Debates of October 20, 2004 (day 24)

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Statements

Member’s Statement On Emerging Crisis With Youth In The NWT

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have an emerging crisis in the NWT related to some of our youth. All we have to do is turn our news broadcast on and we are hearing of new levels of vandalism, acts of violence and this amongst youth of alarmingly young ages.

There have been changes to the Young Offenders Act as precipitated by precedence set by the federal government. The move is away from incarceration towards other alternatives and a community approach to young offenders. This is well and good, but what are we doing to offer support to youth, families, and communities, who are experiencing firsthand the results of behavioural problems, substance abuse and the outcomes of chronic neglect?

We hear from Justice that the young offenders' facilities need to be reprofiled, because the utilization is not such as to warrant keeping these facilities opened and staffed. Such is the case with River Ridge in Fort Smith. We hear from law enforcement officials that their options are limited in dealing with young offenders. We hear from Health and Social Services that their legislation has the authority to apprehend these youth if they can catch them, where there are supervision issues at play. We hear from our educators that they are ill prepared to deal with the issues of destructive and interruptive behaviour of students, not to mention crime and vandalism which gets brought right into the classroom.

Mr. Speaker, everybody in this House I’m sure would like to paint a very nice picture of the communities that they come from, but I am sorry to report that in Hay River this week we did have an incident where perpetrators of a violent act came right into our classroom in Hay River, took a child out of the classroom and assaulted them in the schoolyard. This is not something that has been present in the past and this is an emerging problem, and that’s why I rise with this statement today.

Mr. Speaker, we have a big gap here. As a government we may be compelled to comply with federal legislation related to young offenders, but we need a made-in-the-north solution to reach out to these troubled youth, and when necessary protect them from their own behaviour and protect those around them in some cases. We have infrastructure sitting empty, such as the former NAS facility in Detah. We have underutilized young offenders' facilities. We need programming and treatment for youth to address the needs that are manifesting themselves in ever increasing ways in our communities. Mr. Speaker, I would like to seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Thank you.

Speaker: MR. SPEAKER

The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude her statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. This is not solely a Justice or Social Services or Education or RCMP problem. This is a societal reality and this is a northern reality. How many more stabbings, murders, suicides, acts of violence and vandalism are we going to read about before we commit to establishing a comprehensive response to the needs of our communities related to troubled and at-risk youth?

Mr. Speaker, in the words of a very respected educator in Hay River, we, as a government, need not ask ourselves what we are going to do to these youth, but what are we going to do for them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.