Debates of February 11, 2005 (day 34)

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I will use my Member's statement to reiterate my full support for the staff members of Dene K'onia who travelled all the way from Hay River yesterday just for the day, to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the government's proposed expenditure reductions; specifically in the Department of Justice on youth rehabilitation and reintegration.

Mr. Speaker, many of my constituents in Tu Nedhe -- mind you, not by choice -- rely heavily on the services that have been provided by the youth centre in Hay River. They count on these services, not just for their children’s sake but also for their own peace of mind and the satisfaction of knowing that their children are being treated in a manner that is consistent with their Dene culture and values. These families know that the people who are working to rehabilitate and reintegrate their kids into society are from the same community as they are and have experienced similar circumstances in their lives, but have now dedicated their own lives to helping their own people.

Mr. Speaker, I know that the government has stated over and over again that the rehabilitation and reintegration programs for the youth available in the Dene K'onia centre will be mirrored in Yellowknife and that they may also have more programs available in the near future, Mr. Speaker.

To me, it is not just about what is available to the youth, Mr. Speaker. It is about who will be available to the youth and who will be delivering these programs.

Mr. Speaker, this is a critical piece of the picture that must have been smudged when the Department of Justice was reassessing its organizational portrait of efficiency and effectiveness. This new vision of effective and efficient youth justice in the Northwest Territories that the government is proposing, just doesn’t say any of that to me, not to my constituents, not to the staff of Dene K'onia, not to the residents of the NWT and especially not to the youth of the Dene K'onia facility in Hay River.

Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I will be urging this government to revisit and hopefully reassess the justice cost-cutting measures being proposed and come up with a plan that is acceptable, fair and fundamentally effective to ensure that the youth are being treated by the best means we have at our disposal, which, in my opinion, Mr. Speaker, is the staff of the Dene K'onia centre in Hay River. Mahsi.

---Applause