GOVERNMENT PLEDGES INNU ADDICTION CENTRE

Leaders Applaud Plan To Treat Gas-Sniffing Youth

GOOSE BAY, Nfld. (CP-Staff) - On the day before Canadians prepared to go to
the polls, the federal government promised Sunday to build a detox centre to
treat Innu children addicted to sniffing gasoline.

Liberal Leader Jean Chretien met some of the addicted children in his home
riding of Shawinigan, Que. yesterday.

But Industry Minister Brian Tobin, the former premier of Newfoundland,
announced yesterday the government would spend ''millions'' to help the
Innu.

''Many of these families are dysfunctional, he said. (sic)

''We have to recognize it's not enough just to deal with children abusing
gasoline.''

The treatment centre, the exact cost of which has not been estimated, will
be built in Labrador. It will treat addicted Innu children from each of the
remote Labrador communities of Sheshatshiu and Davis Inlet, Tobin said at a
joint news conference with Newfoundland Premier Beaton Tulk.

For more than a week, TV newscasts have shocked viewers around the country
with images of children sucking gas fumes from plastic garbage bags.

Last week, Newfoundland authorities rounded up a dozen young people in
Sheshatshiu after community leaders asked for help and a court order was
issued sending them for treatment at a centre on an armed forces base.

Tobin denied the timing of his announcement was related to the looming
election.

But Chretien said the gas-sniffing problem signifies the need for strong
social programs.

''This is an example that we still have some very difficult social problems
in the land and that type of problem will never be resolved by the market
forces,'' he said.

Tobin said he had ''confirmed'' that Ottawa would now include the Innu under
the Indian Act, making the community eligible for tax exemptions and
subsidized food.

The Innu have lobbied to have the benefits of status under the Indian Act,
in part because it would provide more control over social programs.

Peter Penashue, president of the Innu Nation, called the meeting ''truly
successful.''

The family treatment program would help tackle substance abuse at its roots,
he said.

''This will kick-start control over education, control over social services
and initiate policing agreements,'' he said. ''This will give us authority
to make our own bylaws, including making gas sniffing illegal.''

Innu leaders from Davis Inlet who met Chretien for several hours Sunday told
him that as many as 150 children in their community are addicted to sniffing
gasoline. Chretien spoke with Nympha Rich, an 18-year-old girl who began
sniffing gas 5 years ago.

"The reason why I am going to be able to stop is my parents stop drinking
and if we have a good home, a real good home where I can take a shower," the
girl told reporters through a translator.

"I would stop if I get helped."

Luke Rich, an Innu leader from Davis Inlet, which has no running water, said
Tobin's promises were ''good news,'' but he said his community also needs a
family counselling program.

"Our youth are now in the hands of the Prime Minister," he said. "I hope he
reacts."