R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Aurora College Act states that the Minister is not supposed to get involved in the operations of the college. And I will say that those are positions of the college, not necessarily positions of a municipality or a region. So I'm sure the board will do whatever is best for the college. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The president works for the board so the board can set the direction of the college. And I hope they do set the direction of the college. I hope they are engaged enough to set that direction. And based on the conversations I've had, I'm sure they will. Thank you.

Thank you. I have with me John MacDonald, deputy minister of Education, Culture and Employment. And Laura Jeffrey, legal counsel with the Department of Justice.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to present to the House Bill 72, Opioid Damages and Healthcare Costs Recovery Act, to be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. No, I can't. I don't have the authority to commit to the commanding officer. Our agreement with the Government of Canada is very clear that the GNWT does not direct the operations of the RCMP. However, the community government is more than welcome to reach out to the commanding officer and request a meeting. I know that he's still relatively new to the territory and is trying to get out to the communities and meet with everyone so it could be a good opportunity. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Each year I send out letters to the Indigenous governments across the territory to ask what they think the policing priorities should be for the RCMP. As Minister, I provide the RCMP with their policing priorities annually. One of the three priorities relates to drug and alcohol use. So we start right at the very high level. That's how we begin engaging. At the local level, there are you know, the RCMP is always open to meet with Indigenous government leadership. They're willing to meet with elected leaders. You know, when I speak with elected leaders in communities...

Mr. Speaker, at long last, it gives me great pleasure to announce that the members of the new Aurora College Board of Governors have been selected. I would like to welcome and congratulate the following individuals on their appointments:

Joseph Handley of Yellowknife;

Lorraine Tordiff of Fort Smith;

Lucy Kuptana of Tuktoyaktuk;

Rebecca Plotner of Yellowknife;

Tom Colosimo of Hay River;

Jack Rowe of Hay River;

David Hurley of Yellowknife;

Kevin Antoniak of Fort Smith;

Stephanie IrlbacherFox of Yellowknife;

Richard Boudreault of Quebec;

Student member, Cayla Gillis;

Instructional staff member, Wanda...

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Wednesday, March 8th, 2023, I will present Bill 75, Council of Women and Gender Diversity Act, to be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So every time there's an incident anywhere in Canada not every time but when there are incidents in Canada that result in calls for additional RCMP training, it's often happened that that training then becomes mandatory for RCMP officers across the territory or across Canada. So there's actually quite a bit of training that officers are required to do to the point that it affects resourcing levels because we often have so many officers out taking training. So that is from the federal side. And the federal government is responsible for the operations of the RCMP. We do...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Justice sits on the I believe it's the problematic substance use committee with the Department of Health and Social Services to look at these exact issues that the Member is talking about. The Minister of health has also met with the commanding officer of the RCMP to begin discussions on how they can explore other options for enforcement and prevention in communities. So there is a number of ways that the departments that the RCMP and the department of health are collaborating, along with the Department of Justice. Thank you.