Jackson Lafferty

Mr. Speaker, we do follow the Corrections Canada services guidelines and criteria when it comes to program delivery. The three individuals we are talking about — the program delivery officer and two case managers and also the psychologists that deliver this program — were mentored and trained to deliver the offender program and accredited by the Correctional Service of Canada. So it is certified through the Correctional Service of Canada to deliver the program. It is a highly recognized program and a highly recognized accreditation that these individuals receive. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, I think it’s important that we recognize the program delivery criteria. It came down from the federal government, federal Corrections. What more can we offer? It is accredited for these individuals to deliver a program — the four key areas for rehabilitation — into the community. So we have trained these individuals for, as the Member states, a couple of weeks, a few weeks. We train these individuals, and they are trained. They are certified by the Correctional Service of Canada because it is their program, as well, so we are meeting the standards of their criteria at North Slave...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The North Slave Correctional Facility offers, through Corrections Canada services, an ex-offender relapse program, a family violence program, the national substance abuse program and also the anger emotion program, which the program delivery officers provided for a number of years. We certainly will continue with the program. There’s no such impact to the program itself. We will continue to deliver a program, so there is no impact. Mahsi.

I would like to propose this legislation to this Assembly during the life of this Assembly, taking into account that there needs to be consultation with the Members. It also has to be a made-in-the-North model, not just something that came from the south and changed to our name. I want to meet the needs of the 33 communities we serve. As long as it meets their standards and our standards, we’ll be satisfied.

We will consider all the recommendations that were brought forward to our Justice Department.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Certainly for our Justice Department and also the Government of the Northwest Territories, one of the focuses is to deliver programs to the communities, the regions. We will continue to do so. Wherever we need to enhance our programs, we certainly are listening to the people of the North. That’s one area we will be focusing on as the Justice Department.

Mr. Speaker, right now we still do offer, for this year, up to $5,000 per student to continue for another year. At that point in time the student will have the opportunity to explore other bursaries. There’s a whole bunch of scholarships out there. When you attend a university or a college, there are all these bulletin boards that have opportunities for students to apply. Based on their academics, they can easily access up to ten, 15 different scholarships.

So certainly our department will continue to support these students for this year financially and also support them in any way we possibly...

Mahsi. Mr. Speaker, this particular program was introduced in 1999–2000. We have had limited success with this program. That’s one area we looked at as a department as part of how we can improve in these areas. That was an area we looked at as part of the reduction that has been brought forward. Due to the fact that we haven’t had much success in this area.... Part of that introduction was to increase lawyers in the Northwest Territories, specifically aboriginal lawyers. But there had been a limited intake in the program. Mahsi.

As the Members are aware, this legislation was brought forward in the 15th Assembly. There was some consultation that took place. Our plan as a department is to continue with the process of dialoguing with our colleagues, the Regular Members. We were hoping to sit down this fall and start talking on this particular proposal. That’s our initial discussion.

Mahsi, Mr.  Speaker. The quality of life and the safety of the Northwest Territories as a whole is a top priority not only for the Department of Justice but also for the Government of the Northwest Territories. Yes, I will be introducing the legislation to this Assembly during the life of this Assembly. Mahsi.