Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wanted to use my Member's statement today to clarify some recent comments I made in regard to the $1.4 million in additional funding for the 10 new RCMP officer positions throughout the Northwest Territories.

According to the Government of Northwest Territories and the Department of Justice, two new traffic positions are headed to Hay River and one to Yellowknife. I didn’t want to downplay the importance of traffic positions or where they were to be located but, according to the RCMP in Hay River, there are no new traffic positions coming to Hay River. If the Department of Justice is insisting that there is -- and I know the Finance Minister had it in his budget address that they are coming -- are they or aren’t they going to Hay River?

What I was hoping to do was draw some attention to the fact that drugs are our biggest problem and, in my mind, our greatest social ill. Families are being destroyed and ripped apart by the ravages of drug addicts. Crack and cocaine are ruining many beautiful young people and adults in our territory. When I saw that we had found additional money and were looking to fund 10 new RCMP positions throughout the Northwest Territories, obviously I had some concern over what these new resources were going to go for. In my mind, more of it should go to combat drugs that are coming into the Territories.

The only thing I saw in the Finance Minister's budget address, with any reference to drugs, was a dog and handler that was to be located in Yellowknife. I had some questions about the fact that it was here in Yellowknife, which is at the end of the road system. A large portion of drugs entering the Territories are being driven here. Why couldn’t we look at putting the dog and handler in Fort Providence at the ferry, or at the weigh scales in Enterprise?

We need more police officers; that’s a fact. We should also find some additional funding for dedicated drug dogs to help us tackle the drug problem. Traffic positions are obviously important and I don’t deny that, but I have to question if we’re doing enough to get the drugs off our streets. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Jane Groenewegen

Hay River South

Good statement.

---Applause