Alfred Moses

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues.

The Standing Committee on Social Programs thanks all stakeholders who provided comments on Bill 42 or attended the public hearing.

The committee advises that it supports Bill 42 as amended and reprinted and presents it for consideration to Committee of the Whole.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When some individuals commit a big crime, they’ll get put in jail for a very long time. I just did some quick calculations here and at $303 for a year, that’s about $110,000 per inmate within our correctional system, which is equivalent to a job position, possibly a part-time nurse in a community, just to put it out there.

But I want to ask, what is the Minister doing to work in the communities to develop some type of treatment or counselling program, especially in our small communities, to prevent individuals from having to eventually come to the end result, which is...

It just shows anybody who’s having addiction issues or mental health issues that they don’t have to be institutionalized, that there are other streams of helping these individuals out so that they don’t go into the system. However, of the 13 who got referred by the same, and, yesterday, it sounds like there were eight who were institutionalized. For these eight individuals who didn’t get referred through the Wellness Court system, what kind of plan of care is given to these individuals who were referred from the Wellness Courts but didn’t meet the requirements? When they get into the same...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too had a look at the Auditor General’s report on some of the issues dealing with the Department of Justice and corrections, and it got my attention in terms of the rehab services, mental health services, and just the treatment that our inmates need to go through or lack or don’t have. However, I want to take a different route on this one.

When I was reading this, I was conflicted in the sense that we have people who are in the jail who have mental health issues, and if we actually had the services in the communities, they might not be there. As my colleague mentioned...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to report to the Assembly that the Standing Committee on Social Programs has reviewed Bill 42, An Act to Amend the Residential Tenancies Act, and wishes to report that Bill 42 is now ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole as amended and reprinted. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

That was leading up into my next question in terms of 2017. I was speaking with some people at the Wellness Conference last week and we got around to discussing 150 years come 2017, and I’m glad to hear that this project will be unveiling that.

Would there be others, possibly special presentations to our long-serving constables, especially Aboriginal constables who have done a lot of work with the Lost Patrol, the Mad Trapper, those kinds of things? Is something in the works to create that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions today for the Minister of Justice. About two years ago in the House I made some comments and asked some questions about possibly looking at getting some archives on the history of the RCMP in the Northwest Territories. The Minister, back then, mentioned that it would be a good idea to look into this and see the possibility of creating some type of dedication at the museum or some room that would highlight the history of the RCMP in the Northwest Territories and how it pertains to Canada.

I’d like to ask the Minister of Justice if there have been any...

I know the department does a great job. As I mentioned, they have developed a lot of life skills and job skills. A lot of questions we’ve heard through this sitting of the Legislative Assembly are the human resources issue and vacancies in some of the jobs.

Does the Minister and his department work with the Department of Human Resources to look at how we can get some of these youth ambassadors, who are fairly young, anywhere from the age of 18 and 24, to fill some of these vacancies? Has the Minister had these kinds of discussions with the Minister of Human Resources, or any other department...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to speak on a very successful program that this government has initiated over the last few years and that’s the NWT Youth Ambassador Program.

For those who don’t really know about the program, it’s just a guided and structural volunteer experience for NWT youth that provides the opportunity to develop significant life and job skills. Two programs that they’ve developed – and I believe the second one came out after running the first program successfully – is, first of all, just the Youth Ambassador Program. But what I’ve seen that was more evident – over this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Wednesday, March 11, 2015, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Range Lake, that the Legislative Assembly strongly recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services investigate the feasibility of a domestic violence death review committee for the Northwest Territories;

And further, that the government provide a comprehensive response to this motion within 120 days. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.