Robert Hawkins

I appreciate the very warm reception to that thought. That said, I just want to underscore that I certainly am in favour of fluoridation. I think it is a good thing. I think it does wonders for the dental community, and dental health is very important not just for children but lifelong adults in our scope.

Mr. Chairman, just on that note, I wanted to change gears. One more second before I change gears. Can I get the Minister to confirm that he will inform me once it has been updated so I assume that it will be either checked or updated in a timely way, and could I get the Minister to also...

Does the website talk about this particular subject? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I was just wondering, under the drinking water quality in the Northwest Territories initiative and management by MACA, who is responsible for this particular area. Maybe you could describe on how they manage and monitor the fluoridation of the water and at what levels they monitor it. Thank you.

Well, I’m really sorry I hurt the Minister’s feelings, but frankly, I don’t care. The reality here is that the public’s interest needs to come first, not a predator on the loose. I’m not going to ask the Minister’s opinion, because frankly, I don’t care.

I want to know what the Minister is going to do about making sure that we have an effective policy of communication so when we have a predator on the loose in our communities preying on women, children and some men that the public are informed so they can be vigilant about this type of problem.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to once again return to the Minister of Justice, because from what I was hearing on this particular side of the House is that clearly it sounds like he’s defending the status quo by doing nothing.

I’m asking the Minister maybe to explain the communication and accountability line between the Department of Justice and the RCMP. Because if we have no authority to provide policy guidance to them, what’s the point of having a Minister of Justice? We should have the RCMP member sitting there answering questions. Thank you.

I appreciate the Minister’s quick reply of saying nothing. It hasn’t said anything to the fact of what is the Minister going to do. That is the issue.

What is the Minister going to do to update the policy to ensure the public’s safety matters enough that we’re going to protect them with the right information so they know and can be vigilant knowing a predator is out there stalking them? I want to hear what the Minister is going to do, not pass it on to somebody else.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recently, there was a convicted sex offender – that’s a predator, the way I view it – on the loose in Yellowknife, and they were on the loose in Yellowknife without the public’s knowledge. That means women, children and even some men were at risk while this predator stalked their next prey. It was my understanding that the police knew that this person was on the prowl and that this predator was looking for their next victim, but the public was not informed.

My question for the Minister of Justice is: When does the public’s interest start to matter enough that they are...

It’s completely fine. I didn’t spell it out. I was just more talking about community access programs. I’m just trying to find a way to help small NGOs, as a matter of fact, or those types of organizations that try to work with the communities, and maybe NGO is the right descriptor we should use in this particular case.

Does the Minister see some ability there for them to apply for things like community access vans in order to help the folks such as I mentioned, seniors and those in the disabled community to be more involved in community initiatives? I had a great conversation with a resident of...

I appreciate that. That will make things most helpful.

Just changing gears here on a particular matter, I was speaking to some folks in Hay River and I brought this up with the Department of Health the other day. I think it sits under this particular operation, community operations, but that said, if the department feels the need to direct me to another page, I’m happy to wait as well.

That said, the issue was about a community access van and sometimes the challenge, of course, is being able to afford to purchase one. Some of the smaller communities have to raise money for a long time in order...

If it does say anything regarding fluoridation, would MACA be interested in updating the public as to why it is used and some of the comments provided on both sides? As I said earlier, I am in support of fluoridation and that’s not the issue, but there are many people out there concerned with its risks, so the public is informed a little about the argument on both sides and allow them to pursue their own. I think it’s in our best interests to provide good education to people on both sides of this argument and one should never be afraid to hear an opposing point of view.