Debates of June 5, 2006 (day 5)

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Clause 3, as amended.

Agreed.

Bill as a whole?

Agreed.

Clause 3, as amended.

Agreed.

Clause 4, as amended.

Agreed.

Bill as a whole.

Agreed.

Does committee agree that Bill 4 is ready for third reading, as amended?

Agreed.

Bill 4 is ready for third reading, as amended.

Agreed.

Thank you. I would like to thank the Minister and his witnesses. I would like to ask the Sergeant-at-Arms to escort the witnesses out.

Thank you, Members. We are now going to deal with Committee Report 3-15(5), Report on the Review of the 2004-2005 Annual Report of the Languages Commissioner. At this time, I would like to recognize Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You are correct; I will be reading the report of the Review of the 2004-2005 Annual Report of the Languages Commissioner.

Effective July 1, 2004, the mandate to preserve and promote official languages was transferred from the Languages Commissioner to two new languages boards under the authority of the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. The Commissioner’s role is now focused on ombudsman-like functions: monitoring compliance with the act; reviewing complaints; responding to requests for information; and initiating investigations where appropriate.

Members are concerned that we have heard little about the activities of the Aboriginal Languages Advisory Board and Official Languages Advisory Board. Since it is no longer the Commissioner’s role to champion the promotion and preservation of official languages, it is essential that those boards be vigorous and action-oriented in taking up that mandate. We have not seen any evidence that this is happening. The Standing Committee on Social Programs will be pursuing this discussion, however, all Regular Members will be monitoring it with interest.

The Commissioner advised us that she is currently preparing a report on interpreter services in health centres. The committee shares the Commissioner’s concern about the lack of interpreters trained in medical terminology in health centres and looks forward to her report. Although health centres often have well-intentioned staff that can assist with interpreting for patients, most of these people do not have training in medical terminology, much of which is very difficult to translate into aboriginal languages. This creates a safety issue as well as frustration for both patients and the people trying to help them.

We also share the Commissioner’s more general concern about the overall availability of interpreters in the aboriginal languages. The committee believes it may be time for the GNWT to consider re-establishing in-house interpreter and translation services, which could be located in the appropriate regional centres. We also see a clear need for the GNWT to work with Aurora College to reinstate interpreter/translator training programs for aboriginal languages, including specialized training in medical terminology.

Recommendation To Examine Feasibility Of Re-establishing In-House Interpreter And Translation Services, Carried

I move that this committee recommends that the GNWT examine the feasibility of re-establishing in-house interpreter and translation services and report back on its findings in its response to this report. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

The motion is in order. To the motion.

Question.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Mr. Hawkins.

Recommendation To Deliver Interpreter/Translator Training Program And Specialized Training In Medical Terminology, Carried

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that this committee recommends that the GNWT work with Aurora College to deliver a basic interpreter/translator training program for aboriginal languages, as well as specialized training in medical terminology. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

The motion is in order. To the motion.

Question.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The committee noted, with concern, that the Commissioner received only one complaint in 2004-2005 and believes this is likely the result of a lack of awareness about the Official Languages Act and the Commissioner, especially in smaller communities. We, therefore, encourage the Commissioner to step up her efforts to publicize her office. In particular, we encourage her to undertake community visits to meet with stakeholders and to raise public awareness about her office and to also ensure that printed information about the complaints process is made available in aboriginal languages.

We also encourage the Commissioner to exercise her powers and make full use of her mandate, which, as outlined in section 20 of the Official Languages Act, includes ensuring recognition of the rights, status and privileges of each of the official languages and compliance with the spirit and intent of the act in the administration of the affairs of government institutions, and conducting investigations on her own initiative.

Recommendation To Table Response To Report Within 120 Days, Carried

I move that this committee recommends that, pursuant to Rule 93(5), the GNWT table a comprehensive response to this report within 120 calendar days. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

The motion is in order. To the motion.

Question.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

That will be all for now. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Does committee agree that Committee Report 3-15(5) is concluded?

Agreed.

Committee Report 3-15(5) is concluded. Thank you. We will now deal with Bill 5, An Act to Amend the Territorial Parks Act. I would like to ask Minister Bell for his opening remarks. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, colleagues, I am pleased to speak before you to speak to the proposed amendment to the Territorial Parks Act. A recent review of parks issues identified the urgent needs for this amendment to the act that would be beneficial to both park guests and staff and make visits to the parks this summer safer and more secure.

This amendment addresses a problem identified by parks staff, the public, the media and indeed Members of this House, that of disruptive and destructive behaviour of individuals in territorial parks, particularly those in and around municipalities.

This amendment will make it an offence under the act for a person to comply with an order of a parks officer. This will provide parks officers with another tool to ensure the safety and enjoyment of parks users. Currently, Mr. Chairman, parks officers can request that disruptive activity be discontinued or order someone to stop such activity, but if that activity continues they have no recourse other than to contact the RCMP for assistance. It’s our intention to give the parks officers authority to charge persons who do not comply with an order. This ability to restrain disruptive behaviour will contribute to the enjoyment of guest stays.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Members for their prompt consideration of this bill and look forward to hearing their views on this small but important amendment to the Territorial Parks Act. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. At this time I’d like to ask the Minister if he’d like to bring in any witnesses.

I would. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Does committee agree?

Agreed.

Thank you. Can the Sergeant-at-Arms please escort the witness in, please?

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Minister. Can you introduce your witnesses, please? Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, thank you. With me is Peter Vician, deputy minister of ITI; and Mark Aitken, legislative counsel.

Thank you. General comments. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I’m obviously in support of the amendment to the Territorial Parks Act, but I just wanted to ask of the Minister, this has been an issue in the former Department of RWED and now ITI for the past almost 15 years. I’m just wondering why it has taken so long to get this amendment brought forward. What explanation on the delays has his department got? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We’re continually looking for ways to improve park safety and enjoyment for park guests. This has been something that’s been discussed in the department for some time. The Member is correct; we decided, with some of the recent concerns we’ve had in parks closest to our municipalities, some of this has been escalating over the years, that we needed to give this legislation more teeth, we needed to give our parks officers more of an ability to clamp down on unruly behaviour and that’s what we’ve done.

In 2004 we initiated a review of enforcement practices in our parks. Residents, property owners at Prelude Lake Territorial Park were contacted to discuss and document their concerns and suggestions, because that had been a focal point. In addition, consultations with the RCMP were initiated. We’ve done a number of things to improve safety in addition to this, Mr. Chairman. I don’t want to give the impression that this is the only thing we’ve been doing.

RWED at the time entered into a service contract with the RCMP to allow off-duty RCMP officers to patrol the parks on the Ingraham Trail on long weekends. We’re still continuing with that initiative and that activity. In addition, new radios compatible with those of the RCMP were purchased and an agreement reached to provide direct access to their dispatch centre. This was to alleviate the concern that it was difficult to get a hold of somebody, one of our officers or somebody who could help if you had concerns in the park in the middle of the night.

Also, the departments of ITI and ENR have established a protocol in compliance that outlines how the two departments will cooperate and how they will share expertise and resources in delivering programs that involve compliance activities.

So there are a number of things, Mr. Chairman, that are underway. We’ve been working, as I say, to improve safety over the last number of years and this is just an additional tool that we think will help us do that. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Minister Bell. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, like I mentioned earlier, it’s long overdue and I think it will be much of a benefit to the park staff that’s out there that this amendment is in place and I’d much prefer amendments like this that give our employees some more things to work with in the field rather than us building, you know, big fences and things like that to try to corral people and go at it that way. I think this is much more useful.

In the Minister’s opening remarks he doesn’t really get down to saying that parks officers will actually be able to issue tickets under the Parks Act and I just wanted the Minister to clarify that for me, that actual park officers will be allowed to issue tickets to people in the parks that are contravening the Parks Act. That’s for a variety of different reasons, but maybe the Minister could explain why that’s not in his opening remarks. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Bell.

Mr. Chairman, it’s a bit of a two-parter here. We’re going to make the changes to this bill, but then the next step is to change the regs of the Summary Conviction Procedures Act, and that’s the act that the tickets will be written under, under the authority of that act. So not actually under this Territorial Parks Act. Those regs have already been drafted, we’re just waiting for this bill to be passed and the assent of this bill, and then we can move forward with those. So, yes, parks officers will be able to issue tickets. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Bell. Mr. Ramsay.