Natives battling drug/alcohol problems

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Natives in northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories are taking major steps to overcome their alcohol and drug addictions, but they're getting little help from the provincial prison system, says the director of a High Level recovery center.

John Loftus just wishes he had more time to share his message with the Native justice task force, which recently held hearings in the northwest Alberta town. The task force wants to find out why there are so many Native people in provincial jails.

Loftus said Alberta Corrections Services refuses to recognize alcohol and drugs are responsible for most crimes committed by Native people.

He said the task force should have spent more time dealing with the lack of addictions counselors and programs in jails and less time listening to the RCMP complain about problems with the high Native crime rate in High Level.

"If 80 to 90 per cent of the inmates are there because of alcohol and drug related crimes, you should be spending 80 to 90 per cent of your time dealing with that issue," he said.

"But at the meeting, only 10 per cent of the time was spent on drug and alcohol issues. So, that should tell you why there's a problem."

Loftus said he was only given 10 minutes to tell the government-sponsored inquiry about the problems with substance abusers in the area.

Members from the RCMP in High Level also told the seven-member panel alcohol was a major contributor to the high rate of crimes committed by Natives in the area.

Action North, a 28-day recovery program designed to treat substance abuse through lectures and group sessions, was established in High Level 12 years ago by the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC).

The majority of the center's clients are Native, most of whom admit themselves for treatment, Loftus said.

He said the program's 28-bed facility is running at capacity and has a three-month waiting list for Natives from Alberta and the N.W.T. seeking help for their problems.

Loftus said more needs to be done to treat Natives in jail who don't have access to programs like Action North.

He said his group had pleaded with corrections services to sent addictions counselors into area jails, but has gotten no response.

The task force should have been more willing to accept that suggestion, he said. :The jail system just doesn't work."

By year-end, the Native justice task force, a combined effort of the provincial and federal governments, is expected to have ready its recommendations for reducing the high Native population in Alberta jails.

The task force kicked off its first round of public hearings in northwest Alberta accepting submissions from Native groups in Paddle Prairie, High Level, Assumption, Meander River and Boyer River.