Kam Lake

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 43)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document, entitled “Growing Forward 2: A Summary Report of the Small Scale Foods Program, 2013-14.”

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 43)

Mr. Speaker, just waiting for my light to come back on.

I’m not quite sure what the Member is getting at. We have systems in place at the Department of Justice. I can’t speak for the other two departments, but we are not going to be putting the resources and the effort into establishing a Wellness Court here in the Northwest Territories without a way to measure the success of it, measure how it is impacting people that are going through the court system. When we lay this out, those measurements are in place; they certainly will be looked at. All I was mentioning was that the court has only been...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 43)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for both his statement and his questions today and his support for the NWT Wellness Court, which rolled out… The first case was heard October 2nd of this year.

The question about resources, so far this year, $305,000, and for next year we’re looking at $970,000. That’s in ‘15-16 and ongoing. We aren’t going to be successful with the Wellness Court unless we are continuing to work with our colleagues at Health and Social Services and Education, Culture and Employment on the rollout of the Wellness Court and getting the people the help that they need...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 43)

I believe we’ve made a commitment to the Member to have a look at that, and it is certainly something we will be doing. Thank you.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 43)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In order to operate in the Northwest Territories, you would require a business licence.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 43)

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, across Canada the recommendations contained in coroners’ reports are not binding, and here in the Northwest Territories we feel that they shouldn’t be, in fact, binding. If the recommendations were binding, they’d have, in some cases, some pretty heavy financial practicality issues associated with those recommendations. Again, it would fundamentally change the role of the coroner if we were to make recommendations binding. Thank you.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 43)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Many of the recommendations contained in coroners’ reports are acted upon, and we continue to work with other departments as necessary. I mean, a lot of the reports reflect alcohol abuse or drug abuse. Those issues are dealt with by the Department of Health and Social Services and we certainly communicate with those departments that are involved as well.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 43)

Yes, that would be something that we would look forward to doing. Again, we believe it will be very successful and we would like to share all that information with Members of the House and the public. Thank you.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 43)

The Member is correct; we are going to be taking stock of what happens with the Wellness Court. We’re going to be keeping track of the recidivism, and we are going to be getting the people the supports that they need as they go through the Wellness Court. We certainly are looking forward to getting those numbers.

As I mentioned, the Wellness Court took its first case October 2nd, so we are only a few weeks into it, but my belief and the belief of the Department, and of course we have the support of the judiciary as well, is that the Wellness Court is going to make a difference and we’re...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 43)

Yes, we certainly will take a look at the policing aspect of whether or not operators that show up in the Northwest Territories next summer have a business licence. They are also required, I believe, to carry Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission coverage, as well, to operate in the Northwest Territories because they do have employees working here. That’s something where we have the winter to develop a game plan for next summer, and certainly I think we’ll put a plan in place that will see a policing aspect to the best we can. The Member is correct; regulation falls under the FMA and...