Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents entitled "NWT Post-Secondary Education Strategic Framework, 2019-2029"; and "The Operating Plans for the Northwest Territories Education Bodies for the 2019-2020 School Year Ending June 30, 2020." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that, on Friday, August 23, 2019, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that this Legislative Assembly adopt the Code of Conduct for Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories identified as Tabled Document 509-18(3). Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Notices of motion. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I give notice that, on Friday, August 23, 2019, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that the Legislative Assembly repeal the Rules of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories originally adopted on May 27, 2015, and adopt the newest version of the Rules of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories identified as Tabled Document 510-18(3);
And further, that the new Rules of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, upon adoption of this motion, come into effect August 23, 2019. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Notices of motion. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I give notice that, on Friday, August 23, 2019, I will move the following motion: I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that notwithstanding Rule 4, when this House adjourns on Friday, August 23, 2019, it shall be adjourned until Thursday, October 24, 2019;
And further, that any time prior to October 24, 2019, if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly, that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, the Speaker may give notice and thereupon the House shall meet at the time stated in such notice and shall transact its business as it has been duly adjourned to that time. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Notices of motion. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mr. Speaker, I give notice that, on Friday, August 23, 2019, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that this Legislative Assembly request the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories to dissolve the 18th Assembly of the Northwest Territories on August 31, 2019, to permit polling day for a general election to be held on October 1, 2019;
And further, that the Speaker transmit this resolution to the Commissioner. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
I now call committee to order. What is the wish of committee? Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Committee would like to consider Committee Report 34-18(3): Standing Committee on Social Development Report on the Review of Bill 45: Corrections Act; Bill 45: Corrections Act; Committee Report 29-18(3): Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment Report on the Perceptions Held by Northern Businesses toward the Government of the Northwest Territories' Procurement Processes; and Committee Report 32-18(3): Standing Committee on Economic Development Committee Report on the Process Used for Devolution Legislative Initiatives. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Committee, at this point, we will call a short break. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. We will take a break and resume later at the call of the chair. Mahsi.
---SHORT RECESS
I call committee back to order. Committee, we have agreed to next consider Committee Report 34-18(3), Standing Committee on Social Development Report on the Review of Bill 45, Corrections Act. I will go to the chair of the Standing Committee on Social Development for any opening comments. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will be really brief. First of all, I would like to thank the department and their staff. As we move forward, it was a really good effort from the department and the Minister to work with the committee and our Legislative Assembly staff. There were a lot of hours on Saturdays and Sundays and late evenings that they worked hard through to improve this bill.
When we were talking about it, we were concerned that we may not be able to bring this bill forward, but I have to thank the Minister and his staff and the Legislative Assembly staff and committee, again, for the hard work. It was about consensus and working together, and it was amazing, the product that we were able to come out with. As we talk to some of the other people, we feel that this bill is something that is even better than if we had waited until the 19th Assembly.
Again, I would like to thank the Minister for his work and his commitment with his staff and the Legislative Assembly staff and committee staff for their work to make this a better bill for the residents of the Northwest Territories. Other committee Members may have other comments at this time, but those are my comments. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. I will now open the floor to general comments on Committee Report 34-18(3). Members? Mr. Vanthuyne.
Mr. Chair, I just wanted to take this opportunity to really extend my appreciation to the committee for the work that they have undertaken. I do want to recognize that they have kept other Members informed as they were moving along through the process. At one point in time, there was genuine concern about this particular bill and its content, so I wanted to commend the committee for the work that they have done to reach out to particular stakeholders that provided some critical feedback and critical information that I think helped the committee moved this bill forward in a more progressive fashion that got it where it is today.
Again, I just really wanted to take this opportunity to extend my thanks and appreciation to the efforts of the committee and, of course, to the department for appreciating what concerns the committee had brought forward and working collaboratively to get it to where it is today. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. It has been a real journey with the Corrections Act. The committee was a little dismayed, I think it is fair to say, by the bill in its original form, and we didn't find that there was a huge amount of public interest in it when we did our public hearings, but we really benefited from the expert advice that I was able to round up through the BC Civil Liberties Association; Mary Campbell, who is the former Director General of Corrections for Canada; the Canadian Bar Association NWT Chapter; Lydia Bardak, who, as you may know, was the ED of the John Howard Society for many years; as well as the Information and Privacy Commissioner.
With all those inputs, we were able to refocus the bill away from a primary focus on the administration of corrections and to make it more inmate-centric; so how exactly do we take care of inmates when they are in one of our correctional centres, and how can we assist them in turning their lives around so that there is hope for a better future?
It was really beneficial to us that the Minister of Justice and his staff and our staff worked so well together to accomplish very extensive and useful changes to this bill, which makes it now equivalent to Corrections Acts anywhere across the country. I would really like to thank the Minister and his staff, our staff here at the Legislative Assembly, and my colleagues on the Social Development Committee for the many hours of work that they did on this bill to bring it to where it is now.
I used to say to people while this was going on that this was the bill that kept me up at night. After waiting 43 years for it to be thoroughly overhauled, we needed to do a really good job, so that it would last another 43 years. While I was initially doubtful that that could be done, it was done, and I am very proud of the result. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I wanted to highlight some comments. First of all, I wanted to thank the Members of the Standing Committee on Social Development, my colleagues, and of course, our committee was led by my colleague, Mr. Shane Thompson, the Member for Nahendeh. Also, recognizing the members of the public that attended the public meetings and wrote to the committee. Of course, last but not least is the Minister and the department and their staff, for working collaboratively with the committee. This discussion would not be possible without their cooperation and assistance.
In short, we received the draft LP that was referred to this committee. We did the public rounds of consultations, and what we found is that, if the department and committees work together collaboratively, things can happen. Good things can happen. Such was the case when we went through this stuff at the clause-by-clause and then doing the report, and here we are.
As my colleague pointed out, Bill 45, when it was first proposed, was an old legislation that needed to be updated, and my initial thoughts on that were that, basically, it will be a cut-and-paste exercise and that, in the end, the status quo will prevail. My expectations were such.
I am realizing, too, that being aware that most of the correctional institutions that we have, not only here in northern Canada, but all over Canada, the majority that are housed in those institutions are Indigenous people. With that in mind, too, I think, last winter, we also received letters of grievances and concerns from inmates. I think that we had to listen to those issues and bring them to the forefront and try to, at least, make a difference. That being said, we also are reminded of the Auditor General of Canada's report on the lack of programs and services for inmates in these institutions.
Juxtaposed with that, of course, we have the Truth and Reconciliation report that highlighted the sad and tragic legacy of residential schools and, at the same time, highlighting the whole tragedy of missing and murdered women. Largely so, if we observe the history of Indigenous people with justice, the system that we have now is very punitive. It takes a punitive approach with people who take on deviant behaviour or non-conformist behaviour that goes against society and basic law. They are incarcerated and experience the whole idea of shame. That is basically how we deal with criminals in society generally.
I am encouraged that this legislation, the exercise that I have seen with my own eyes, offered me a glimpse of hope that reconciliation indeed could happen with this government. What we have achieved to some degree is a level of public oversight on how inmates are treated, and it also offers some elements of regulations to ensure that we have a fair and transparent system in place for inmates, but most importantly, it is a model of collaboration between the committee and the department, and we worked together. There's a commitment and passion on both sides, and if you have that, some good things happen. I think some good things happened during this exercise, and I'm glad that I was part of this process, and I could proudly say that I think we have come up with a good draft that would shine a light on possibilities and hope for inmates who are incarcerated in all these institutions. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I'd like to thank the committee for letting me sit in on some of the deliberations they had in Yellowknife around Bill 45, and I want to thank the committee. I think this is a clear example of how consensus government can and should work.
I know that at one point there were actually almost no, or virtually no, written submissions that the committee had received, and I want to recognize the work of my colleague the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre in seeking out some expert reviews of the bill. She certainly went the extra distance, and that's the kind of job that we should all be doing here as MLAs to ensure that legislation gets a thorough review and that it reflects best practices.
As I understand it, this is the first time the Corrections Act has ever actually gone through a comprehensive review. The original bill, I think, as others have said, was really focused largely on administrative matters. Certainly, through the committee's work, and I think with the advice of some outside experts, the focus is much more on inmates, a more balanced approach, their rights and interests. There was a lot of experience that was gained from what happened in Nunavut in the recent review of their legislation, as well. I think it much better incorporates the concepts of reconciliation and provides some oversight.
It also deals with the devastating effects of solitary confinement which Canada is not having a very good track record on. There are some very good changes that have been made to this bill, and as I understand it, there were 32 motions raised by committee, and all of them were concurred with by the Minister. That's an amazing track record, quite frankly, and I wish that all of our standing committees had received that level of collaboration and cooperation. Unfortunately, that is not the case, but here's an example, I think, of how consensus government could be made to work. It's not about getting your way. It's about making sure that we can work together and do things in the best interests of all of our residents. Unfortunately, I don't think that's been the experience with a number of the other bills that we've dealt with, but I do, again, want to thank the committee for their very hard work, and work of the Minister and his staff.
I did actually get to sit in on one meeting where the deputy minister and a couple of other staff people were there. The attitude that they took was, if the committee had a concern or an issue, let's see how we can fix this. It was a "can do" approach, and unfortunately, that kind of approach was not brought to the table in a number of the other bills that I've sat in on, but here's a model of how it can and should be done in the future. I once again want to commend the work of the standing committee. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think you can summarize the feelings of Members, at least on this side of the House, to say this process that led to the committee's process around this bill was a triumph of consensus. It does draw to mind the previous work that this department and this Minister did on the ATIP Act, starting with a bill that was largely updates, and now has ended up being some of the most progressive legislation in Canada governing that topic, and I'm a firm believer in credit where credit is due. I think, in this case, learning from my colleagues, that there was a lot of give and take, a lot of cooperation, and ultimately a better bill that better serves our residents. I commend the committee's hard work. I commend the Minister's hard work, and the staff who collaborated to make it happen. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd just like to thank our committee members who were part of the committee. Our committee took a real stance on the changes that needed to be done. At first, the department wasn't willing to. Our committee took the stance that we're not going to move on this bill the way it stands, and that led to a lot of changes to the bill that we now have, and I commend the Minister and the department for being willing to make those changes, and especially to our law clerk and their legal team that spent a lot of time, over a time of about a week that made all these changes that committee wanted to see into this bill, that final draft that we have here today. I'd just like to commend everybody who is part of that, our committee members, chair, and also the Minister, working together for the betterment of our residents in the territory to have justice and to be treated fairly. I would just like to thank everybody for their hard work and dedication. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. Any further comments? Seeing none, we will recognize Mr. Thompson for closing comments. There are six motions. Six motions, and we will move to the chair of the committee.
Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Justice explore the possibility allowing for private interviews between an inmate and a facility's Indigenous elder or spiritual adviser subject, to reasonable restrictions. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. There is a motion on the floor and it is being distributed. The motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. McNeely. I just wanted to say to this motion that one of the things that we really liked about the Nunavut Act, the Corrections Act, was that it had a significant cultural context in it reflecting the culture and language of the Inuit. We felt that by what we could do to reflect that in the Northwest Territories is to find a role for elders and spiritual advisers. They do exist there now, and they operate in group settings. We felt that the opportunity for private interviews may also be beneficial to inmates. That's the background to this decision. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Green. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.
---Carried
To the next motion. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Justice conduct needs-based assessments for all inmates;
and further, that the assessments be conducted in a manner that is timely relative to an inmate's release eligibility;
and furthermore, that the assessments take into account Gladue and other factors such as an inmate's disabilities;
and furthermore, that the department explore additional measures to encourage all inmates to participate in suitable programming, including offering new incentives.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. The motion is on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The background to this motion is that we wanted to expand the kind of information that was taken in for assessments so that it was not just the security risk that the inmate posed to the facility and the staff but also what were their own capacities and limitations. Gladue, for example, is the set of factors that courts take into account in sentencing inmates, that recognizes that they may have disabilities and they may have factors in their lives that have caused them trauma and difficulty which have really formed their character and need to be taken into account, and so we thought that broadening the assessments to take into account the Gladue factors and other important elements of an inmate's life would give them a better experience of the programming that is offered in the correctional facilities.
We recognize that the assessments of people on remand and the programming opportunity for people on remand are not always the same as they are for inmates, so the idea of offering incentives for programming is to have those people on remand engage in programming which may address some of their most fundamental issues and steer them away from a repeat visit to the correctional centre. That is the background on this motion. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. To the motion.
Question.
