Jackson Lafferty

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The income security is for basic necessities of life where food, shelter and clothing are required. So we provide those services to those individuals that are on income support. A lot of clientele do have telephones in their home units. Some just have local calls, which of course is very cheap. Mr. Speaker, this is an area where we need to focus more on what we could provide as a shelter, food and clothing. That has always been the mandate of this government and we continue to deliver that same messaging as we roll out the program. We made some changes to the program in...

Mr. Speaker, again, it comes down to a health hazard to the inmates. The corrections officers, when they go for, let’s say they are allowed to go for a smoke, they come back and deal on a constant basis with the inmates one to one. They are always with the inmates. Second-hand smoke is even worse. That is what we have heard over and over through health discussions. Mr. Speaker, that is the very reason why we have stopped smoking at corrections premises. That is the very reason why we are not allowing those individuals that are on guard with doing their job and looking after those inmates. Mr...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. When we talk about staff, they have different professions. We have security guards there that monitor the inmates on a constant basis. They are required to be at the centre. We have other staff that may come and go, such as secretaries or clerical or administrative. They go downtown and do their lunch and they may come back. They may pick up a smell of smoke to some degree. Mr. Speaker, those securities need to be at the corrections. That is a big difference where they are required to be at the centre. We don’t allow smoking at the centre, as well, on the premises. Mr...

Mr. Speaker, in coordination with the NWT Arts Council, those are discussions that we are currently having and how we are going to roll out the program, if we are going to enhance our program with the existing funding that we have, so those are the discussions that are ongoing. Once I get that information, more information on the new initiatives and also the research that we have done on the curator shows in northern and southern venues, we will be sharing those with the Members as well. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Our curator initiatives involved various partners, as well working closely with the northern artists, as the Member indicated. We need to work with the museum as well, Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Museum, the NWT Arts Council and also Canada Council of Arts. In the meantime, what we are doing now is we are working closely with ITI and my department of ECE. We are committed to working together to implement the NWT Arts Strategy action related to enhancing the profile of the northern arts regionally, nationally and also internationally. In addition, Mr. Speaker, in...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 4, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2011, be read for the second time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill corrects inconsistencies and errors in the statutes of the Northwest Territories. The bill deals with other matters of a minor, non-controversial and uncomplicated nature in the statutes, and repeals provisions that have ceased to have effect. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we can list a variety of areas where there are additional costs. There are not only phones; there are cell phones, TVs and others that are not really a necessity. I am glad the Member agrees that income security is an overall necessity that we provide services to.

Mr. Speaker, we have those clientele that have clientele service officers working closely with them. We know who the clientele are and we contact them through the clientele service officers and if there are issues or questions and concerns that are brought to their attention, there is a discussion. Communication is...

Again, we provide services and funding through shelter, food and clothing. Those are required necessities. So we continue to enhance those programs specifically to those areas. With the surplus that individuals may have, they can purchase phone services if they wish to do so. Mr. Speaker, we provide the basic necessities. That’s the very reason why we have income security, to provide those services in the Northwest Territories, the 33 communities that we service, to provide those basic necessities and we’ll continue to do that. Mahsi.

This is an area of concern if the number is correct. We have to work with those inmates. Those corrections officers, again, they work closely with the inmates. We have to keep in mind the health hazard they may impose on those inmates, not only inmates but other staff members that do not smoke. Mr. Speaker, that’s the very reason why we don’t allow smoking on the premises due to health hazards. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, these corrections officers need to be at the centre. They are required to monitor and also look after those inmates in case there are any issues that may arise. There is a constant issue that may be conducted at the centre as well. They are required to be there. Other staff may come and go, as I indicated before, administrative staff, but at the same time, these corrections officers need to be at the centre. That is a big difference. They can’t leave the premises to go for, let’s say, a smoke outside the premises because they are on duty eight, 10, 12 hours as identified by their...