Jackson Lafferty

Masi, Madam Speaker. [Translation] I want to ask a question regarding children. They go through difficult times. They have a lot of problems. I want to talk about the treatment. [End of translation] It's been brought to my attention on the territorial treatment centre here in Yellowknife. We have a treatment for clientele ages eight to 12, for those who have emotional, behaviour, or psychiatric difficulties. Madam Speaker, it has been brought to my attention that, at the facility, the centre does not currently have a full-time psychologist on site at the treatment centre, and it has been...

[Translation] The second question I have regarding the process convention is that it's stated in the policy that you give them notice for five days in advance to return your question or written question. They have five days to return that answer. [End of translation]

When the Regular Members request for information from ministerial offices, the general rule of thumb is that the turnaround time should be within five days or less. We understand that, sometimes, five days needs to be extended and, as long as the Minister's office lets Regular Members know about the necessary extension, we are...

Masi, Madam Speaker. Today, I'd like to speak about the Whati housing plan. Madam Speaker, the Minister of Northwest Territories Housing Corporation proudly announced early to mid-December that Whati was the first community in our territory to complete their housing plan. Being the Member of the Monfwi constituency, I was indeed proud of the community of Whati. I then heard through the grapevine that a big celebration was scheduled for Whati on December 17, 2019. I checked with the Minister's office. Sure enough, a celebration was indeed scheduled, and I was not notified about it. By that time...

Masi, Madam Speaker. I believe we need to do more work in this area, improvements, so I would like to suggest one area. So far, from what I've heard, I'm voicing concerns for these individuals who cannot speak for themselves. Their parents, their family members came to me, so I'm raising that issue. We are currently being dictated to by a southern firm, I believe it's called Bosco Homes, on how to run this centre. After all these years, why haven't we got a northern contractor providing these valuable services to our children, to provide northern perspectives? Masi, Madam Speaker.

That's the very concern that was brought to my attention, that the psychologist is not there on a frequent basis. Very rarely, a psychologist goes to the site, and by the same time the children are not assisted at the centre. The children have to be taken out of the centre. Those are just real concerns that are brought to my attention by parents and by Northerners in the Northwest Territories. How often is a qualified psychologist on site on any given basis, on a yearly basis? I'd like to know how many times that individual or that psychologist visits the centre.

Yes, I definitely will do, and I clearly hear the Minister's apology. This is an area that, obviously, we need to improve; not only her department, but other departments, as well, so I'll be speaking to that in my probably last and final question.

Myself and my colleagues on this side of the House are getting extremely frustrated with how the government is operating and how our side of the House is being treated. In her letter to me, the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation mentioned that she would like to collaborate with me for the betterment of my constituents. Communication...

Masi, Madam Speaker. [Translation] As Cabinet and Members, we work under this policy. It's in front of us to use, so when these Ministers come into our community, they have to give us notice, two weeks', and send us the documents. This is the question I want to ask the Minister. [End of translation]

As Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, we adhere to what we call a process convention. Madam Speaker, according to the process convention, Section 11(b) states, "Ministers will, whenever possible, provide a minimum of two weeks' advance notice of any public meeting...

I understand that they may not have been charged, but they were involved. When the drug bust happened, there were nine of them. You know, when there was a person of interest from the RCMP in Alberta just recently, they released the names of two individuals. This is, I would say, similar. I would ask the Minister of Justice if she is willing to sit down with the RCMP "G" Division commanding officer and seek out if there is any way that we can provide those names to the general public. My constituents, I want to protect them, and with those kinds of names, we should be releasing those to the...

I believe that's my fifth question, now, Madam Speaker. I just want to say I look forward to departmental correspondence on this particular, very important, matter in my region. When can we see this happening? Masi.

The Minister hasn't really answered my question about if they had specific certified burner mechanics visiting the isolated communities. I'll just move on to the next question, because these are tough questions that the department should be answering, especially for our elders in the communities. A couple of months ago, I had an 82-year-old senior constituent out of Behchoko who had furnace issues, and this was broadcast on the CBC, as well, when we were in the middle of a two-week-long cold spell. Apparently, her furnace had not been serviced for a few years. In the end, Polar Ice from...