Frame Lake

Statements in Debates

Debates of , (day 20)

Mr. Speaker, that is pure speculation on the Member’s part, that that would happen here. I don’t believe that it would. I don’t think that the department or the administration now is interested in doing that. I think the interest is genuinely there to make sure that we are doing procedures properly and to identify areas if we are not so that we can strengthen the good and replace the bad. Thank you.

Debates of , (day 19)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don’t know. I will have to take the question as notice.

Debates of , (day 19)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I certainly agree with the Member that the two incidents about which she speaks are indeed tragedies and we’d like to make sure that I extend the government’s and I think all Members of this House condolences to the families of those who were involved. Particularly, both incidents were quite disturbing. In terms of notification, the RCMP are notified when an offender is released on parole. So they would have been aware in this instance of the release of the offender on parole, and the RCMP has the jurisdiction to determine whether or not a public...

Debates of , (day 19)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if we’re invited by Corrections Canada to participate formally we would be happy to do that. I believe that we have had one member of our staff from Justice who has been approached about serving on the committee. So whether it’s formal or informal I know that we will have some way of knowing what the outcome of the investigation is. I can assure the Member that our policies and procedures and the safety of GNWT staff is something that is of paramount concern, and an incident like this would, of course, cause us to review our policies and procedures.

I should...

Debates of , (day 19)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it depends a lot on the parolee. Because of an Exchange of Services Agreement with Justice Canada, in most communities outside of Yellowknife we provide supervision services. So there may be, at any given time, a number of federal parolees who are being supervised by NWT parole officers. In those circumstances, we will have worked closely with national parole to know who they are, what their terms of release are and work with them closely on the supervision. In those instances in Yellowknife where the parolee is under the supervision of a Corrections...

Debates of , (day 18)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess there is a question as to which is more important. The program pays right now the full cost of rent. So there is an agreement that is not calculated as part of the amount that you have to justify. The program does pay the full cost, but most other things are considered the client’s choice. The expenses are added up as to what a person has and brings to the table, and then an amount is provided as a top up. So it’s entirely up to people right now to decide whether they choose to spend the money on a phone. It’s essential to point out that there have been...

Debates of , (day 18)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said, I have already begun the process of reviewing the program with the standing committee and listen to the committee and work with them as we work through this. Stipulated expenses like rent, for instance, we pay the actual cost. The overall allowance that comes out, we expect people will make choices as to what they spend the money on. Therefore, at this point, it’s up to clients whether they believe the telephone is an essential expense. Thank you.

Debates of , (day 18)

There are a number of other things that we do. We support aboriginal language and culture through the development of the curriculum Dene Kede, and making sure that teachers in the classroom have access to resources so that they can better offer the program. But another important way that we're going to make sure that language is supported is through programs like the language nest. We ensure that kids come to school knowing that they are able to speak their language and, with some assistance, making sure the communities know that really much of the language learning has to be happening at...

Debates of , (day 18)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this government has a wide range of bursaries available for students, and students in the TEP program who are studying aboriginal languages would qualify for those bursaries, as well. There are health bursaries, there are bursaries for law students, there are bursaries and grants that are based usually on academic performance. So there are opportunities for students already to take advantage of grants and bursaries. Thank you.

Debates of , (day 18)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm sure that the Member knows that I feel it's very important that we have aboriginal language instructors in our schools and that we support the development of them. In fact, the college has an aboriginal language and culture instructor program as part of its offerings. This government spends over $1.6 million a year on the teacher education program. The reason we do it in the Northwest Territories rather than seeing all our teachers go down south, is we want to encourage people who have language skills to learn in the North so that they can be in the...