Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize two individuals who are on the Anti-Poverty Steering Committee, Ms. Bronwyn Watters and Ms. Julie Green, and thank you both so much for all the hard work you put into this strategy. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document, entitled “Building on the Strengths of Northerners – A Strategic Framework Toward the Elimination of Poverty in the Northwest Territories, June 2013.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There has been some discussion around this and it’s something we’re certainly interested in having some conversation on, but there are some challenges there that we have to be aware of; for instance, insurance coverage and making sure that the individual is safe. We need to make sure that an individual is safe, and if he or she happens to be the only individual in a community providing policing, or is seen as the only person, they could be in harm’s way, so we need to make sure that we put in mechanisms to ensure that that is not the case, and we don’t have those questions answered at this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We do have a dedicated officer in Fort McPherson that is intended to provide services to Tsiigehtchic. In the last sitting the Member did raise some concerns he had about some relationship between the community of Tsiigehtchic and the RCMP detachment in Fort McPherson, and I did have some staff and the commanding officer of “G” Division go out and visit Tsiigehtchic and try to work out some of the complications or difficulties that existed. It’s my understanding that they have actually worked out a few things, which I think is a step in the right direction.

The Member is...

In coming forward with all these frameworks and strategies that have come forward in the last couple of months, or during this session anyway, it’s clear that there are definite links and tie-in, and many of them are working towards the same ultimate goal coming at it from different angles, which is one of the reasons we want to take a little bit of time to make sure that as we move forward we link all those together so that we are not duplicating functions and we are not duplicating initiatives, that we are trying to work together for the best use of money for the best of the people of the...

Thanks, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to the Member for the question. I would like to echo the Member’s comments in congratulations to the steering committee for all the incredible hard work they did, but also the working group who was involved from the beginning as well. They’ve done a wonderful job, but it is just the beginning, Mr. Speaker.

As I did say in my comments earlier today, we will be working on action plans over the summer months. There are a number of frameworks that have been released over this short session and all of them tie together to some degree, so we need to work together as a...

Mr. Speaker, we are not above the law. We are not above the law. As MLAs we are bound by the laws just like every other citizen. We don’t have the right, nor should we, to break the law so that we can get information that has action part and parcel of a third party. That third party may say yes, MLA Dolynny can look at that contract. We are willing to ask, once the Member files an ATIPP request. Until such a time as that happens, we can’t do that. It would be against the law. I’m not going to change the law just so MLAs can have access to information that they probably shouldn’t have.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As MLAs, as Ministers we have a responsibility to protect the rights of privacies of individuals and organizations. We also have a responsibility to share information as much as we can with our colleagues. But there is a law. The ATIPP Act requires public bodies to protect the business interests of third parties, while balancing the right of the public to access information held by public bodies. Request for access to contract information is assessed against the protection afforded to third-party business interests contained within Section 24 of the act. This section...

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize a constituent of the Great Slave riding, Mr. Parker Kennedy. Parker is a valued member of the Department of Justice team including the community of justice and policing division and currently a special advisor to the assistant deputy minister/solicitor general. He is retiring at the end of the month. He is a commissioned officer at the RCMP with more than 30 years of service including inspector of the northern region. He has devoted his life to the service for his country and was recently recognized with a Diamond Jubilee medal. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to rise on a point of order based on rules of debate 23, subsections (h) and (i) with respect to the statement made by Mr. Dolynny.

Mr. Dolynny made reference to the fact that the department has encouraged him to submit an ATIPP request and has then filed or suggested that he’d have to pay some fees to get the information that he has.

Mr. Speaker, as MLAs and as Ministers we have to balance the rights to privacy versus the release of information. In this particular case, the Member has been seeking, through the House and during debate in Committee of the Whole...