Frieda Martselos

We talk about disparities in First Nations. We have two reserves, and throughout the document that we have gone through so far, this is the first time I have every seen anything allocated to a reserve, $81,000. How far is $81,000 going to go with funding to two reserves? Most of the time, they don't even recognize Salt River First Nation, because there is some discrepancy that happened because the Hay River reserve was part of the whole territorial thing going back in other Assemblies. I'm just wondering about this fund, how it's allocated, the terms of reference, and who it is allocated to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My Members' statement today is about the need for our NWT corrections services to focus on the successful social reintegration and rehabilitation of incarcerated individuals. The Department of Justice recently completed a workplace assessment of all correctional facilities in the Northwest Territories. The results of that assessment were obvious as it exposed several long-standing issues pertaining to staff morale, safety, and preparedness, among other things. In a previous Member's statement, I spoke about the importance of offender rehabilitation. Today, however, I...

Just further to that, there is not a neutral board or a group? It's the five sports organizations that decide how the $5,200,000 is going to be distributed across the territory? Those five sporting groups are all stationed in the capital. There is so much disparity with regional centres and small communities. It just doesn't make sense how things are done. I don't hear much common sense here. As a government, if we don't start doing things and being accountable and transparent in what we do and how we distribute public funds, it's disturbing to me that this is the way we operate. If you're a...

Madam Chair, for the School of Community Government, I agree with the concept, but I think we are going towards the concept of the polytechnic university. I think that some of these funds should be geared to a program at the new polytechnic university. This type of funding should be going to the polytechnic university and not in community governments.

I know SAOs are very hard to come by, even at a regional level, even at a First Nations level, and I think that, if we combined our forces with the business management courses and everything else that is offered at a polytechnic, we are kind of...

Madam Chair, I think I am making myself very clear of what I want with that line. I am not talking about any other line. I'm just talking about that one line. It's, all the way through, the same. I made it very clear, and I would like to know how much it is, broken down. I am not asking for 50,000 different figures. I am asking for a figure because we go per capita in assets for the capital, what we give to the regional centres and what's left for the communities. That is all I'm asking. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Further to that question, then: if you are going per capita and according to communities and it's all 33 communities, including the capital, that doesn't leave very much for small communities and regions. I would like to know the breakdown of the regional centres, the capital, and then the small communities. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Community government funding remained the same all the way through. Is that done by per capita with 33 communities, Madam Chair? Sorry, $49,853,000 on page 348.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I was just listening to a lot of the comments that were made so far today with these estimates. A lot of consultants were used, a lot of reviews, a lot of reports. I just wonder how anything could get done if we are always waiting for a report, a consultant's deadline. A consultant who probably doesn't even understand any of us here in the North. How could anything really get done, Madam Chair, when common sense is not being used in making sure that deadlines are met? Just observing everything today was mind-boggling. My first question, Madam Chair, is: we spend a lot...

The workplace assessment report validated all of the concerns of staff within NWT corrections. Until this is corrected in a professional, orderly way, would the Minister agree that no rehabilitation of our incarcerated people will properly take place?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Justice recently completed a corrections service workplace assessment. Can the Minister explain how he is going to address the toxic and unhealthy workplace in the corrections system as described in this report, to ensure that our government will help to rehabilitate our incarcerated Indigenous people so that they can take charge and make changes in their lives? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.