Lesa Semmler

Thank you. There's a motion on the floor to report progress. The motion is in order and nondebatable. All those in favour? All those opposed? Motion is carried.

Carried.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Inuvik is the community with the second highest homeless population in the NWT, or is it? We don't know, because we don't have anyone or any documents that state this. We don't have a designated person that is to do this work. So, you know, to find out what the accurate numbers are. So I'm asking the Minister to have somebody in Inuvik, whether it's this person that she's looking at, that can do this work in the Beaufort Delta because if we don't know who and how many residents we are serving, how can we solve the issues that they're ending up homeless and...

Thank you, committee. Does committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Bill 79, An Act to Amend the Judicature Act?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over this last little while I've been doing some more work on these homeless shelters, and what I found is there are positions that have been created in Inuvik and one of the things is and I'll repeat this, and we've all said it in the House. Inuvik, for one, is not Yellowknife. So you can't pick up what has been done in Yellowknife and drop it in Inuvik and expect it to work and all the same job descriptions and, you know, and expect that expertise to be in that community.

So can the Minister tell me when her department will ensure that there's a dedicated...

Clause 4, does committee agree?

Mr. Speaker, today I'd like to bring attention to the homeless shelters in Inuvik as I have many times in this House. Early on in this Assembly, I raised the concerns of the emergency warming shelter and the issues that they were having and having to close its door due to internal issues just as the temperatures were dropping. Mr. Speaker, the Minister's response at that time was to assume control over these shelters, and both shelters were dissolved the shelter boards were dissolved. I have asked the Minister what is the future plan of these shelters in Inuvik many times since then. What...

Clause 2, does committee agree?

Thank you. Does committee agree? There's a motion on the floor to report progress. The motion is in order and nondebatable. All those in favour? Opposed? The motion is carried.

Carried

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I guess my last question is, you know, it's this time of the year, the mother is concerned that there are fires close to that community; it is a time of the year where all the animals are coming out and, you know what, we don't want to think the worst but, you know, the reality is we haven't seen him for a long time and so within his department or any other department that there's funds available somehow to support the family or more searches within the surrounding area of Fort Smith and to, you know, with the police and everything? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Justice.

Mr. Speaker, as a mother of two children, I can't even imagine what Laura is going through with Frank missing. The feeling of not having any power and to feel that the RCMP is not doing enough to find her son. So I'm asking the Minister of Justice to commit to contacting the commanding officer of the Northwest Territories to ensure that the RCMP in Fort Smith have all the staff that they need, any missing persons expertise to continue the investigation to bring Frank home. Thank you.