Nain residents will have the chance to cast their vote on whether or not they would like to see Nain become a dry community.
Sarah Leo is the AngajuKak for the Nain Inuit Community Government (NICG).
She says the NICG tabled a motion last night calling for a plebiscite to be held in the community.
A plebiscite allows for members of a constituency to cast their vote on a proposal by a government.
In this case, Nain residents will be given the chance to vote on whether or not they would like to see alcohol banned in the community.
The vote will take place on Monday, August 16.
Residents will be given two options: to vote yes or no on creating a dry community.
Leo says the NICG is still trying to establish the voting age for the plebiscite.
The age to vote may be the legal drinking age or the age of voting in Nunatsiavut elections.
Leo says the plebiscite wasn’t a part of the original agenda.
The item was added by one of the NICG councilors.
Leo says certain members of the NICG felt that something had to be done about the alcohol problem in Nain.
The motion was passed unanimously by the NICG.
Depending on the outcome of the vote, the NICG will determine their next step.
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I think the idea is great but we need to ensure we are prepared for it. Nain will need an influx of counselors and opportunities for treatment and addiction recovery. Also, there will need to be organized events in the community to spur involvement in other activities for adults. There are sport activities but for those who are not sports inclined we need additional opportunities to socialize that don't involve alcohol etc.
ReplyDeleteIt can be done, but to be successful these things need to be put in place and ready to roll out when the decision is made.
I think this is a great idea for Council to try and ban alcohol but, it doesn't seem well planned...a vote on August 16th? what about people who are on holidays or out of town on that date? When do they get to vote? Like the first poster's comment, there needs to be back up resource people in place to help people who depend daily on alcohol, people cannot just one day stop drinking, there needs to be rehabilitation resources in place, counselling services, and the list goes on and on...all the years of trying to deal with the alcohol issue, there must have been plans made by now, for over 20 years LIA has been brainstorming on how to deal with these types of issues, and with all the monies going to staffing with DHSD and programming, there should be plans ready to put in motion by now! Come on Nunatsiavut Government, get your health department doing what they are paid to do!!!
ReplyDeleteThere in lay the problem Anonymous: How can these things be put in place in such a short time frame?
ReplyDeleteIt has been known for years that these programs and services are needed, yet little to nothing has been done to get at the core symptoms that affect so many people.
Thinking outside the box in mental health and treatments is badly needed, yet while the NG health department is tied by an umbilical cord to the status quo of mental health delivery there really will be no successful programs.