Jackson Lafferty

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...

Masi, Madam Speaker. [English translation not available.] ...and families to identify gaps in existing resources. Madam Speaker, question to NWT Housing Corporation: what are the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation's programs available for seniors so they can maintain their own homes? Masi, Madam Speaker.

Masi, Mr. Chair. What I am trying to get at is those communities that do not have detachments, how do we restrain those individuals who get in trouble? I see first-hand in Gameti, they have a restraining chair in one of the offices at the community government offices; it's just a small room. What if we had, like, five of them, five individuals who are making trouble in the community? We only have two officers who every now and then come and visit the community of Gameti. I am just more concerned about the safety aspects of the community. It's not just my community; there are 10 or 11...

Masi, Mr. Chair. Usually, the RCMP "G" Division would inquire or talk about recruitment process, and they want to recruit people from the communities. Obviously, that requires training, and we, as a Department of Justice, need to be proactive. Because we talk about money, we can identify funds towards that to train our own people to become full-fledged RCMP officers. We can't always say it's "G" Division, that they approve, that they have to come up with the training requirements, training funding. We have to be proactive, as the justice department, to move forward, to say we want to set the...

A lot of our communities do not have a RCMP detachment, and even my region, there are two communities that do not have an RCMP detachment. I fear for the communities, so I am glad the Minister is willing to meet with the chief commanding officer. I am hoping it's sooner than later. Winter roads are open, and all-weather road construction through Whati is happening. As soon as the Minister meets with the chief commanding officer, I would ask the Minister if she could provide the latest update on their discussion on this particular very important matter in my region.

Masi, Madam Speaker. [Translation] I'd like to ask a question regarding the Department of Justice. Sometimes, we are thankful to the RCMP when people are busted for drugs and that drugs don't go into the community, so we know what they are facing regarding the RCMP. I'm going to ask her a question. [End of translation]

There were several drug busts over the last few months here in the Northwest Territories, and in our communities, as well. I would like to send kudos and congratulate and also be thankful to the RCMP "G" Division for stopping these illegal drugs from entering the North.

When the...

Masi, Madam Speaker. The Minister is referring to an application-based process, and a lot of our elders obviously are struggling, sometimes because of individuals living in their household. It's based on household income, so most times, they don't qualify, unfortunately. When it comes to two weeks of cold spell, this is a very urgent matter that we need to deal with on an annual basis, to service their furnaces, especially the vulnerable elders. I've touched on Polar Ice as a contractor going to the community, on their own services. Could we have something similar to that as a pilot project in...

Again, I would like to touch on the support agencies and families to identify gaps in existing resources as part of our mandate. We know that the cost of airfare into our isolated communities is quite high across the North and my region, about three communities I represent. If any work has to be done on a senior's home in an isolated community, those travel costs are often passed on to the senior on top of the actual cost of the work involved. Are there any Housing Corporation programs specific to having a certified oil burning mechanic to visit all our communities so that they can service the...