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Dene leader thanks Premier for GNWT liquor restriction

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National Chief of the Dene Nation Norman Yakeleya thanked Premier Caroline Cochrane and the Government of the Northwest Territories for their response on restricting alcohol this week. NNSL file photo

Dene Nation National Chief Norman Yakeleya thanked Premier Caroline Cochrane after the GNWT announced liquor restrictions on Thursday.

The territorial government issued a news release earlier in the day stating that, effective April 16, individuals will be limited to a daily maximum purchase of $200 of alcohol products across the territory. Customers are also limited to no more than six 375 ml containers of spirits per day.

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Yakeleya stated that the the new provisions were an adequate reflection of what the Dene Nation has been seeking.

On April 3, and after two days of meetings, the Dene Nation had sent a four-point motion -- supported by all 27 chiefs – to the GNWT seeking help with the influx of alcohol in their communities during the Covid-19 crisis.

He said the GNWT's restrictions were the "first step" and a positive sign that the territorial government is willing to work in partnership with the Dene to overcome complications from the pandemic.

National Chief of the Dene Nation Norman Yakeleya thanked Premier Caroline Cochrane and the Government of the Northwest Territories for their response on restricting alcohol on April 16.
NNSL file photo

"The Dene Nation today is pleased and welcomes GNWT restrictions on liquor sales across the territory that clearly reflects the Dene Nation's motion," Yakeleya said.

"Yesterday, Premier Cochrane and I spoke and I told her of our concerns of the Covid-19 pandemic up and down the Dehcho region, Mackenzie Valley. Chiefs... were raising concerns about liquor and cannabis abuse.

"Today, I want to say mahsi cho and thank you Premier Cochrane for your leadership and in hearing our concerns."

Yakeleya's message took a much different tone earlier in the week when he said Dene leaders felt the territorial government wasn't listening.

He admitted Thursday that he had been frustrated by the length of time it took, but hopes to now move forward and work with the territory to protect the most vulnerable in the communities.

"We wanted this done quick because we had already been seeing in our communities an influx of alcohol, bootlegging (and) parties happening," he said when asked about the 13 days it took for the GNWT to make the announcement. "There seemed to be no movement (for GNWT help). But today is a new day and that is where I want to start again."

World Health Organization and alcohol 

The Dene Nation's demand to limit alcohol in the NWT came the same week as the World Health Organization stating that alcohol consumption can potentially worsen efforts to fight the spread of Covid-19.

"Alcohol consumption is associated with a range of communicable and noncommunicable diseases and mental health disorders, which can make a person more vulnerable to Covid-19," states an April 14 advisory on the WHO's website. "In particular, alcohol compromises the body’s immune system and increases the risk of adverse health outcomes. Therefore, people should minimize their alcohol consumption at any time, and particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Alcohol is a psychoactive substance that is associated with mental disorders; people at risk or who have an alcohol-use disorder are particularly vulnerable, especially when in self-isolation. Medical and treatment services need to be alert and ready to respond to any person in need."

Yakeleya has repeated in three news conferences since April 3 that not all Dene Nation communities have response systems in place to provide alcohol treatment for their residents. He has stated that there are 10 communities with no RCMP presence and eight without a nurse.

Mental health and addictions 

The Dene Nation continues to work with the territorial and federal government support in developing added supports for mental health and addictions, including on the land, according to Yakeleya.

Recent funding support for the Harvesters' Support Grant, which helps get Dene members to go on the land to self-isolate, and support for Nutrition North have been positive steps by the federal government during the pandemic, he added.

"We continue to support on-the-land programs and we're continuing to work on many opportunities with the federal government," he said, noting that potential future programs could be things like online counselling programs for people in small communities wanting to get off alcohol or online resources that could help improve family dynamics.

Yakeleya said in the coming weeks, he's hoping to present a more solid plan to government on how to deal with the alcoholism, both on the supply and demand side as Indigenous people are self-isolating.

"So we are just exploring various options right now as ... to this new opportunity of how do we help people in this light of being self-isolated and working from a distance and not having a physical structure where we used to send people to treatment programs," he said. "How do we look at treatment programs in the Dene way and on the land and in our communities? How do we talk to people who are contributing to bootlegging and providing alcohol to members in the community and talk to them in a way that they can see the harm in what they are causing their own people?"