Debates of March 16, 2004 (day 1)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are following up on the Member's statement that I made, and they also relate to the questions that have been asked by Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Speaker, as I'm listening to the Minister, I'm going to say I'm very surprised by the apparent lack of consideration that the Minister has given to this issue. I would think that, as Minister of Justice and as the Solicitor General in charge of crime prevention or safety, he would have given more thought to how this could have happened and what we could do to prevent that from happening.

Mr. Speaker, that predatory youth sex offender, I'm sure, is an exception rather than the rule, but this young man is a very dangerous guy. He's had a long record of sexual offences and he's had reports from probation officers that said clearly that he was likely to offend and that he is calculating and predatory. So I would like to know what the Minister has done in terms of learning about this case, and has he given any thought as to what he could do within his power to make sure that this doesn't happen again. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of Justice.

Return To Question 4-15(3): Rising Crime Rate And Public Protection

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the issue of the two young people is a very incredible situation, and it's certainly horrible for the young people and their families. I am terribly sympathetic to that, but I have an issue here where there's a person who has been charged with an offence. It's an alleged offence and for the Minister of Justice to be talking about a case while it's before the courts is completely wrong.

So I can speak in general about the issue of what we're trying to do about crime in the Northwest Territories. I have met with the chief superintendent of the RCMP and discussed with him the issues that we face with crime in the Northwest Territories. The Member raised some of the issues about the increase in the amount of crime. It's not just in Yellowknife; it's all across the Northwest Territories. We have the second-highest crime rate in Canada. It is an issue of concern to me.

One of the ways we're hoping to address that is to respond to the RCMP's business plan which called for an increase in the number of officers, and hopefully we will be able to see through that some way to address it. Not only that, but the department has funded one RCMP position to work in the city of Yellowknife with agencies like the Community Wellness Coalition to help deal with issues of public safety. There are a number of different programs that are active in the community. The Citizens on Patrol program is going to be in operation fairly soon; there are a number of other ones.

Members can be assured that I am very concerned about the crime rates in the Northwest Territories. I can't speak specifically about any one case that's currently before the courts though. I will do my best to make sure that we can address the issue of the rising crime rate.

Just to remind Members, as we all know, we are not allowed to touch on issues which are before the courts, and also not to name names in the House. So just to caution the Members that if you're talking about particular programs and services privy to the department I have no problem with that, but just to caution you that you're not allowed to raise issues which are before the courts. Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 4-15(3): Rising Crime Rate And Public Protection

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't know if we're talking about the same case, because as far as I know this case has been tried and this young man has been charged and sent to jail for seven years, and this is his third time before the court and it has been done and dealt with.

I do believe that we have to show more than regret in knowing that our young girls are being sexually assaulted at knifepoint near a school and near a home. This is in our backyard. I have a very specific question to the Minister. Why is it that we don't have any communication plan? Why is it the RCMP cannot let the community know that we have a dangerous sexual offender on the loose? In extreme cases, why can't we do that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of Justice.

Further Return To Question 4-15(3): Rising Crime Rate And Public Protection

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The RCMP can do that and have done that in the past, but it is entirely the RCMP's decision as to when they should make that sort of announcement.

Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 4-15(3): Rising Crime Rate And Public Protection

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's good to know that they can do that, and I would suggest that the Minister let them know that they ought to do that in situations like this. My follow-up question, Mr. Speaker, is in this offender's case there are reports that clearly state that he's at high risk, that it is mostly likely that he will reoffend. There were reports on him saying that on the previous two occasions. Now he has gone to jail for another seven years. Would he look into whether or not in cases like this -- where there are professional assessments, where there are mental health treatment programs and assessments show that he's likely to offend -- there is something that we can do as a government? Could the Minister do anything to make a note of that and to make sure that that sort of offender who goes on probation is watched and supervised and the community is properly notified? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of Justice, Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 4-15(3): Rising Crime Rate And Public Protection

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can certainly, as I said I would to Mr. Hawkins, take a look at the issue of a registry and see whether or not that would work in the Northwest Territories. In this sort of situation, the new Youth Criminal Justice Act would allow a different approach, and that is an intensive supervision program. So in the future with this kind of offender, it's likely that there would be a more intensive supervision program in place that would reduce the chances of this kind of offence happening again. Unfortunately, that wasn't in place when he was released the last time. I'm referring to the individual in this case, Mr. Speaker, because the Member is right; the sentence has been issued in this case that she's referring to. I do think that in the future with that kind of support, there's less chance that this sort of reoffence would happen. But the federal law has changed in the interim since his previous release. So I’ve already answered the first part of her question and to the second part, the federal law has changed to allow a different kind of supervision to ensure this sort of thing doesn’t happen again.

Final supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 4-15(3): Rising Crime Rate And Public Protection

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Could I ask the Minister to provide us with his precise action plan as to what he plans on doing, a very specific implementation plan as to what he is prepared to do or what he’s putting into place for situations like this kind of offender? I realize we don’t have a lot of them, I hope, but in cases as precise and dangerous as this, what specific steps is he putting into place so that if he comes out into the open or anybody else of similar criminality that they will be supervised and monitored? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of Justice.

Further Return To Question 4-15(3): Rising Crime Rate And Public Protection

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d be happy to provide that to the Member. I’m not sure if she wants me to provide that in writing so that she’s got it in a lot of detail. As I’ve said earlier, one of the first steps is to try and respond to the RCMP business plan to make sure we have adequate policing here in the Northwest Territories. We are supporting community programs like the Wellness Coalition and the Citizens on Patrol program, which again should help to reduce the opportunities for this sort of offence to ever take place. Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act there is a new sentence that allows for intensive supervision of offenders, which again is another opportunity that would make sure that the offence does not get repeated. Those are just some of the steps, but I would be happy to follow up with the Member in terms of other steps, if she would like. Thank you.