The legislation applies, like I said, across Canada. YCJA is focussed on the youth criminals. We’ve had a few roundtable discussions at the FTP, federal/territorial/provincial, Ministers meeting. Across Canada, each jurisdiction is different with their stats. I don’t have the stats with me right now, but I can provide that to the Member. Mahsi.
Since the YCJA was brought in to replace the Young Offenders Act in 2003, I’m just wondering if the Minister also has any statistical information on whether or not repeat young offenders is becoming an issue, and on an annual basis whether or not we’re seeing an increased level of repeat young offenders in our territory. I’d like, maybe, the Minister to commit to getting that information for the House too.
Those stats have been addressed with the federal Minister. The federal Ministers, both Justice and Public Safety, are fully aware of our concerns that the youth are involved with the criminal acts in our jurisdictions. Some jurisdictions are high, some are low. So I can definitely provide that information that we have on hand. We continue to stress to the federal government that we need to change the Youth Criminal Justice Act so it reflects on those youth that are out of control.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know our time is short here. We have six sitting days left in the life of this government. Maybe if I could, the last question, at the federal/provincial/territorial Justice Ministers table, any new proposed federal legislation dealing with crime, I’m just wondering, the Minister alluded to it a little bit in response to another question I had, but where is the federal government at in the area of getting tough on crime. Maybe the Minister could give us a bit of an update on where that legislation initiative by the federal government is at.
I can provide the information that we’ve been receiving from the federal government on the federal government’s initiative on fighting crimes. Not only that, there was Bill C-4 of the Youth Criminal Justice Act that has been discussed and that’s been with the committee. Those are the information that we need to continue pushing with the federal government. I will definitely provide the information that the Member is requesting.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation some questions with respect to Highway No. 1 and Highway No. 7. Typically in our government I think the priority is called the Deh Cho Trail. My long-term vision is to see the whole thing chipsealed. That way we can increase businesses and business opportunities with that. I’d like to know what the strategy is for the Department of Transportation, the long-range goal for this particular Deh Cho Trail.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We want that section of the highway to be a glorious piece of highway to drive. We have been working hard to accomplish that, given the age of the highway and the amount of work that’s going to be required to reconstruct that whole section of highway on both Highway No. 1 and Highway No. 7. I think we’ve been working quite well with the Member in his riding.
Highway No. 7 has seen the investment, or will see it by the end of this summer, of about $12 million that has been dedicated to that section of road. However, that’s far short of what it needs to be reconstructed. We’re probably a little over $100 million to do that whole section.
This road was not designed for high traffic volumes. It was not designed to handle the industry resource development that’s going to be coming forward in the next while. We have to always keep that in mind. As we construct portions of roads, we’re seeing failures in others, as water is a huge issue. Drainage is a problem. We have done a design and review of Highway No. 7. We’ve identified the weak spots on Highway No. 1 from Providence junction towards Simpson. There are six sections that need attention and we’ll continue to work towards that.
It was disappointing for myself, and I think everybody that travels that road, to hear that some of the chipseal that was done this past year and the year before failed. We have to address the causes. We don’t want to chipseal it until we are completely satisfied that the road base is solid and strengthened and we deal with the drainage issues.
There is a lot of work to be done. We continue to move forward. We think there is enough investment for this coming year and it’s going to require the next government to continue moving that forward.
Several times in this House the government has said that there’s a bleak economic future in terms of finance and fiscal restraint throughout the country. I still believe that we can develop a nice strategy for the Deh Cho Trail. I think we’re already using it for the Mackenzie Valley Highway, where we’re adding a few bridges every year. That’s the kind of investment that my constituents are looking for. They often tell me, as I travel to the communities, that they use the highways for living and for their life. I’d like to urge this government to continue developing a strategy specifically for the Deh Cho Trail. I’ll ask the Minister again: is there a specific strategy to develop the Deh Cho Trail up to the National Transportation Standards?
We are working on the very request that the Member has raised. We are conducting a full engineering assessment. We’re preparing a functional design on Highway No. 7. This will help us to develop the rehabilitation plan that’s needed. This will also determine the next steps for meeting the current and future traffic needs of that area.
I believe we’re all on the same page on this issue. There is still a lot of work, as I’ve stated before, that needs to be done before we have a final, complete design and plan with all the investment requirements in place.
That’s exactly what I was looking for. As long as the strategy is in place and we can find resources for it.
If I get down to a more local level, constituents have also been raising the issue of maintenance. I know that our government this year we’re practicing passive restraint. Is that something that’s affecting the department? Constituents are saying there’s lower maintenance this year, or else maintenance continues to be deferred and it’s really affecting the road to the travellers right up until today.
I’ll have to check, but I believe our maintenance cycles are the same. We’re being challenged by the age of the road. We’re being challenged by the effect that water and rain storms are having on our road. Also the huge challenge is the drainage, especially on Highway No. 7 is not done and is not up to par. We are having a lot of pooling of water in our ditches and it doesn’t seem to go anywhere. So that’s all being reviewed and those things need to be addressed.
But I will commit to the Member that I will discuss this with my officials to see if there have been any reductions. As far as I know, I don’t believe there are any reductions to the maintenance cycles.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m pleased that the Minister will check into it. That’s just observation from the constituents.
As well, the concern is also coming out of Wrigley that they feel that perhaps there’s a reduced maintenance schedule. If the Minister will commit also to look at Highway No. 1 that goes up Fort Simpson to Wrigley.
We are also trying to deal with the issues that are occurring on the Wrigley highway. We are, of course, being challenged this year with additional traffic due to the oil spill that happened along the pipeline route. We are discussing with the pipeline company to work with us, to partner up with us to address some of the issues that the road is receiving in terms of traffic volumes and heavy trucks on it. They have agreed, and I think we have an agreement. If we have not signed one, we will be signing one where we will try to jointly address some of the issues that are challenging that stretch between Simpson and Wrigley and in light of the additional traffic because of the oil spill.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today in my Member’s statement I spoke about a process problem that a constituent went through, and their experience of having an EPO issued against them. Fortunately for me and in this circumstance, this matter is not before any type of judicial consideration, and that gives me the ability here to talk about the process and the whole problem.
It’s my view, and certainly the view of many, that apparently there was some unfair due process not fulfilled on this particular case. Training and the ability of third parties being able to advocate and certainly put forward EPOs may be an issue. Court time and process has an appearance to be abused in some manner or not. The judicial system may have been misled with false testimony. I would say there seems to be some competence process problem here that should warrant what I would call a comprehensive review in some manner. If anything, there are a ton of questions on this particular issue that should be answered and need to be answered by qualified individuals.
My question for the Minister of Justice is: would he be willing to have his department do a comprehensive review on this particular circumstance to make sure that emergency protection orders aren’t issued in the circumstances as I’ve described them here today in my Member’s statement?
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister responsible for Justice, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. This particular matter is before... Part of the matter is before the courts and I feel very uncomfortable speaking to this issue. I know the Member raised that issue about the constituent, and so I have to take the question as notice for now.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Question has been taken as notice. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Minister of Justice. I’d like to ask the Minister if the department will look into the circumstances surrounding the issuance of EPOs, specifically the case cited earlier today by Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you. The Chair is reluctant to put that question to the Minister. The Minister has already indicated that he is reluctant to answer questions on this subject right now.
Mr. Speaker, I have a Return to Written Question 7-16(6) asked by Mr. Yakeleya on May 16th to the Honourable Robert R. McLeod, Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, regarding territorial parks and tourism initiatives.
You had asked the following questions, and I can provide the following information:
Please provide a list of all community parks and territorial parks located in the Sahtu region.
Jackfish Lake Park is the single community park located in the Sahtu region and is operated by the Town of Norman Wells.
McKinnon Territorial Park is the only territorial park located in the Sahtu region. It is a three acre territorial park that exists within the boundaries of the Town of Norman Wells. This park is operated by the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI).
In addition, the Department of ITI also contributed to a number of tourism projects in Tulita in 2010-2011, including renovations to the historic church, development of a hiking trail to Bear Rock, and new tourism signage added to the airports in Tulita, Deline, Fort Good Hope and Norman Wells.
Please provide a breakdown of the budget for the expenditures that will be contributed to all aspects of parks and other tourism initiatives for 2011-2012.
The total amount of ITI’s budget for expenditures in support of parks and other tourism initiatives for 2011-2012 is $7.184 million.
Please provide a strategy that outlines a plan to increase the presence of Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) parks and other GNWT tourism initiatives in the Sahtu for 2011-2012.
In 2011-2012 the Department of ITI implemented the first year of “Tourism 2015: New Directions for a Spectacular Future,” which outlines a strategy to increase tourism enhancement in the Northwest Territories, including in the Sahtu region. The plan focuses on six investment areas: marketing, Aboriginal tourism, community and industry engagement, infrastructure, skills development, and tourism research and planning. It will guide investment by the GNWT in the tourism industry over the next four years. This is a plan for people, communities and business. It will build on the strength and experience of our tourism industry.
A copy of the “Tourism 2015: New Directions for a Spectacular Future” was provided to all Members of the Legislative Assembly and it was tabled in the House on Tuesday, February 22, 2011. It is also now available on the Legislative Assembly website and on the ITI website.
ITI is also taking steps to establish the Doi T’oh Territorial Park. The Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement included an obligation for the Government of the Northwest Territories to prepare a park management plan for the proposed territorial park. A park management plan was prepared, under the direction of a park management committee comprised of one representative from ITI and five representatives selected by Sahtu land claim organizations. The park management committee and its mandate were established in a memorandum of agreement between the Tulita Land Corporation and the GNWT. The committee’s role concluded on January 22, 2007, when the Minister of ITI approved the Doi T’oh Territorial Park and Trail Management Plan.
ITI is currently investigating the transfer of land for the CANOL Heritage Trail and proposed Doi T’oh Territorial Park. Concurrently, work on remediation of the CANOL Heritage Trail has been initiated by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development through its contaminants and remediation division. Actual remediation and clean-up will not start until the summer of 2012 and could take as long as 10 years.
Later today, at the appropriate time, I will table the programs and operations maintenance budgets for tourism and parks for 2011-2012, which will provide you with the information you are seeking.
Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Item 10, replies to opening address. Item 11, petitions. Item 12, reports of standing and special committees. Item 13, reports of committees on the review of bills. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to report to the Assembly that the Standing Committee on Government Operations has reviewed Bill 10, Northwest Territories Heritage Fund Act. The committee wishes to report that Bill 10 is now ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole as amended and reprinted.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to report to the Assembly that the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure has reviewed Bill 15, An Act to Amend the Deh Cho Bridge Act; Bill 17, An Act to Amend the Territorial Parks Act; Bill 18, An Act to Amend the Public Utilities Act; and Bill 19, Cost of Credit Disclosure Act. The committee wishes to report that Bills 15, 17, 18 and 19 are now ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to report to the Assembly that the Standing Committee on Social Programs has reviewed Bill 20, Vital Statistics Act, and Bill 20 is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole.
