Kevin O'Reilly

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. Can the Minister tell us, though, whether there are any specific plans now to improve Victim Services here in the Northwest Territories, and what will those improvements look like, hint, hint, budget 2020-2021? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the Minister for that. I do not think I heard who is actually doing the study, but maybe she can throw that in with the next response. The exact duties and job descriptions of the Victim Services coordinators, they are not very clear. These are delivered through third parties in various communities. It is my understanding that some of these individuals perform many functions above and beyond the call of duty, including cleaning up crime scenes. Can the Minister explain exactly what type of supports are available for these coordinators and whether there has ever been a review of...

Merci, Monsieur le President. In the last Assembly, the Minister of Justice agreed to carry out a comprehensive review of Victim Services. There are basically three programs; the Victims Assistance Fund, which receives the victims of crime surcharges, which are then used for application-based project. This program is working well, although there is an opening balance of $351,000 as of April 1, 2019, as shown in the most recent annual report tabled in this House.

The second program is the network of Victim Services coordinators that are funded through contribution agreements with the Department...

Thanks, Madam Chair. I just want to go on record as strongly supporting this initiative. It is something that I raised in my first term, and I continue to believe this is the direction that we can and should be moving in. I think this is part of building a knowledge economy for the Northwest Territories. There are a lot of universities doing work here now. Laurier, Wilfred Laurier, has an office here in Yellowknife. We should be finding ways to build on those partnerships and including that as part of the polytechnic work that we can and should be doing in the future.

Our family, we have two...

Thanks, Madam Chair. Great to get that commitment out of the Premier, that she is going to be working and her Cabinet colleagues will be working towards developing ways of measuring local food production and consumption. That was, I think, something that we had recommended in the last Assembly as well when we reviewed the agricultural policy or strategy that was developed in the last Assembly. No further comments, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. While I am on a roll, another general observation I would like to offer with this particular mandate item is: there are a few deliverables here, but I had hoped to see some actual targets. Are we going to increase local food production by 25 percent by the end of four years or whatever the target is? I am just wondering: do we actually track local food production and consumption in a way where it is measurable, where we could set targets? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I think I will start over again. This is a guy who has already got chickens. He has got them here in Yellowknife. There seem to be some issues around food handling, maybe education, inspection stuff. This is not an ENR issue. As I understand, it is probably an environmental health issue, which is health and social services. What are the current barriers, and what are we going to do to improve food handling, inspection services, and so on to allow for local food production and retail? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I had someone approach me, actually, last night who has 48 chickens here in Yellowknife. They would like to give away some of the eggs or maybe even sell some of the eggs locally, but there seem to be some issues around that. How are the items here going to help that individual be able to sell eggs locally? Thanks, Madam Chair.

I want to thank the Minister for that. I can assure her that is what I heard first-hand, directly from a constituent who had to serve in that capacity before. The community-based approach to Victim Services makes a lot of sense, of course. It has been in place since 1996, but clearly, the network of supports and coordinators has never been completed. As I understand it, there are 11 coordinators in eight communities. Can the Minister tell us if there are plans to expand these services to all of our communities, and when will that happen?

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Justice, who is responsible for Victim Services for this government. Can the Minister tell us about the comprehensive review of Victim Services, who carried out this work, and when it will be available to MLAs and the public? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.