Macdonald questions Health Minister on behalf of local student Tobie Minhas

MEDIA RELEASE

For immediate release

May 28, 2010

Macdonald questions Minister on behalf of local student

VICTORIA – In health estimates debate, Columbia River – Revelstoke MLA Norm Macdonald raised a question on behalf of a local high school student. Concerned about the loss of the Youth Drug and Alcohol Prevention Worker and David Thompson Secondary, Tonie Minhas contacted the constituency office for assistance.

HANSARD: Thursday, May 27, 2010, afternoon, Health estimates debate

Macdonald: I just want to ask the minister one question. It's on behalf of a young constituent of mine, Tonie Minhas. Tonie is a grade 12 student at David Thompson Secondary School in Invermere, and she's an active member of the school's Youth Action Team, which they call YAT. YAT is a group of students from grade 8 to 12, and they promote safe choices. They spread awareness about drug abuse, impaired driving and other social pressures.

So the concern that they have, and that Tonie in particular has, is that Shelley Chaney, the youth drug and alcohol prevention worker at David Thompson — that's the adult supervisor for YAT, amongst other things — is having her position terminated because of a decision by Interior Health. Just to give you Tonie's words: "Shelley has acted as our adviser, our leader, our friend, and the students' opinion is that the position at the school is vital to the continuation of this important group."

She goes on to say, and I'll just put it on the record…. These are Tonie's words: "Due to the loss of Shelley's position, David Thompson Secondary School will lose one of its greatest strengths. Shelley's position is vital to the health of youth in this community. It's an absolute shame that her position will not exist next year."

So the question that Tonie Minhas asked me to pass along to the minister is on behalf of her group and students at David Thompson Secondary School. They want to know why such a valuable program would be cut when it is so clear that students are benefiting from having Ms. Chaney there doing the work that she's doing.

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MEDIA CONTACT: Joy Orr (o) 250 344 4830 (c) 250 344 1359 (e) joy.orr@leg.bc.ca

BACKGROUNDER:

Health Minister Kevin Falcon’s response:

HANSARD: Thursday, May 27, 2010, afternoon, Health estimates debate

Hon. K. Falcon: First of all, Member, let me commend Tonie Minhas and the work that they are doing as youngsters that are trying to promote and support issues around safe choices. I totally commend them on that and their involvement. I think it's outstanding when I hear about young people engaged in trying to encourage healthy choices amongst young people. I want to, first of all, commend Tonie Minhas and the others that are involved in that.

What I can tell the member is that the school-based prevention programs, one of which the member is referring to, were created in the 1990s and funded by the Ministry of Health, and the focus was on substance abuse. But what has happened now is that there's been a change in approach to how we should be dealing with these kinds of issues as a result of the 2007 report on prevention by the provincial health officer.

What has happened as a result of that report in 2007 is Interior Health held a nine-month consultative process with 16 school districts, independent schools, aboriginal schools, Ministry of Children and Family Development, mental health and addictions, public health, staff, students, parents and others to gather input on how Interior Health could improve the kind of services they were providing in the schools — to move away from the narrow definition of having people in their dealing with just substance abuse to a more comprehensive approach on dealing with the wider range of issues that young people now have to deal with.

The results are obtained in the Healthier Schools, Healthier Students project, Interior Health roles and the school setting recommendations for change. What is happening is that the public health prevention services are terminating the existing school-based prevention contracts with the intention to essentially provide a new and different service across the 16 public school districts, independent schools and aboriginal schools to support the implementation of a comprehensive school health model that will try and create a healthier school environment.

It is based upon the Healthier Schools, Healthier Students approach. That's the new approach that they are referring to. So yes, it is a change. I certainly understand how the students probably recognize the great work that Ms. Chaney has undertaken in their school in the substance abuse programs, but it is a change that I understand is predicated and founded on a best practices model.

In fact, I will say that one of the things that we are discovering in the Ministry of Health…. We funded, as the member may know, the addictions research centre at University of Victoria, and one of the things that we are now discovering is that there is a multitude of different programs by different ministries in the schools trying to deliver a multitude of different messages. What has clearly come out of a lot of the review that's undertaken is that there needs to be, as Interior Health is trying to move forward with, a more comprehensive prevention agenda that includes substance abuse prevention messages but also much more broadly incorporates some of the other prevention issues that are important for young people.