Debates of October 14, 2005 (day 10)

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement today I spoke about the problems the residents of Tlicho had with accessing service from the RCMP. Can the Minister of Justice inform the Assembly whether there's a standard service level that a community of a particular size can expect to receive? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Bell.

Return To Question 112-15(4): RCMP Service Levels

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me start by saying I want to thank the Members in the House for the support they're showing the RCMP. Obviously, yesterday was a banner day for the Northwest Territories, for the RCMP, and will go a long way toward ensuring the safety of our residents.

In terms of standards of service, the RCMP, with the resources that we provide them, determine where manpower is most needed and scheduled accordingly. They are and have made one of their priorities working with us. One of the priorities we've talked about is staffing in small communities, especially those without detachments. We recognize that there is a challenge in responding. I know the Member is very concerned about it, and certainly we intend to meet with the Tlicho leadership. I know the MLA was instrumental in setting up a meeting that the dates had to be changed. We're certainly still committed to coming into the communities to talk about the service levels in those communities. But as per standards, I think it varies by community. There isn't a determined service level on the basis of size of a community. There are so many variables that come into play: proximity to other closer regional centres, et cetera. So it does vary by community, but let me assure the Member that it is of highest priority that we work on improving the service levels in our smaller, outlying communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Supplementary To Question 112-15(4): RCMP Service Levels

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I stated in my Member's statement, the RCMP workload is impacting on the service levels in the isolated communities. Can the Minister inform the Assembly whether there's a plan to increase the number of RCMP officers in the communities so that they can take a proactive role, rather than a reactive role in community policing? Mr. Speaker, mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 112-15(4): RCMP Service Levels

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the Member is absolutely correct in saying that when the RCMP is taxed and pressed because of the level of activity, they end up having to, first and foremost, respond when crimes are committed. They want to and are committed to doing proactive work, working with the community, working with the schools. We know that their presence alone in a community goes a long way toward acting as a deterrent, and that's something that is very important. So the RCMP is absolutely committed to that approach.

As a government, we've been responding to the RCMP's needs through the business planning process. They've submitted a business plan to us. It was a three-year ask for resources. We're going into the third year of that plan now and we'll be discussing that in the upcoming budget session. Suffice it to say there will be additional resources for the RCMP, but until that budget session I hesitate to get publicly into the details. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday I spoke to Chief Richard Kochon of the Colville Lake Dene band, and we talked about the recent house fire in Colville Lake. You could hear the sadness in his voice over the phone. He was wondering about the response from this government. Mr. McLeod, the Minister of MACA, recently made an announcement, and I quote, "Fortunately, there are many things residents can do to make their homes safer. Fire Prevention Week is a time when the local fire departments reach out to the communities, teaching people at every age how to prevent fires." Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask Mr. McLeod if there are any types of fire prevention programs scheduled to be in Colville, being there is no fire department. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.

Return To Question 113-15(4): GNWT Response To House Fire In Colville Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our responsibility for fire prevention flows from the Fire Prevention Act. Our department has many duties and responsibilities in that area, from investigations to inspections to building reviews; it is also involved in training, and we also provide capital for equipment. Colville has been a community that has wanted to live a traditional lifestyle. We've had the fire marshal going in two and sometimes three times a year to work with the community over the last while. The community has recently passed a BCR to create a fire department. As of yet, there is no active fire department. We continue to work with them and hopefully will have something in operation to provide fire services for that community.

But I want to point out, Mr. Speaker, our responsibility in those areas is in the form of support. We cannot force people to be on a fire department. That has to come from the community, and the municipality is responsible for creating the fire department. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 113-15(4): GNWT Response To House Fire In Colville Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Mr. Minister. I understand that the community of Colville Lake wants to maintain their traditional lifestyle in Colville Lake. However, Mr. Speaker, the Minister is saying that they cannot force anybody to be on the fire department. But for people in Colville Lake, that's where we have flexibility, and there could be some creativity by this government to look at training people in the communities that do not have any type of fire department training or prevention or other services. So they're going to sit around and see another house burn down. My question to the Minister of MACA is, how many times has someone from his department gone into Colville Lake to deliver some sort of fire service training, fire prevention program, public safety or education courses? That's the question. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 113-15(4): GNWT Response To House Fire In Colville Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't have that exact detail. I know over the last three years we've been there at least once if not twice to set up training programs. We cannot force the community to attend. We have been very unsuccessful in attracting people. The community has agreed that we should have it on those specific dates; however, if the interest is not there, that's not something we're in a position to deal with. It's very costly to set up these programs, it's costly to go into the communities; however, we can't do it by ourselves, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 113-15(4): GNWT Response To House Fire In Colville Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if there are no fire trucks or no other means of having some sort of support there to fight these fires, how can you…People are not going to be interested. You need some equipment, you need some roads and some water. You need some equipment to get the people there. So it's ludicrous. My question to the Minister is because there aren't any kind of provisions in terms of protection against house fires, can the government look at some provisions to have the equipment there for the people to use? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 113-15(4): GNWT Response To House Fire In Colville Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm not sure what kind of equipment we can put in the community of Colville Lake at this point. Maybe we can sit down and talk to the Member. As the Member has pointed out, you can't put a fire truck in there because there are no roads and there is no water plant at this point. So it's something that we have to be very creative about. There are mobile water pumps right now; there are dry chemical provisions; but it's very difficult until we have the infrastructure in place to house a fire hall, a fire truck and the roads that they can travel on and the system to fill up. We can't provide that type of equipment, so I'm not sure what type of equipment the Member is referring to. If he has some suggestions for that, we would take that into consideration. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 113-15(4): GNWT Response To House Fire In Colville Lake

Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a lot of suggestions and Colville Lake has tons of suggestions to stop this type of situation happening in Colville Lake. Are there any future plans to start spending money in Colville Lake to look at fire equipment or some creative solutions in terms of training in Colville Lake? I guess the question would be, when will the Minister come to Colville Lake and talk to the people? They will certainly give you solutions when you get there. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 113-15(4): GNWT Response To House Fire In Colville Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am glad to hear the Member say that. We are very open to going to Colville Lake to talk to the community, to talk about the different infrastructure needs there. There is a plan to put in a water plant for next year. However, it’s still a question of how do we get the water from the plant to the fire. We still need that mechanism. I would be glad to send our officials up there. I am hoping to have somebody in a position to attend the community meetings myself. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Justice. It gets back to my Member’s statement, where I was talking about the drug crackdown that took place here in Yellowknife and in Edmonton yesterday. I know there is a good deal of work that went into the operation yesterday and the ongoing investigations that are in place. I wonder what the Department of Justice is going to do to ensure that all of the hard work yesterday by the RCMP will have the maximum impact of keeping drug traffickers off of our streets. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. I will allow the Minister to answer the question, but I would just caution Members that the judiciary is a separate arm of government and we have to watch it. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Bell.

Return To Question 114-15(4): Ongoing Impact Of RCMP Operation Gunship

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think I understand where the Member is going with this and the nature of his question. The Member knows that it is the GNWT that is responsible for the administration of justice in this territory pursuant to our Northwest Territories Act and that, of course, is separate and apart from the prosecution function which, in the NWT, is the mandate of the federal Department of Justice.

In the past, when we’ve needed additional courtroom space for the administration of justice, we’ve gone out and found that. I am not sure that would be the case here. I doubt it. If it was, we would certainly do that. I can assure the Member that -- and I think he referred to people being back on the street in his Member’s statement -- nobody is going to be back on the street because our Department of Justice failed to provide a courtroom, a court reporter or a court clerk. I can give the Member that assurance. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Supplementary To Question 114-15(4): Ongoing Impact Of RCMP Operation Gunship

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for his response. I will be careful with my questions. I know and can appreciate the difference in the Crown prosecutor’s office and the Minister’s department. Are the resources currently in place in the Crown prosecutor’s office to deal effectively with those being charged with drug trafficking? That’s the question, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 114-15(4): Ongoing Impact Of RCMP Operation Gunship

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That’s not my department. It is the federal government’s Crown prosecutor office. I don’t think we have seen a case to date, I don’t believe, where the Crown prosecutor’s office, for lack of resources, has had to stand down a prosecution. I can’t imagine that that would be the case. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Supplementary To Question 114-15(4): Ongoing Impact Of RCMP Operation Gunship

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know the operation yesterday was targeting more high-level drug trafficking. Could the Minister let the House know if the department is working with the RCMP on targeting the street level crime that’s taking place and the street level drug trafficking that is taking place here in the city of Yellowknife and other communities around the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 114-15(4): Ongoing Impact Of RCMP Operation Gunship

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a very real problem and certainly a priority for our government and the RCMP. They’ve been listening to and hearing from our public for quite some time that not only do they need to go after the big fish or the high-level dealers, but deal with the street level. The RCMP intends to do that. We’ve been working with them. They have now unveiled a pilot project called the NWT Street Team. It will dedicate some officers to dealing with disrupting the supply of drugs in our communities, which is very important. So there will be a lot of work going into this over the next year. We have to be cognizant in communities to work to reduce the demand, and support people to get the help that they need. The strategy has to be multi-pronged. But I can say that this is a priority for the RCMP and they are moving forward on this, and I am certainly happy to see that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Supplementary To Question 114-15(4): Ongoing Impact Of RCMP Operation Gunship

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the RCMP’s operation yesterday, they brought in a drug dog from Peace River and one from Wetaskawin, Alberta. I know in last year’s budget, we had approved funding, $1.2 million, which included a search and rescue/drug dog and a handler. I wonder if the Minister knows when that resource will be on the ground here in the Northwest Territories able to help tackle the drug wave here in the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 114-15(4): Ongoing Impact Of RCMP Operation Gunship

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday, I indicated I believed the dog was already present in the Northwest Territories. In fact, that was wrong. I understand the dog will be here November 6th and will be based in Yellowknife but available for use right across the territory in their operations. I think we can look forward to that. That gives us some additional capacity in this regard and it’s much needed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the honourable Minister of Public Works and Services with regard to the procurement practices of our government. Recently in Fort Simpson, the PWS leased some office space locally, and I am here to say that I don’t think it was done properly in following a proper procurement process. There were no tenders put in the newspapers or asking the general public to bid on the contracts, Mr. Speaker. So I would like to ask the Minister today, what is the procurement process when you are looking for office spaces in our regions and communities? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister of Public Works and Services, Mr. Roland.

Return To Question 115-15(4): GNWT Office Space Procurement

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are a number of practices put in place about how we procure supplies or lease office space in communities. We put out a public request for proposals or a tender on facilities and rate them through the proposals that are received. The others would be in the communities themselves where we know there isn’t adequate space available; if there was only one supplier available, we would go directly to that supplier and have an arrangement made with them. It’s almost case by case because, for example, for office space, there are standards that have to be met that we would look at if we decided to go out for a public offering. In the case in the Member’s community, I believe the example he is looking at is one where we have gone directly to a supplier in that community for space that was available.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Supplementary To Question 115-15(4): GNWT Office Space Procurement

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister is absolutely correct and that is what the government chose to do. They went directly to one owner, one building in the community when there is another business that offers office space. What happens is you have two providers for the service and our procurement policy, Mr. Speaker, is we offer the opportunity to everybody for goods and services that we need. In this case, it didn’t happen, and I would like to ask the Minister why.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 115-15(4): GNWT Office Space Procurement

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the community the Member is speaking about, there was a search done to see what would have been available in that community for these offices that we are looking for. One of the conditions we have is it has to meet a certain standard. The other business the Member is referring to did not, from what I am being informed, have the adequate space available to meet what was being requested. It was on that basis that we made the decision to proceed with doing a sole source to one company.

I am prepared to sit with the Member and go over this file if he feels we were not provided accurate information on what was available in his community. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Supplementary To Question 115-15(4): GNWT Office Space Procurement

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With respect to the procurement of office space in Fort Simpson, that’s exactly what has happened, Mr. Speaker. There was no opportunity given to this other provider. He’s got office space. It’s a prefabricated building, which is like a trailer. One of the reasons he was given, Mr. Speaker, is because it’s a trailer-type office space and the government says they don’t even consider that. If I asked a written question today to ask the government to list all the trailers that we do rent throughout the NWT, I am sure it’ going to be there. This reason is not acceptable. As well, can the Minister tell me in what process do we disregard a tender or public proposal call for sole source or negotiations only? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 115-15(4): GNWT Office Space Procurement