Louis Sebert

As I mentioned earlier in this House, I was informed by the RCMP that they did do an investigation of those past cases. I'm not sure of the extent of that investigation as to whether they examined the evidence. I do know that they did look at those files that were identified as unfounded in that six-year period. I'm not certain as to the exact nature of that investigation.

Mr. Speaker, once the review is complete, I would want to assure all Members of this House that they will be briefed on all the options to meet the needs and desires of constituents before we move forward with any changes. I think we can all agree that, ultimately, the best solution may be actual ownership, but there are many issues surrounding these leases. The leases are not all the same. Some of them are very different. Some have an indication that might be that the leaseholder would get ownership at the end of the lease. Some are less clear on that issue. There are also issues of...

Mr. Speaker, I'm afraid that information is confidential at the request of those parties.

Mr. Speaker, when I initially took over this portfolio, I was almost immediately advised of this issue, initially by Members opposite, but also by members of the legal profession and individuals as I travelled around the community. I had thought that this was not a particularly large issue, thinking that there might not be very many of these equity leases; however, after some investigation, we found that there were, in fact, a great number. We have heard the concerns from Members opposite and members of the legal profession, and I have directed the Department of Lands to take a comprehensive...

Mr. Speaker, I will be working with other members of Cabinet with respect to this matter, and I'm sure that, once this matter reaches the status of the bill, we will have a lively discussion in this House. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, when the federal government made its announcement on April 13th, it caught all of the other jurisdictions by surprise. Admittedly, it was a commitment of the Liberal government to proceed with changes; however, the nature of these changes, there was very little discussion between Ministers or Departments of Justice.

We do realize that it is going to be very difficult to get through this and have proper legislation in place. We are expecting that there will be very many comments and concerns raised in the public engagement portion and as the bill, the ultimate bill, works its way...

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, I am optimistic that we will be able to enter into a contract with an NGO. There are always costs involved in these types of programs. The money, as the Member opposite has pointed out, is there. As I mentioned earlier, we have spent well over a million dollars on this. I may have overstated the number of graduates; there are only 21, actually. But, as I say, I am optimistic that we will have an NGO that will accept the terms and conditions of the RFP. Again, the changes made to the program were evidence-based on the A New Day healing program evaluation report...

The Department of Justice continues to work with the RCMP to address the concerns of the small communities. I will bring this concern to the RCMP, but I certainly can’t guarantee that the coverage requested could be provided. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

No, I have not reviewed the plan of late. As I mentioned, the police now are spending more time in the community. Tsiigehtchic is 60 kilometres or so from Fort McPherson, and I do realize, obviously, it takes some time for the RCMP to reach the community, but I understand that to be about 30 to 45 minutes during most of the year; and during freeze-up or break-up, if there is an emergency, they can arrange to get there very quickly. I will review the plan that has been mentioned by the Member opposite with the RCMP. I do not think we can commit to having a year-round detachment in the...

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Monday, May 29, 2017, I will move that Bill 24, An Act to Amend the Coroner’s Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.