YELLOWKNIFE - A rash of suicides over a two-year period has an MLA concerned that a community in his riding is not receiving adequate counselling services.

Tom Beaulieu, MLA for Tu Nedhe, rose in the legislative assembly Monday to speak to the shortage the community of Lutsel K'e is facing in mental health service professionals.

Tom Beaulieu: 'Three suicides in 24 months too many for a town of 400 people.' -

He said there has not been readily accessible counselling services in the community since 2006, and it has only been available from professionals flown in from Yellowknife.

Beaulieu said he appreciated the difficulties of providing this service and said the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority is doing a good job "providing" the service to the community, but there is a problem with cross-cultural training of front-line staff.

"These individuals are highly educated, non-native people from the south," said Beaulieu.

"Residents have complained that when they need these mental health professionals, they are not able to effectively communicate with them because of what they refer to as cultural insensitivity on behalf of the professionals."

Residents who have limited education or experience with the English language have difficulty conveying their feelings to the counsellors, and "feel they are being dismissed as having a bad day," said Beaulieu.

"They get frustrated and stop seeking assistance from these individuals."

He said when there are three suicides in a two-year span in a community of only 400 people, there is a "desperate need for counselling."

Sandy Lee, minister of Health and Social Services, confirmed there has been a vacancy in the mental health and addictions position for more than a year. Over that period, she said, three workers have been flown into Lutsel K'e from Yellowknife periodically to provide youth counselling.

She said Wednesday a verbal agreement had been reached to fill the vacancy.

Vacancies have been an issue across the territory in small communities, she said. Community wellness worker position vacancies, for instance, are up to about 25 per cent.

Lee said the troubles with hiring mental health and addictions counsellors is that they require a Masters degree.

McLeod said he wanted the Lutsel K'e Dene Band to be involved with finding culturally sensitive, youth counselling solutions.

Repeated calls to the Lutsel K'e Dene Band office were not returned.

Beaulieu asked Human Resources Minister, Bob McLeod, whether front-line staff had cross-cultural training before they were hired to work in communities, pointing out that Lutsel K'e is 95 per cent aboriginal.

McLeod said with difficulty recruiting staff, the training is not usually undertaken until after hiring.