R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not even quite sure what to ask anymore. Let's talk about addressing in the short term. It sounds like there might be a plan to address it in the short term. Could the Minister elaborate on what that would look like? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Bill 5, An Act to Amend the Summary Conviction Procedures Act; Minister's Statement 1-18(3); and Minister's Statement 19-18(3), and would like to report that Bill 5, An Act to Amend the Summary Conviction Procedures Act, is ready for third reading. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of the Committee of the Whole be concurred with.

The federal government isn't too keen on funding dredging, and it doesn't seem like the territorial government is, either. I did a quick Google search of "dredging Hay River," and it came up with posts from the last decade, MLAs standing up in this House talking about dredging the port of Hay River and nothing getting done. Finally, we have a vocal MLA over here hammering this issue. We have a Minister from Hay River. When can we expect this dredging to begin? I hope the answer is 2018.

Thank you. Thank you to the Minister, and thank you to the witnesses. Sergeant-at-Arms, you may escort the witnesses from the Chamber. What is the wish of committee? Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I mentioned that there have been guidelines drafted up for the family violence shelters, and I think they are in their third decade of draft form. Has the government committed to finally finalizing these draft guidelines and taking this issue seriously? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, committee. Committee, to the bill as a whole. Does committee agree that Bill 5 is now ready for third reading?

I know that the funding formula is being drafted right now; they are still looking at it, but if you look at the way that the department is organized, I believe there is a family violence prevention position in there. There is funding through the Family Violence Prevention Program.

Shelters are tertiary care. They're not really prevention. With this new funding formula, will there be a focus on community outreach and education as well as just a place for people to go to flee violence? Will there actually be a focus on prevention as well?

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Seeing nothing further, we will proceed to a clause-by-clause review of the bill. We will defer the bill number and title until after consideration of the clauses.

Committee, please turn to page 1 of the bill. I will call out the clause number, and if committee agrees to the clause, please respond accordingly. Clause 1.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this past Saturday I had the pleasure of attending the kick-off of the Hay River Family Support Centre's fundraising campaign. The event was put on by a great group of volunteers, as well as centre staff who, I'm sure, were more than volunteering at the time. The event included a breakfast by donation, musical performances, face painting, as well as the official unveiling of the Family Support Centre's new branding and Facebook page. It was really quite impressive and a lot of fun.

The reason for the fundraising campaign is one that I've brought up numerous...

Thank you, Minister. We will open the floor to general comments. Do we have general comments? Mr. O'Reilly.