David Ramsay

Kam Lake

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 6th Session (day 9)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The federal government will be paying the lion’s share of the capital costs to realign the Ingraham Trail. As I mentioned earlier, if we are not looking at every possible opportunity to advance the interests -- and in this case it would be another department, it would be ITI, it would be Tourism that would be expanding Fred Henne Territorial Park -- again, we are missing the boat. I didn’t quite hear the Minister say it’s too late, but why is it too late? Why aren’t we looking at that possibility? I think it’s a real possibility, given some of the maps I saw three years...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 6th Session (day 9)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for the update on the realignment, and I guess moving from three options to two in seven months isn’t such a bad thing. It’s down to two options. Maybe the Minister could let us know what those two options are and whether or not the option to bypass the mine infrastructure and with the possibility of including a possible expansion at Fred Henne Territorial Park is in the mix in all of these discussions. Thank you.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 6th Session (day 9)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last November I spoke about the proposed realignment of Highway No. 4, the Ingraham Trail. The highway needs to be realigned to accommodate the remediation process at the former Giant Mine property. The realignment has been on the drawing board for four years now. Three options were put out in the public realm by the Department of Transportation. Seeing as the majority of the capital costs of the realignment will be funded by the federal government, we must use this as an opportunity to maximize benefits to our residents.

Last November the Minister of Transportation told...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 6th Session (day 9)

I think if we’re not thinking about possible opportunities from the road realignment that we’re missing the boat.

As I mentioned earlier, back in 2003 there were studies, reports on the need for more RV space in Yellowknife for both local residents and the travelling public, the tourists that come north. If we aren’t even having the discussion with ITI on the possible expansion at Fred Henne Territorial Park because of a realignment, again, I think we’re missing the boat. Is it too late? The question I have for the Minister is: is it too late to not have a look at that possibility?

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 6th Session (day 9)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve got questions today for the Minister of Transportation getting back to my Member’s statement where I was talking about the possible realignment of Highway No. 4, the Ingraham Trail, past the former Giant Mine site.

Back in November of last year the Minister and I had a bit of an exchange on some question about where the government was at with the realignment. Back in November the Minister stated that options would be narrowed down, and engineering and environmental reviews would be done, and that that would be done in short order. That was seven months ago and I’d...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 6th Session (day 8)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On Friday I spoke about what’s happening on the streets of Yellowknife and a young woman of 16 who is caught up in drug abuse and risky behaviour. Her mother is struggling to find help for her, with only frustration and anxiety to show for it. The lesson her mother is learning is that she can count on no one for help. Not school officials, not Social Services and not the police. As she says, this has been a nightmare and it just keeps getting worse.

I’m going to use her words to tell you this story, Mr. Speaker. “The RCMP were called to the mall because three girls, aged...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 6th Session (day 8)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister’s offer to talk to the superintendent of the RCMP “G” Division, but the Minister is the top guy in the Department of Justice and these issues are real issues that are facing young people around the territory. The reluctance to take action by the RCMP -- and that’s why I’m speaking about it here again today -- to hopefully intervene in a young person’s destructive behaviour has to be at the forefront.

You know, we can’t afford to look the other way. Again, we need to ensure that we’re sitting down with the RCMP and discussing these items. I’d...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 6th Session (day 8)

I thank the Minister for that. Having alcohol open in a public place is against the law, Mr. Speaker, and it’s even worse if you’re a 16-year-old young person in a public place that has open liquor. The other side of this, too, is the RCMP encounter these young people and they don’t even hold them until their parents get there. I’d like to ask the Minister if he could look into situations like that as well where obviously young people are breaking the law, why aren’t they held by the RCMP until their parents can show up. Thank you.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 6th Session (day 8)

To answer that, I’ll quote this young woman’s mother again. “So here I am, losing sleep, wondering if my child is safe, what she is doing, and praying that the RCMP will not come to my door and tell me she is dead.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 6th Session (day 8)

Thank you. In that one instance it was public drinking, open liquor in public, and the same young woman has even admitted to stealing close to $1,000 from family to the RCMP and no charges are laid.

Again, I want to ask the Minister if he can sit down, perhaps himself and his officials, that the Department of Justice can sit down with the RCMP and have a look at the entire picture and see where it is along the line that the RCMP can have a positive impact on trying to make sure that young people’s lives don’t continue to be put at risk. Thank you.