The answer will be yes. We are gathering all of the information. We will provide those to the board chairs as well. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my opening Member’s statement I mentioned that I was going to have some questions today for the Minister of Justice in regards to the new proposed crime bill and how it is going to affect our Youth Criminal Act as well as our diversion programs.
How is the new crime bill going to affect how our youth are treated in the court system? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have done an analysis of Bill C10. Our analysis shows or we understand and believe that we will see some young offenders in custody for longer periods of time under Bill C10. One of the primary changes to the Youth Criminal Justice Act under Bill C10, is it is changing to the main principles of the bill to include protection of society. In that we see some increases of sentences for young offenders by adding specific deterrence and denunciation principles of sentencing, expanding the definition of violent offenders, violent youth offenders may see more time in our facilities, and include behaviours that endanger life and safety of themselves and others. Our cursory analysis does show that we will likely see some increases within our youth facilities.
In respect to the theme day we had today, a lot of our drug dealers in the communities are bullying and getting our youth to sell drugs for them. In some cases, when it comes to drugs, you do tend to have violent crimes, so it is good to hear that any youth that are participating in this kind of behaviour are going to be starting to get sentenced as adults.
In regards to that diversion, I know we look at a lot of diversion programs. Is the Minister looking at the diversion programs in terms of sentencing our youth, or will they be put on the crime bill, as well, in terms of getting sentenced to jail? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I just want to clarify one point. The amendments proposed by Bill C10 with respect to trying youth as adults, it only would apply when the Crown would be required to consider seeking adult sentences for things like murder, attempted murder, manslaughter and aggravated sexual assault. Not every condition under any potential crime that they might commit, that there are going to be different penalties out there for youth involved in violent crime. There are, under the Criminal Code and changes to provisions around organized crime, particularly folks in drug selling and involving organized crime, there will be some changes there as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Like I said, drug dealers preying on our youth to sell their product for them and some cases when the youth do get sentenced, it is usually just a slap on the wrist or diversion to another program where they are let back out into society and they continue to repeat the same type of actions. I want to get commitment from the Minister that he will speak on our behalf to ensure that if the drug dealers aren’t getting, I wouldn’t say punished or convicted, then the youth should understand that by them participating in this type of action, they are going to get convicted under the same type of criminal convictions that an adult would if they were selling drugs, and harming our people in the community, and continuing to keep our society down and contributing to our problems. Will the Minister commit to speaking on behalf of people of the Northwest Territories that he will address drug dealing, in this case, with youth?
There is a lot that needs to be done. There is no question that drugs and alcohol in the Northwest Territories are a problem. The Department of Justice is trying to focus more on prevention and diversion rather than incarceration. The department is doing things like supporting the Not Us campaign, which we got real positive responses on.
In the day, those youth that are involved in violent crime, those individuals that are involved in organized crime will likely receive stiffer penalties under C10 and the changes to the YCJA. That doesn’t change the fact that we still want to focus on diversion. We want to actually keep people out of the system, by preventing the crime in the first place. I think there are better results from actually focusing on the root causes of the crime and dealing with that. Those individuals who do get involved, those and youth that do commit serious crimes, under Bill C10 will receive stiffer penalties. The department will continue to focus on prevention and trying to find solutions to the root causes of crime. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In regards to diversion and keeping our youth out of the system, will the Minister commit to creating a territory-wide awareness campaign to youth to educate them on the consequences that, if they participate in drug dealing or other violent crimes when this new bill comes in, we can protect our youth so they don’t have to go through the system? Will he commit to creating a territory-wide awareness campaign so that our youth understand and know what they are getting into, and that we keep them out of the system and keep them living a healthy lifestyle? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, it is a good suggestion. Once again, we do have the Not Us campaign and the Department of Health and Social Services have their campaigns as well. I am interested in working with my colleagues in Health and Social Services but also with Social Programs on this type of initiative. I would like to have more conversations to figure out what would be the best way to go forward with that.
In the meantime, we will continue to move forward with Not Us and allow the communities to design programs that work for themselves, rather than us telling them what the message should be. We will certainly have those conversations. I am looking forward to those conversations. In the meantime, we have Not Us. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I talked a bit more about the mental strain and struggles that a lot of victims go through with respect to bullying and cyber-bullying. If there was ever an ideology to put forward in terms of the Mental Health Strategy, I think this would be one of the best cases going forward.
My question for the Minister of Health is: Given the fact that, in my Member’s statement today and I am sure the Minister would agree, we’re dealing with a lot of potential depressive illnesses here, prolonged psychological issues with victims of bullying, can the Minister indicate to me, if I was a parent who is out there listening today, what means and what measures do we have out there to help these victims of bullying right now in our schools? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the things that the department is doing is offering community counselling programs in every region in every community. So the counsellors and wellness workers are available to assist youth, and youth who are showing problems, and emotional problems, and having emotions in dealing with issues of being bullied in schools. Thank you.
I appreciate the Minister for indicating about the community counselling programs we have there, but the question to the Minister is: These counsel programs, are they really specialized to deal with bullying in nature? Bullying is a separate condition I think in cases that because of the repeated and constant repeating and violations that these people and victims have to go through. Are our community-based counselling programs equipped to deal with this type of issue?
The department is also piloting and talking about mental illness programs with Grade 8 students in Yellowknife. This program focuses on decreasing the stigma associated with mental illness, which could result from being bullied, causing depression for the youth, including suicidal thoughts and so on. So if youth are experiencing those, it’s more likely that they’re able to reach out for some help. The program also strives to build empathy with the youth, so they’re able to recognize somebody who is struggling and also recognize people who are being bullied and not saying anything. Thank you.
I thank the Minister for indicating we have a pilot project out there. That leads me to think that with a pilot project, we obviously must be working towards something. I’m hoping that that issue is potentially a Mental Health Strategy. With that question in mind, can the Minister indicate is this the precursor to the Mental Health Strategy that this government has been so desperately looking towards?
It will form a part in the Mental Health Strategy. The idea of the program, once it’s been reviewed, piloted, evaluated, the idea is that the department plans to expand the program right across the territory. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister for going on record that we do have a Mental Health Strategy in the works. My final question will always be that proverbial question: When can we see this on the floor? Thank you.
Sorry, I don’t have that timeline with me in the House today, but I can provide that information to the Member later on today or tomorrow when I have that information. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask questions of the Minister of ECE today. A motion was passed in the Assembly, a previous Assembly, calling on the Minister of ECE to reinstate the policy of sponsoring a placement in the University of Saskatchewan’s Western College of Veterinary Medicine. As I explained at that time, we have an ideal NWT-born, trained and committed candidate coming forward for application to that program. The Minister said he would ensure consideration of reinstatement of this sponsorship in the current review of the Student Financial Assistance Program. I’d just like to start by confirming the Minister has so directed his staff to make that inclusion in their considerations. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. This particular area, the budget obviously had been cut in 2008 and for the one seat that we’re talking about, the $25,000 seat with the University of Saskatchewan, we do have currently an NWT student that’s studying at the University of Saskatchewan and the funding is not provided to the individual, but that individual will be completing academic year 2013-2014 and we’re very proud of that. There are students out there exploring those areas. So with that, I’d just like to highlight that this program was cut in 2008 as it stands. Mahsi.
Thank you. Of course, that was well known. The motion passed in the House was well after 2008, so the Minister will be aware of that. I’m talking about a veterinarian seat here, not a veterinarian’s assistant. So whilst this student assistance review is underway and will be considered in next year’s budget, this candidate has given us three years’ advanced notice to come up with this support, and there’s obviously a desperate need for a veterinarian across the NWT and it’s been well established. So I guess I’d like to just start by asking the Minister if he does agree that there is a desperate need for veterinarians, full veterinarians in the NWT, not just assistants, and that he’s aware of that information or has seen correspondence on that. Thank you.
Mahsi. This particular program at the University of Saskatchewan is a veterinary program. As I stated, there is a student that’s attending. We sponsor 1,400 students and we’re talking about one seat that’s $25,000, and just imagine – we have huge numbers – the cost of that, and on top of that there’s additional costs as well. But it is needed. We’ve seen some articles in the newspaper, as well, in the Northwest Territories and other parts of the country and we do have veterinarians coming out, as well, to work in the Northwest Territories and other parts of the provinces. So we’ll continue supporting those areas. Mahsi.
I appreciate those perspectives from the Minister. I’ve repeatedly asked whether there have been other veterinarian students and the only information I’ve ever been given by the department was on veterinarian assistants. So I’d be happy to have that information confirmed, but of course we’re not talking about many seats. It’s rare that we have students come forward with the qualifications for going after a veterinarian degree, and recognizing the need and the interest from the Sahtu for example, recently, I think we need to get this done. So I’d ask the Minister, will he go after this so that we have this seat established within a year. Thank you.
Mahsi. We have to keep in mind that there are other professions, as well, doctors degrees and other professions. It wouldn’t be fair to just highlight one profession, sponsoring the $25,000 seat, where other students are exploring and pursuing, whether it be the nursing degree, master’s program, doctors program, lawyers and so forth. So all of those professions do come back in the Northwest Territories and they contribute back to the Northwest Territories. So it’s very difficult for me as the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, to support this one specific profession on a going forward basis. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Of course, this is a very different situation than the Minister has portrayed here. All those careers don’t require a seat at a university. Anybody with basic education can get in for lawyers and so on. This is a veterinarian seat. There are extremely huge schools in Canada and you need an established seat to get into that program. Obviously, we have a desperate need for veterinarians. Does the Minister agree that this is a bit of an exception compared to the normal professions that we’d like to see our students go into as well?
There are six universities in Canada that provide doctor of veterinary medicine programs. After consultation with the University of Saskatchewan in September 2009, after the cut in the programming budget, my department was advised by the University of Saskatchewan that they do not have the policy that would charge NWT students the out-of-province tuition and that they would look at each NWT student’s application on a case-by-case basis. So there is an opportunity there for those students.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
QUESTION 101-17(2):
ARCTIC WINTER GAMES PARTICIPATION
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t want to deviate from today’s theme of bullying, but I don’t believe bullying should be tolerated and I think there should be efforts by this government to try to stamp it out and make it stop so that kids enjoy the best years of their lives just experiencing life in general and not having the burden of responsibilities that we adults have.
My question today is to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Seeing that it’s only about three weeks or so left before our team travels all the way to Whitehorse to participate in the Arctic Winter Games, can the Minister give us an update as to the progress of organizing the Northwest Territories team as we head to the Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse?
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The honourable Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The team is pretty well finalized. We have over 350 players, coaches and chaperones that will be going to Whitehorse from March 4th to 10th. We were quite pleased this year that we had over 970 athletes participating in the territorial trials, and out of those 970 there were about 680 from outside Yellowknife. I think that’s reflective of the good work that all the sporting partner organizations are doing in getting sports out into the communities. Everything is on schedule. Our team is set to go. They will be in Whitehorse from March 4th to 10th bringing back straight gold ulus.
I’d like to thank the Minister for his reply. My question is just to follow up on the first. Seeing that we have a theme and we need to muster up our athletes and get them prepared, what is the theme this year for the Arctic Winter Games, seeing that it’s been a common practice for the Northern Territories to come together and share in culture, spirit, and sports?
I’m not quite sure what the theme is. I’d have to check on that. I know, I know, I should know what the theme is. There are people over at… If I talk long enough then they might get it over from MACA. I’ll just keep going for the next 10 or 15 minutes. Anyway, I’ll find out what it is and I’ll come in here and let the Member know.
My question is in terms of what would be maybe a friendly projection in terms of how much gold our athletes might bring back to Yellowknife.
Well, first and foremost our goal is to have our young people out participating in the games. We’ve been very fortunate in the past. We’ve always sent strong teams to the Arctic Winter Games and they’ve always been able to do us proud. Whether they win gold, silver, bronze or just the fact that they participate, they’ve done us very proud. I think one of the most important awards in the Arctic Winter Games is probably the Stuart Hodgson Trophy which is presented to the team that combines the best sportsmanship. I think that’s a very important award. The fact that our young people have an opportunity to get out there and participate, I think it says a lot about our young people and the people in the communities, it says a lot about the support that this government has given them. We just want them to go over, do their best, and if they happen to come back with medals, that would be a bonus.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In December I asked questions about the return of the Prospectors Grubstake Program. On Friday, February 10th, the Minister made the announcement that that program will be reinstated. I can tell you that there’s some very positive news from constituents of mine. At the same time in December, I asked questions about the training component and I have to say the Minister’s announcement fell quite silent on that particular subject. I’m wondering what the Minister has to say today regarding the possibility of reinstating a training component to the Prospectors Grubstake Program.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. David Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A training component to that is something the department is interested in and something that we will look at.
