Frieda Martselos

Okay. So the ratio between First Nation policing and the policing agreement, that's a like a $49 million difference. You know, and most of the enforcement is with the you know, with Indigenous people. And, you know, every time I look at this and see what's happening in the communities, it's you know, I've carried this file for this is my 17th year, ever since I got elected as Chief of Salt River. I just don't think you know, you talked about two meetings a year with Justice. That's what they have. That isn't that isn't a lot. Is there dialogue with municipal governments and community...

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us if he or the Department of Justice has ever considered conducting a review of the NWT police force like what has been done in the Yukon? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Madam Chair, this is a really important line for our Indigenous people of the North. It keeps them from getting there's alternative it's alternative justice, and it keeps them out of getting a criminal record. This is a really important line in the overall file on justice. And with those numbers, it's very little. So the alternative to that for Indigenous people is that they plead guilty and they go to they have to be incarcerated. To me, that is the wrong approach, that we should be making sure that our communities are funded properly so that our Indigenous people and people who get into...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of Justice provide any measurable data or evidence that demonstrates a positive benefit to the people of the Northwest Territories in relation to the increasing costs of policing? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Minister also says integrated services cannot be put into regional centres or communities, and that is very disturbing because if that's the case, then everything is just for one place. I'm considering voting against this budget because I think it's high time that the Members, the Ordinary Members from small communities and regional centres have got to take a stand. I think very clearly that, you know, we're always doing this and it's always from the same place, and I don't take anything from the people of the capitol, but I think that small communities and regional centres have got to be...

That is a bit concerning because the statistics that came out, we had about 11 percent, 294 people that decreased in our population count in the community of Fort Smith. And, you know, I'm always much about education and I want to ensure that the level of funds in education is and the programs for the students are there. You know, there's lots of things happened during this pandemic, and this just happened in the last couple years. I know things will pick up in the next little while. But that shouldn't be a deterrent to ensure that the programs and the education that everybody receives is on...

My second question is on page 59, the South Slave Divisional Education Council, I see that there's a decrease of $143,000. Was there a program that was let go, or how did they come to that figure? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us if he has had any significant discussions with the federal minister of public safety about potential solutions to improve transparency and accountability of the RCMP and policing services in general? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just for real clarity, the Indigenous language teachers at the elementary school and the high school in Fort Smith all have degrees from the teacher education program, and are they paid on par with the French teacher at those schools? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us if he believes policing in the NWT is conducted with the highest levels of transparency and accountability? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.