David Ramsay

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, to my right is Ms. Kelly McLaughlin, director of legal division.

Thank you, Madam Chair. No, it would be more beneficial if we had folks working off their surcharges as opposed to getting nothing. That’s why it’s the way it is. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to be here today to discuss Bill 56, Miscellaneous State Law Amendment Act, 2015.

The purpose of Bill 56 is to amend various statutes of the Northwest Territories for which minor changes are proposed or errors or inconsistencies have been identified.

Each amendment included in the bill had to meet the following criteria:

It must not be controversial.

It must not involve the spending of public funds.

It must not prejudicially affect rights.

It must not create a new offence or subject a new class of persons to an existing offence.

Departments responsible for the...

Thank you, Madam. I’ll go to Ms. Kemeys-Jones for a more detailed response to the second part of Mr. Dolynny’s question, but I just wanted to say that we’re not out to try to fool the public or anything with the bill. The question about where the surcharges collected go, I can list off a few things: training to sensitize and inform community resource workers about the needs and circumstances of victims of crime; direct services that assist victims through crisis response personal support; follow-up assistance information and referrals; public awareness on the rights and responsibilities of...

Mr. Speaker, Fort Smith has a long history of supporting correctional facilities located within their community. As a result, inmates in these facilities have had the benefit of community acceptance as they work through their rehabilitation process and make plans for release. For the adult female offenders housed in Fort Smith, this community support has been especially beneficial in their rehabilitation process.

The current building housing adult female offenders has been used as a correctional facility since 1991. Prior to this it was a youth group home, originally constructed in the...

I do, Madam Chair. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Most of the time the coroner would be invited into the premises. In the case that they’re not, that’s something that is included in the bill and can be addressed. I’m going to go to Mr. Aitken for some further detail on that.

Thank you, Madam Chair. To my right is Mr. Mark Aitken, assistant deputy minister, Office of the Attorney General. To my left is Mr. Ken Chutskoff, legislative counsel, Department of Justice.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We are losing employees to retirement at the Department of Justice and I also wanted to wish Mr. MacDougall well on his retirement. He has had a long and dedicated service to the government and to the people of the Northwest Territories. I know he put a lot of work into Bill 64, so I wanted to thank him and wish him well.

---Applause

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to be here today to talk to you about Bill 62, An Act to Amend the Coroners Act. I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Social Programs for its careful review of the bill.

Bill 62 will amend the Coroners Act to create consistency in the powers that are afforded to coroners in the NWT and in other Canadian jurisdictions. The amendments will also:

expand the investigative powers of coroners;

expedite the investigative process where possible, in the interest of returning bodies to families in a more timely manner;

clarify what personal information can be...