Debates of October 14, 2005 (day 10)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to follow up with what the Member for Monfwi raised regarding policing services. It is appalling to hear that it takes over an average of 48 minutes to respond to calls in the Tlicho region. Mr. Speaker, it takes an hour-and-a-half to fly to Sachs Harbour from Inuvik. Maybe we should send two of the RCMP officers over to Sachs Harbour. I would like to ask the Minister of Justice, has there been any progress to date in regard to policing services in Sachs Harbour? Thank you.

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

Return To Question 117-15(4): Policing Services In Sachs Harbour

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated earlier, it is a priority of the government to work with the RCMP to come up with an approach for policing in our smaller communities. I think it is a reality that we will never have detachments in every community in the NWT -- some of the communities are too small -- but we are going to try to increase the number of detachments that we have. Having said that, it is very important that all of our communities have a police presence and have an adequate response by the RCMP. That is something that we are targeting. We have a working group of senior Justice officials and RCMP members who sit down and better understand how we can most appropriately target the problem. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Pokiak.

Supplementary To Question 117-15(4): Policing Services In Sachs Harbour

Thank you for the response, Mr. Minister. I would like to follow up. I know yesterday the Member for Sahtu talked about special constables. I spoke with the commander and chief of the RCMP when he was traveling through Tuktoyaktuk and Paulatuk, and he did say that he had sat down with the department. Can the Minister indicate to this House exactly what plans they have in place to deal with the RCMP presence in the Territories? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 117-15(4): Policing Services In Sachs Harbour

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the question of an RCMP presence in the Northwest Territories, I have indicated the RCMP did submit a business plan to this government that deals with the need for resources going forward. We have decided to approach it with a three-year response. We are into the third year of that response coming up in the budget session. We will have additional resources for the RCMP but, again, the level of detail that the Member is looking for is probably something that we had best deal with in the budget session. I can tell the Member that additional resources are coming and will be spread across the territory. We are going to target those communities that don't have detachments and talk about a plan for providing them the best level of service we can. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Pokiak.

Supplementary To Question 117-15(4): Policing Services In Sachs Harbour

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just a quick comment. Can the Minister explain how soon the additional resources will be coming to the Territories? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 117-15(4): Policing Services In Sachs Harbour

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. April 1st of next year is our new budget year. At that point, funds will flow to the RCMP from the government. I know the Member is aware that we fund 70 percent of the operations of the RCMP; 30 percent comes from the federal government. The commitment is already there. We will be discussing that and have been discussing that through the business planning process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.