New NWT Drug Awareness Campaign Launched Today

R(16)403 – Monday, March 29, 2010

The Government of the Northwest Territories’ new anti-drug campaign, Not Us, launched today in Hay River.

This program provides funding and support for local campaigns that meet the needs of individual communities. It is designed to be flexible and to support communities to fight their local addictions issues.“This campaign is about empowerment,” said Minister of Justice Jackson Lafferty. “It focuses on prevention by promoting healthy choices and lifestyles, and the role of personal and family responsibility. I want people to know that they can tell drug dealers they’re not welcome in our communities. I want kids to know they don’t need drugs to feel good. I want elders to know they can be safe from the crime that comes with drug dealing.”

The campaign is expected to be slightly different in each community. Community groups, schools, even individuals can create their own “Not Us” materials using the campaign website, www.not-us.ca.

“The NWT-wide campaign reflects community values,” said Minister of Health and Social Services Sandy Lee. “It’s designed to work with local programs and reflect local priorities. This is the beginning of a new territorial Not Us anti-drug campaign. But for people in Hay River, it’s also the result of many months of planning and it complements the good work they have already done on the Hay River Drug Strategy.”

The Not Us campaign is funded as a strategic activity under the GNWT’s Building Our Future initiative. It supports the GNWT’s goals of supporting communities to be sustainable, vibrant and safe, and supporting NWT residents to be healthy and educated. The campaign was developed through the Healthy Choices Framework with support from the RCMP and the departments of Justice; Health and Social Services; Education, Culture and Employment; Municipal and Community Affairs; and Executive. The launch event is hosted by the departments of Justice and Health and Social Services and the Hay River Interagency Committee.

For more information, please contact:

Megan Holsapple
Communications
Department of Justice
920-3130
megan_holsapple@gov.nt.ca