 1990s.

Many of Yakeleya's colleagues rose to voice their support.

Kam Lake MLA Dave Ramsay told the story of an "average, middle-class" man he'd met who said his parents were ending their 19-year marriage because of his dad's cocaine addiction.

Great Slave MLA Bill Braden spoke of kids he'd seen smoking "something" publicly, beneath the glare of streetlights. He said he overheard one of the youths teaching the others how to do it properly.

Both called for the reopening of the Somba K'e clinic outside Yellowknife.

"Our ability to cope has not kept pace with the very rapid transition of the economy up here," said Braden.

Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins told of a father who paid between $15,000 and $20,000 out of his own pocket to send his son for treatment in Toronto.

Tu Nedhe MLA Bobby Villeneuve mentioned the stigma attached to being "sent south" for treatment. Such people are considered "a lower form in our society," he said.

Range Lake Sandy Lee mounted an impassioned defence of the motion.

"Alcohol use and (drug abuse) are killing our communities," she said.

With such a small population, said Lee, even a couple of thousand people with substance abuse problems "could destroy our community."

Already, said Lee, the school boards have had to hire a security guard to protect schools at night, the courts are full of abuse cases, and "this all stems from substance abuse."

"The silence of the government has been really quite deafening," Lee said.

"This is an opportunity for the government to set an example for the rest of Canada. Hopefully it will get their heads out of the sand," said Yakeleya of the massive peer support.