Ottawa would 'look to discuss' with N.W.T. if it wants an addictions treatment centre

The Northwest Territories Member of Parliament, who is also a cabinet minister, opened the door on Thursday to a possible major change in how the territory handles its residents battling addictions. Right now, there's no inpatient addictions treatment center in the NWT. Residents are instead sent south. But during a press conference on Thursday, Rebecca Alti made it seem like Ottawa was open to changing that, but she didn't commit to anything specific as of now. If the territorial government is interested in pursuing that, that'd be something that we'd look to discuss. Alti did say that day-to-day operations for a treatment center here, like staffing, would still be the territory's responsibility. In Yellowknife, the number of people considered unsheltered has grown in the past several years. As of a city report in 2024, more than 300 people are homeless and Indigenous people are disproportionately represented in that number. The majority of respondents also cited having substance abuse issues. Some Yellowknife residents say having a treatment centre is crucial to curbing both homelessness and substance abuse. Having the services here makes a huge difference. We don't have anything like that right now. Yvette Schrader says she's been living in Yellowknife since the 70s and has lost someone to addictions. For us in the Northwest Territories, I think they really need to look at the treatments. options that are available for homeless people the addictions issues that we have going on and before we can even address the housing those problems need to be dealt with at the grassroots level. Another resident has similar thoughts. I do think we need some more treatment centers in the territory especially culturally appropriate treatment centers and those could be land-based or we could talk with communities to see what best serves them. The city's mayor says lots of people in Yellowknife struggle with having to travel for medical issues and that includes traveling for addictions treatment. She says having a treatment center would mark a meaningful change. People being able to stay in their community or close enough to their community and access those services I think would be really meaningful. The city's mayor says plenty of people in Yellowknife struggle with having to travel for medical issues. And that includes traveling for addictions treatment. She says having a treatment center would mark a meaningful change. In a statement, a spokesperson for the government of the Northwest Territories says it'll continue to work with Ottawa as it learns more details about the federal budget. Devon Trudinik, CBC News, Yellowknife.