Jackson Lafferty

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following two documents entitled GNWT Response to Committee Report 4-16(5), Report on the Review of the 2008-2009 Annual Report of the Languages Commissioner; and GNWT Response to Committee Report 6-16(5), Report on the Review of the Auditor General on Education in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following documents entitled GNWT Response to Committee Report 5-16(5), Report on the Review of the 2008-2009 Annual Report of the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

Also, Mr. Speaker, further to my Return to Written Question 17-16...

We did have some review of the Yukon within their act and there are some implications in there or some areas that we can definitely look at within our existing act, if we could change or make some amendments that reflect on what the Yukon has. But there are some areas that they do not have, such as imposed penalties for noncompliance or other areas that may not be in the best interests of the Northwest Territories. But definitely, those are some of the key areas and indicators that we need to take into consideration. If we need to make amendments to our act, then this will be before the...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My department has been working on this particular file on the reservists. Under the current act and other legislation that may be before us, individuals serving as reservists may be protected by other legislation or collective agreements providing greater benefits than our act. Those are the areas we are currently exploring.

Not only that but we haven’t to date received any inquiries on this particular matter. There are, from the information that we have, approximately 26 current members of the Yellowknife reservists. We’re fully aware of that and we want to work with that...

Mahsi. That review has been undertaken, as the Member indicated, in 2008, and that information is within my department. If it hasn’t been shared with the standing committee, then I need to find out what we can share with the Members; what we’ve done to date since the review was undertaken, what work is ongoing and the future amendments that need to take effect. So, Mr. Speaker, I can provide that information to the Members and I’ll find out more about the specifics of the program. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. In this particular area, recidivism is a complex issue and there are currently no national rates or indicators as it stands. Also, it has other complicated issues such as family violence. We also, as the NWT, work with the Canadian Centre for Justice stats and other provinces and territories to develop nationally accepted recidivism indicators. This work has been discontinued because of the funding cutbacks. So we are exploring different areas on how we can highlight these key indicators for our Justice department in the Northwest Territories, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, as I stated, this is an area that we need to work together. There are federal laws that we need to work with. They are case by case on an individual basis. Some individuals are federal inmates as well. As I stated, there are at times challenging times trying to find inmates to go out on the land. It is their choice. We can’t force them to go out on the land so we have to follow the judicial system as well. But I am willing to work with the on-the-land program that we internally have and building on the programming that is in place already.

Mr. Speaker, I committed to the Members...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. We are always on the lookout for any opportunities that can improve the well-being of our people of the Northwest Territories; that includes the inmates as well. We have initiated the on-the-land program in the Sahtu region. It has been successful to date, but at times it has been difficult finding those inmates within the institution because it would have to be on a volunteer basis. We can’t force them to attend these camps. So those are the areas that we continue to struggle with. It is a real challenging task, but we continue to push with other regions, as well, if they...

Those are the discussions that we’ve had with the Members as well, also the organizations: what needs to be amended, depending on what kind of program dollars are being expended to daycare operators and other operators and services that are being provided. Those are the discussions that we’ve had and part of the report that has been referred to has been highlighted as well.

Mr. Speaker, I totally agree that we need to focus on all schools in the Northwest Territories. We will continue to push where the priorities lie. I agree that we need to focus on the communities that we represent. Mahsi.

Those are the areas that we continue to get complaints from various parties and we deal with them either through the employers or through our Justice department. The avenue they may have with respect to certain types of complaints that may be brought forward, it all depends on the case-by-case basis. We need to work with those individuals as the need arises. Again it can be an interdepartmental initiative as well. Our Justice department is available to the general public if there are any issues pertaining to that and also with Human Resources.