Jackson Lafferty

Mr. Speaker, we do have a treatment centre in Hay River. I think we need to continue what we have within our corrections. We, as the Member indicated, have 90 percent population whether it be Aboriginal from the communities. Those are the individuals that we can work with. Rehabilitation back to the community, reintegration back into the community, that we have somewhat control over within the establishment to deliver those specific programs that can help those inmates so they can go back to their community and start a life all over again. Those are the main focus and our priority as the...

My department can definitely meet with the Coalition Against Family Violence, the group, and report back on what’s happening, how they can be involved. We have various partners involved as well. It’s not only the Coalition Against Family Violence, the groups are out there. There are other NGOs that we need to work with, like, again, the 33 communities that we need to reach out to those victims and also the communities.

If those partners that have been identified have not been involved, then we should involve them. We need to start reaching out to the communities, the organizations, the NGOs, those individuals that can relay the messaging to those victims that have been impacted so they can be notified. We’re doing what we can as a department to work with those communities, the 33 communities that we service. Through telephone or radio announcement, newspaper and so forth, those are the ongoing initiatives that we’ll continue to pursue.

Mr. Speaker, the committee of representatives at the DEC level, those types of discussions, concerns or ideas are brought forward at that level and those discussions are shared with me as the Minister responsible for Education through our chairs meeting. We talk about the priorities of the community and also the communities of the regions.

Mr. Speaker, this is an area that has been brought forward. We talked about the space inadequacy. Mr. Speaker, I will be visiting the Nahendeh area and I am looking forward to meeting the teachers and also the facility as well. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, those types of discussion need to take place from the community, the DEC we need to work with, and highlighting which are the priorities for the region and also the priorities for the Government of the Northwest Territories. We are providing capital project funding to include in the 2010-2011 capital plan that was initiated and that will cover the technical upgrades as identified so it can provide more teaching spaces. Those are just some of the programs, the funding that we’ve identified, but definitely this is a discussion that we need to have at the school board level.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Range Lake, that Bill 3, Electronic Transactions Act, be read for the first time. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this is an area that I think we need to focus on those individuals starting in the centre right now. What the Member is alluding to is outside the centre. Outside the centre, of course, there is an establishment in Hay River that those individuals can utilize once they leave the facility. Once they leave the facility, Mr. Speaker, actually before they leave the facility, we want them to be integrated back into the community. The program that we deliver consists of on-the-land program, as well, which we do in the Sahtu region. It has been very successful. We will continue delivery...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. We are fully aware of the statement that was made by Judge Vertes. It is the root cause of issues that we are dealing with. It is very challenging on a day-to-day basis. As Vertes indicated, it has to come from the grassroots people, the politicians and also the public. It is not just us sitting here making decisions; it has to be the general public as well that we need to work together.

We have to come up with solutions. We have already developed plans on our initiative through the Justice department. We deliver various aspects of program delivery at the corrections. We...

Mahsi. I can assure the Member that every opportunity I get to meet with the chief commanding officer, those communities without the RCMP detachments, it’s always addressed, improvement into a visit to the communities by RCMP officers and we have done that. But there’s always room for improvement, especially with winter road operation. With Tsiigehtchic, since April of last year until December there’s been visits almost every month, with the exception of November because of freeze-up, and there’s been a DARE program that started at the school in October and it was supposed to be rolled out in...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Those communities without RCMP detachments, we provide services through nearby detachments such as Fort McPherson. We’ve allocated a position there specifically for Tsiigehtchic and the Member is referring to equipment and mobile units such as radios. That equipment is outdated. We work with the RCMP “G” Division to upgrade that equipment and through the federal expenditures they have the capital expenditure programming and we have our own investment into those communities, as well, to upgrade such equipment that officers need to use. There’s been a visit from the RCMP...