Wendy Bisaro

I guess maybe the Minister is thinking of something different than what I’m thinking of. The coroner’s report, from my recollection, does not give us how recommendations were handled, what an individual department did with those recommendations. So it’s conceivable that the Standing Committee on Social Programs, for instance, may ask for the data, all the recommendations that came from the coroner in the last year, please provide us with how the recommendations were handled, what each department did. I guess what I’m suggesting is instead of waiting for standing committee to ask for it, the...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Thanks to the deputy minister for that. My next question has to do with coroners’ reports. The coroners’ reports go to the department and they also often go to committee. Quite regularly the coroner has recommendations within his or her report.

I would like to know from the Minister when a report has a recommendation to a particular department, the coroner falls under Justice but it may be a recommendation to, say, the Department of Health and Social Services, so I would like to know from the Minister what action Justice takes to ensure the coroner’s recommendations are...

Are we on services to public?

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Just something that I forgot to ask about when I made my general comments and that’s the status of the women’s correctional centre in Fort Smith, the new building. How is that going? Has it started construction yet? What kind of a time frame are we on? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Premier, then I guess I would like to ask him to advise me and the public. I know there was a lot of concern about the legislation and that changes were needed. So can the Premier tell me and tell the public how they can get their views to the government, to individual departments so that legislation can be amended as necessary? Thank you.

Thanks to the Premier for telling us what has been done. I asked what kind of a plan the government has going forward to review devolution legislation. It sounds from that, that maybe we’re done. I would certainly hope not.

These are very complex pieces of legislation. The education and the advertising campaign that were done, I think that’s great. We needed to advise people of that.

I’d like to know from the Premier, what consultation with groups has been done, or hopefully will be done, because I don’t think it has been done. So, what consultation is planned in order to gauge the interests of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Information and Privacy Commissioner often chooses to highlight topical aspects of her work in her annual Commissioner’s Message. This year the Information and Privacy Commissioner pointed out that the 2013-2014 Annual Report marks the 17th year since the ATIPP Act came into force in the Northwest Territories. The committee takes note of the observations made by the Information and Privacy Commissioner in her Commissioner’s Message, in which she discusses how much has changed in the intervening years. She notes that the public is becoming more aware of matters...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move we report progress.

---Carried

To the Minister, yes, I know there is no legal obligation, but I think there is a moral obligation on the part of government to respond to recommendations from people that we hire to try to make life better for our residents. I would encourage the Minister to think about providing some kind of a summary of coroner’s recommendations and how they have been handled by various departments in the government. Thank you.

One of the jobs that Members take as committee is to also monitor what’s going on, and when we receive a report and see recommendations in there, it’s very helpful for us to get some kind of an update on where the recommendations are at. If the coroner is following up, that’s one thing, but is there any opportunity for a department, whether it be Justice or whether it be individual departments who have received the recommendation, but is it conceivable that standing committee could get some kind of an update on recommendations in coroners’ reports? It doesn’t have to be for every report, but...