Louis Sebert

Yes, I believe there are programs at the North Slave Correctional Centre that do have an Aboriginal component. The department currently offers a six-week national substance abuse program to federal and territorial inmates at the North Slave Correctional Centre, and I believe this has a wellness component involving programs for Aboriginal inmates, and hopefully, through programs such as this we can reduce the number of Aboriginal inmates, which is currently approximately 87 per cent of the population.

Mr. Speaker, the Member raised certain issues in his speech, and certainly, the department is aware of the overrepresentation of Aboriginal persons in the corrections system. We are trying to address this by a series of programs. The department continues to improve the link between programs delivered to inmates in custody and community-based programs involving probation services, community justice and other departments and agencies such as Health and Social Services. We are also attempting to look at the underlying root causes and hopefully reduce the numbers referred to by the Member opposite...

Yes, Mr. Chair, I move that Committee Motion 13-18(2) be amended by deleting the words "expand and." Thank you, Mr. Chair.

This is a new area and, of course, we are seeking input of the public and also all the Members of this House, but in view of its newness, its complexity, I don't think we can commit to a definite date.

Of course, I'm counting on a very important resource, which is the input of all the Members in this House. Financially, we do not have a great deal of resources, but I am looking to hearing from all of you, assisting me in developing a more transparent and open government.

I’m not sure of the exact statistics. I do know, looking at the statistics, dealing with the number of Aboriginal inmates, that has remained constant. I understand that the overall number of inmates has remained constant over the last five or six years, being approximately 200. We would certainly like to see a reduction of this, and that's why programs such as the Wellness Court Program and DVTO will hopefully reduce the number of those actually incarcerated.

Territorial inmates can participate in many programs, both inside the corrections facilities and outside. Territorial inmates can participate in the addictions programs at the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre, which is facilitated by a traditional addictions counsellor with the support of elders and community resources. There are also other programs that they can participate in. Also, through the courts, there are manners of dealing with these types of problems, either through wellness courts or DVTO court.

Yes, we will of course be monitoring with the RCMP if there are any changes and if there are problems, and I assume that if there are issues of retention, they will speak with us and there may be further changes in policy. They are not expecting this change of policy to have any effect on the recruitment, as they already currently receive far more applications than there are positions, so they're not expecting a change in that. If there is a change in that area, I would expect they would consult with us.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The RCMP has been examining its policies in relation to providing housing, not only in the Northwest Territories, but across the whole of the country. Currently, housing is provided by Public Works, Government Services Canada, to RCMP members and, as I say, they are reviewing that policy. Public Works has made it clear that they will no longer be providing housing in Inuvik, Fort Smith, Fort Simpson, Norman Wells, Hay River and Yellowknife. “G” Division is working with the NWT Housing Corporation for the provision of housing in most of those locations, but not in...

I understand in speaking with senior management that they have not in fact used up all the money from past years so there is some left over. Long-term, to deal with this issue, there will probably need to be a connection with the continental grid, which would be, of course, very expensive. But again, their research indicates that the water levels of the last two years are the lowest since 1950, and they are very optimistic that water levels will be higher this year and there will not be a problem in the next few years.