Jackson Lafferty

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Certainly we deal with a number of clientele within the Northwest Territories and specifically for larger centres such as Yellowknife, we do have individuals that, whether they be a receptionist or a secretary at the front desk, should be able to assist clients whenever they approach the office, assisting them to connect to client service officers. They are certainly there to assist. There are certain hours of the day that they operate under, because it is under the federal building within the hours of operation. Those individuals should be there to assist with the...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document titled Building a Path for Northern Science, Government of the Northwest Territories Science Agenda.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Certainly those areas of discussion we can certainly have within my department, “G” Division and the municipalities of the Northwest Territories to strive towards trying to get more access and also resources and federal funding, and then also strategic thinking of territorial government funding in this initiative. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, there are a lot of opportunities and those opportunities, certainly, we can work with. We have agreements with the RCMP “G” Division through the federal government and working with municipalities in the communities such as bylaw enforcement. So there are agreements in place already, but going beyond that, having foot patrols into the communities, we have to keep in mind that this is a territorial-wide initiative and we need to focus on all communities. That’s why we’re aggressively approaching the federal government to see our uniqueness, our remoteness, our geographic challenges...

Mr. Speaker, yes, the auto reply, whether by e-mail or phone call, is a standard procedure that we use in our office, whether it be Yellowknife or other communities. If it’s not being used, certainly those areas need to be looked at. Mr. Speaker, the procedure is in place and it’s just a matter of following through with that. So I’ll certainly make a commitment again to look into those areas. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, we currently do not have a written policy specific to those individuals if the client service officer is away. But we do have a backup plan where in a larger centre such as Yellowknife, we have an on-call duty officer that takes those calls. If there are inquiries, then that individual follows through with that. Not only that, Mr. Speaker, that on-call duty officer also takes calls and is accessible any time, even without appointments. But in those communities outside Yellowknife, certainly we have client service officers going to the communities from a regional perspective. They...

Certainly I need to get back to my department on what kind of discussions they’ve had in the past or current. If they have discussed options or alternative measures to deal with that assessment tool, then certainly we can discuss those alternatives as the Member discussed earlier, possibly dealing with other jurisdictions. Those are discussions that we need to have. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, with respect to the assessment, we deal with the Alberta hospital and Alberta jurisdiction. Those are the agreements that we have to deal with these inmates that are going through the process. But, certainly, we can gather more information for the Member on the numbers of agreements that we have in place with other jurisdictions, as the Member alluded to earlier. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today marks the beginning of Career Week and I am very happy to share details about some of the many events and activities going on across the Northwest Territories. Regional education authorities, community groups and the Department of Education, Culture and Employment have workshops, career fairs and other activities taking place throughout the Territory to mark the importance of career development planning.

The South Slave region is kicking off this week with a chilli luncheon and career presentation by Thebacha Business Development Services at the Fort Smith Career...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Wednesday, November 4, 2009, I will move that Bill 7, An Act to Amend the Summary Conviction Procedures Act, be read for the first time. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.