Julie Green

Thank you to the Minister for that response. If staffing is not the issue, can the Minister tell us what stands in the way of the department fulfilling its mandate?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the report from the Office of the Auditor General delivered a message about the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs that's both loud and clear: the department is not delivering enough support to communities that provide essential services to their residents. MACA can't simply transfer money to communities for drinking water, waste management, fire protection, and emergency preparedness and hope for the best, especially when the health and well-being of residents is at stake.

But that's more or less what's been happening. The most shocking finding for...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is no question among the people on this side of the House that money invested in early childhood development yields fantastic returns. We want people to have good school readiness, to graduate from high school, to attain the skills they need to realize their full potential, whatever that looks like for them. We want them to have as many opportunities as possible.

Mr. Speaker, junior kindergarten is not the only way to achieve this goal. There are other ways, and I've mentioned some of them. Aboriginal Head Start is one that has a proven track record and is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Whereas the Department of Education, Culture and Employment confirmed plans to introduce junior kindergarten in all 49 NWT schools in the fall of 2017;

AND WHEREAS the goal of junior kindergarten is to promote the development and school readiness of four year olds with free programming;

AND WHEREAS, the importance of early childhood development is a value shared by professional and licensed programs across the territory;

AND WHEREAS, early development instrument testing reveals the greatest need for readiness exists in our smallest communities and these communities often...

Mr. Speaker, the Office of the Auditor General identified the problem within MACA itself, not within the communities. I'm aware of the New Deal program but it seems to me that it is, in fact, a paperwork problem; it's providing oversight and looking at reports and validating them and so on. So what kind of resources does the Minister need to bring the department up-to-speed on implementing the New Deal?

I appreciate the offer of the briefing and I will talk to my colleagues about how to make that operational. I think the thing is that the ways things exist now is that we're kind of left out of the picture except for the one Member on this side who attends those meetings on our behalf that we don’t have an active say in what topics are discussed and what positions are taken, and I believe that we should have a role in that because what the NWT looks like in the future is of concern to all of us. So my question again is whether the Minister in addition to offering a briefing can consider other...

Thank you to the Premier for that answer. Mr. Speaker, in June of this year I asked the Premier a series of questions about content of similar meetings held with the same group of people, and I asked him if he would keep Regular Members informed of and invite our input into positions being put forward at these meetings by him and other Members of Cabinet. Can the Minister explain why this didn't happen this time either? Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Minister for his responses. A practice, of course, is no less unjust for being national rather than territorial in scope. These records of non-conviction are opposed by, among others, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the John Howard Society, and most recently the Government of Ontario, which is taking steps to outlaw their use.

The RCMP is a contracted provincial territorial police service in all jurisdictions except Ontario and Quebec. I am going to ask again, will the Minister of Justice consult with his provincial and territorial counterparts at...

Mr. Speaker, I don't object to having criminal record checks for vulnerable sector individuals or for any others who require them. What we are talking about here is providing records that say that there has been an interaction with the law but not a conviction.

The Minister has said that the 2012 territorial policing contract was designed so that the RCMP remains independent of political influence, and yet has the ability to apply the rule of law as determined by and in consultation with the territorial Minister of Justice. My understanding of the rule of law is that people are innocent until...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms provides that every citizen has the right to vote in elections for Members to the House of Commons or Legislative Assembly and to “be qualified for membership therein.” However, the right to run for office may be limited in ways justifiable in a free and democratic society. Court decisions to date show that such restrictions, when challenged, will be carefully scrutinized to determine if they are absolutely necessary to ensuring confidence in the election process. Within those parameters, provinces and territories may set criteria for...