Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise with question period and my questions will be directed to the Minister of Justice, similarly as my colleague from Inuvik Boot Lake. In my Member’s statement, and again similar to Mr. Moses, our Member’s statements really talked about how we feel disgusted with the national rates of Aboriginal people. They’re not reflective of what’s considered fair and it certainly is a shocking or glaring reality which must stop. My first question to the Minister of Justice is: In the Northwest Territories we have a number of correctional institutions, would the Minister be able...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Equally, like my colleague Alfred Moses here, I too woke up this morning to the national news where they were piping out this story with a shocking, if not shameful, reality. One story clearly said that Aboriginal people are so vastly overrepresented in Canada’s federal prison system that current policies are clearly failing them. I could not agree more with that.

It went on to talk about the gaps in the corrections system, how it’s failing Aboriginal people. This is a shame. This should be a call to action, if not a simple marquis of this federal government to say let’s...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. How often is court-ordered treatment offered to inmates is not necessarily but as a direction that go to prison? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, that’s a bold statement by saying forcing them will not work. Maybe the Minister of Justice can clarify for the House where that reference and where the strength of that statement comes from. He must have some information reference expert that says, when you are locked up for two years less a day, of course, and you have nothing to do, that forced alcohol treatment… I’m talking about court-ordered treatment, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Has the department studied diversion techniques in the sense of their success rates? What I’m talking about is how people may reoffend. In other words, if we’ve given people an opportunity to not go to jail, which in certain circumstances makes complete sense. In other cases, they need to go to jail because of the balance of what they’ve been charged and found guilty of. Has the department found any diversion techniques that make sense? Because if our present population, on average, is 88 percent, that tells me it’s significantly high, and I’m trying to understand how...

Because we’re not allowed to ask the Minister’s opinion if 88 percent is fair, reasonable, or just disgusting, what I will ask is: What work has the Department of Justice done to find out what the root cause of this is and, furthermore, what are they able to do to help bring what one may describe as a reasonable balance in the sense of representation? Because I would say that 88 percent of our population representing the jails being solely Aboriginal people is not reasonable.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. From the list I have, it looks like a couple people were missed. First off, I want to recognize the St Pat’s Students Against Drinking and Driving, so the St. Pat’s students. Although I’m not sure if Sir John has their own students, but these are the St. Pat’s students that I’m aware of. The few that were missed off the list are Ryan Lu and Savannah Lane, as well as the staff member they have with them is Anne-Louise O’Brien, who I know works very hard with them, and we cannot forget all the hard work brought to making SADD so important, the hard work brought to us by...

Thank you. There have been piles and piles of reports by experts, advice in these particular areas. The government could field a library on its own on how much it’s studied over these particular initiatives.

I’m tying this point to expert advice and expertise on the panel. Maybe the Minister can speak to the expertise this panel brings to this discussion on the Addictions Forum, and maybe he could use this occasion to highlight what expertise and experience they have around this to ensure we’ve got the right people in this process. It seems like one that was kicked off quietly then set out to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I was talking about the Addictions Forum work and certainly trying to compare it to the work that’s already been done to date and tying it equally together with some of the issues I’ve raised, as well as many other Members have raised here in the Assembly today. It’s no surprise to the Minister and I’ve repeated it many times. I believe we need a treatment centre here in Yellowknife and that we need treatment facilities that are appropriate, of course.

My question to the Minister of Health and Social Services today is: Speaking to the...

The only thing I want to reaffirm is I’m not suggesting in any way they’re doing anything bad. I just think that they are a little-known office. They fall through the cracks of public view and they tend to get forgotten. Again, I just want to make sure it is absolutely clear. It’s nothing that they’re not doing. It is a question of just how they blend into the folds of government and the public loses sight of that and certainly what role they play. That’s all I have. Thank you.