R.J. Simpson

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents: "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 497-19(2) Corrections Workplace Assessment;" and "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 528-19(2) Integrated Case Management." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The departments have already signed an MoU. All of the social envelope departments, the deputy ministers have signed an MoU committed to carrying this forward, and partnerships with communities and community organizations are essential. Going forward, I am not sure how they are going to formalize those or what is needed, but they are essential. We will be working with them, MoU or not.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The idea of having a full-government approach to integrated service delivery and rolling this out across the GNWT is a big aspiration, and it takes a lot of work. It's an entire culture shift. It's not something that can be done overnight, although I wish I could snap my fingers and have it done. I share the Member's passion on this, so perhaps I can talk a bit about what's been done and some potential timelines.

In January, the territorial director for integrated service delivery engaged with over 100 GNWT staff to provide information on the fundamentals of integrated...

I recently met with the commanding officer of the RCMP, and he had also met with BACupNorth. He was very open to working with them, continuing to work with them, and providing them support in any way that he could. I know that the RCMP also, here in the territory, undertakes cultural training and community integration, but I don't think they do elsewhere in Canada. In that sense, they are ahead of other jurisdictions.

In terms of what we do to address some of the issues surrounding Indigenous people in the justice system, there is the integration of Indigenous culture with input from elders. We...

Perhaps, once I get all this information, I can share with the Member and we can discuss about what the next steps might be and what supports could be offered. Right now, without having that information, it's hard to stand up and say, "Well, this is what we need to do," so I am happy to continue having this conversation with the Member. Thank you.

Of course, inmates can be referred to the FASD diagnostic clinic, and they do not need a diagnosis to access individualized supports or supports for individuals with complex need. Perhaps I can offer to provide the Member with some comprehensive written information, because there are a number of supports and I just do not have them at my fingertips.

We have about as many holidays as other jurisdictions. We do not have Family Day. We have Aboriginal Day, which is not a holiday outside of, I believe, the NWT and Yukon. We have the same number of holidays as everyone else, and, no, we have not gone out and asked, "Should we have more holidays?" Thank you.

No.

Mr. Speaker, I have to rise on a point of order. We are not to be discussing individuals who are not in the Chamber to defend themselves. It is clear in the rule. I appreciate the Member is trying to get information and that what he is doing he thinks is for the public good, but we can't discuss people not in the Chamber who are not here to defend themselves. It's fairly clear. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Upon release, former inmates work with their case managers and they identify what is available to them in their community and work with them to do everything they can to ensure that they do not come back. It does not always work, obviously, and there are differences across the territory. It often depends on who you are working with and in what community you are, but, again, I can provide this information to the Member.