Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I raised, once again, the emergency protection order issue. This does cause grave concern, as far as I’m concerned, when it comes to the falsely accused, and the justice by itself, by nature, seems to be ignoring them as now becoming a victim. My question for the Minister of Justice is: Does the Minister of Justice believe at this particular time the policies and procedures put in place to issue an emergency protection order are fair and balanced? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The emergency protection order is an incredibly valuable tool to battle family violence in the Northwest Territories. I’ve had an opportunity to talk with RCMP, NGOs and the department about the importance of these EPOs, and I’ve had an opportunity to look at the policies that exist and talk about those policies with the department and others. I believe that there are some recommendations that came forward in the report that was done in the last Assembly. We are looking at those recommendations and we will make corrections and improvements where appropriate. Thank you.
I’m glad the Minister referenced the report, because if he had a chance to read it – not to say he didn’t – but if he did read it, he’d also note that on page 28 of the report it talks about why RCMP like EPOs. They’re a good tool because they don’t require any investigation to issue an EPO. Forty percent of the officers suggested that. But at the same time RCMP have also noted and they feel that further information to confirm the victim’s accusation to ensure that the applicant’s legitimates are applied on good grounds. Pointing at those two variances noted in this particular report, I’d like to ask the Minister again: Are the policies and procedures designed in a way to provide fairness for the accused person for whom an EPO needs to be issued? Thank you.
The Member has quoted from the report. The report is under consideration and we will make improvements to the EPO process as we move forward. The EPOs are supported by a significant number of different groups in the Northwest Territories and they have saved lives. I had an opportunity to talk with the RCMP in Inuvik when we were up there in January, and they said very clearly that EPOs save lives. At the end of the day, that’s an incredibly important thing. Thank you.
I’ve never said, to the contrary, what the Minister just stated. So I want to make sure that that’s ultimately crystal clear, that I too do believe that EPOs will save lives and are an important mechanism in our justice system. But the way the report was written, it went further on to discredit the RCMP’s position by almost suggesting – I’m being clear here – that they may be biased on their pursuit. On one hand we talk about issuance of why; because we need safety and protection. On the other hand, we have a credible force or agency in our system that says there are problems and we need to investigate them, and then they discredit them. We have a bit of a challenge here. So what is the Minister of Justice going to do to ensure and issue an edict to ensure that there is fairness and relief for people who have been falsely accused? Thank you.
The act is designed in such a way, and EPOs are designed in such a way, that there are checks and balances. When an individual comes in to file or prepare an EPO, they sit down with people who have been trained on what an EPO is and how it’s supposed to be filled out. Those individuals, through the training – and I have confirmed this with the department – are required to explain to the individual the ramifications of lies, which the act does cover as well. The act says if you lie and you’re charged, you can receive jail time or fines. There are checks and balances in place, and at the end of the day, the act didn’t create the victims, it’s the person who provided false information or lied, and those individuals can be charged under the Criminal Code as well.
The system is designed to encourage people not to lie, but we can’t stop people from lying. There will always be people who abuse systems. In this case, the case that happened earlier, that did in fact happen, and the person was charged and convicted.
But the program is important. It provides value. It needs to continue and we support it. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the little leeway you have given me on this particular problem, because it is a big problem. The justice system, the Supreme Court has noted about the potential for people using EPOs is a tool for custody battles and divorces. The last thing I will point out is the report is built around three things: increasing awareness, improve access to emergency protection and to improve protection. Nowhere in this report does it support findings that are crystal clear that say that EPOs can be abused. There is not one recommendation to say we need to make sure it is fair. What is the Minister going to look at when it cites these and then discredits them? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the report is before us and it is being reviewed by the department. I had directed the department to review the training programs that they have in place, that people who assist people prepare EPOs go through to ensure that they make it very clear to individuals the ramifications of perjury. We need to make sure that people understand the ramifications of using a tool like this to hurt as opposed to help. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
