Charles Dent

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Strong, dynamic women have contributed to the sustained development and progress of the North. From March 6 to 12, 2005, we celebrate International Women’s Week to recognize the contribution women have made to our society. Today has been designated a special day to honour their contributions.

With the national theme “You are Here - Women, Canada and the World,” I want to acknowledge women who have helped shape the North through their wisdom and actions, both big and small. Northern women improve our world everyday, by making a difference in the workplace, representing...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Further to my Return to Written Question 73-15(3), I wish to table the following document entitled Number of New Teachers Hired from 2001 to 2005. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On all of the capital projects we have there is a similar amount of consultation, whether it’s a school or hospital or the courts. When you’re talking about building projects, we have a similar amount of consultation. We have been pressured by the courts for many years to respond to their needs and this is something that we have to do. It has been proposed by governments prior to this one. Two governments prior to this one have announced that they were going to put the money for a courthouse in the capital plan, but did not follow through on those commitments, and this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The function of the courts is not expected to change significantly in the future. There will still be a need for courts and for their operations. The unfortunate fact is that we don’t expect that the amount they are using will go down. There isn’t much you can do about not providing the space. Right now we don’t have adequate space. One way or the other we’re going to have to provide it. So we have consulted with Public Works and Services and have been advised that there are two choices: either rent more space or build new space. The advice from Public Works and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The government has decided to initiate this project by going to a full set of plans and then going out to tender. So before we break ground we’ll know the full cost of the project. This isn’t going to be handled through a construction management process where the costs could escalate after the construction has started. It is our intention to make sure that we know the costs before proceeding with it. All of the amounts that will be spent on the building will have to be voted by this Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will certainly look into the issues that the Member has raised. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. There may be an increase in crime and, therefore, an increase in numbers of people who are put on remand. But will it be absolutely necessary to use that facility again? It is not likely that the level of crime to reach such dramatic heights, that we would have to or be forced to reopen the remand there as a separate unit. But if we did need to, then it is important to remember that we are not proposing to knock down any walls or make any physical changes other than moving the monitors. So it would not be very expensive to reopen it if it was judged to be a good move...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I guess I would like to get a better understanding. Is the Member saying all 11 Members support this $400,000 going back into remand over and above any other investment in Justice? Let’s just pick Justice as the $400,000, or any other investment of $400,000 somewhere else in government. Is that what all 11 Members are saying, that they want this ahead of RCMP in their communities, that they want this ahead of something like full-day kindergarten or something? I guess I haven’t heard that yet. I have heard a request for some more money, but I am not sure that Members...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I suspect that the Member is referring to the correction service Wilderness Camp Program. We have a number of those in operation. They are not specifically tied to those two communities that the Member has mentioned, but the program’s budget is a little over $1 million a year. It involves trying to get inmates into on-the-land camps. We have recently concluded a request for a proposal, where we were asking for proposals from potential operators from across the Northwest Territories. We have had a number of proposals come in for operations. We will be taking a look...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. If it was a wrongful death and somebody caused the death, then the person who caused it would be responsible. That would be where the liability lies.