Thank you, Mr. Speaker. WHEREAS Bill C-583, An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder), is before the House of Commons;
AND WHEREAS Bill C-583 seeks to define fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) in the Criminal Code and to allow the courts to order assessments and consider mitigating circumstances where FASD contributes to the offence;
AND WHEREAS fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is an incurable developmental disability resulting from exposure to alcohol before birth;
AND WHEREAS 43 percent of the NWT population regularly consumes five or more drinks per occasion, according to the 2009 Addictions Report;
AND WHEREAS FASD affects hundreds of residents in our territory;
AND WHEREAS individuals affected by FASD have a diminished capacity to grasp the consequences of their own and others’ behaviour;
AND WHEREAS this government and Legislative Assembly have publicly stated our collective commitment to support individuals affected by FASD;
AND WHEREAS this government and Legislative Assembly have an opportunity to urge the Government of Canada to support Bill C-583 and schedule full committee hearings, including the testimony of expert witnesses;
AND WHEREAS this government and Legislative Assembly have an opportunity to collaborate with the governments and Legislative Assemblies of the Yukon and Nunavut to express pan-territorial support for Bill C-583;
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Members of this Legislative Assembly strongly urge our federal and territorial counterparts to support Bill C-583 and urge the Parliament of Canada to schedule full committee hearings with testimony of expert witnesses, including at least one hearing in the Northwest Territories;
AND FURTHER, that Members of this Legislative Assembly urge the Member of Parliament for the Western Arctic to support Bill C-583.
Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Motion is in order. To the motion. Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to provide a little background to this motion so that people know why I’m bringing this motion forward, why we’re debating something that is before the House of Commons in Ottawa.
Bill C-583 is a private member’s bill sponsored by Mr. Ryan Leef, Member of Parliament for Yukon, and it is soon up for second reading. If passed, it will amend the Criminal Code of Canada to (1) add a definition of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) to the Criminal Code, and (2) to establish a procedure for assessing individuals involved in the criminal justice system who are suspected of suffering from FASD. The amendments will require the courts to consider as a mitigating factor in sentencing, a determination that the accused suffers from FASD and manifests certain symptoms.
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is the most common type of developmental delay in Canada. There’s increasing data to suggest that a disproportionate number of people in conflict with the law have FASD. Some researchers estimate the rate of FASD to be 10 times higher inside Canadian prisons than in the general population. Certainly we’re all well aware of the high incidence of FASD in the NWT and in the North in general.
Several months ago I was contacted by Ms. Liz Hanson, leader of the NDP Party in Yukon. Ms. Hanson advised me that Yukon is supportive of Mr. Leef’s bill and the positive changes it would bring about for criminals afflicted with FASD. The Yukon Assembly had considered and passed a motion evidencing their support and they were looking to gain pan-territorial support for Bill C-583. I offered to bring a motion to our Assembly for consideration and here we are.
It’s no secret that Northerners affected by FASD are far more likely to end up in the criminal justice system than others. Our government has recognized that those with FASD need different treatment and the NWT corrections system has established a specialized facility for FASD inmates to assist them in their rehabilitation during their sentence time.
The characteristics of FASD are many and they include:
Trouble with assessment, judgment and reasoning, making it difficult for people with FASD to make choices that seem smart, or to consider long-term goals.
Poor memory. A person with FASD does not choose to forget certain events, but is truly unable to recall what happened.
Misunderstanding of cause and effect such that they have significant challenges recognizing cause and effect. Punishments are unlikely to have any impact on deterring future similar behaviour.
Inability to generalize, to draw connections between two similar but separate events. For example, being able to apply knowledge gained from one situation to a new situation that may have some key differences.
Inability to think abstractly, to understand basic concepts in math, money and time. All rules and laws are inherently abstract and as such are difficult for individuals with FASD to understand and internalize.
Difficulty planning. They’re unable to envision an abstract view of the future and to achieve goals through a series of complex steps. This leads to highly impulsive behaviour and makes it difficult for people with FASD to be deterred from committing a crime.
Trouble in school due to no diagnosis or misdiagnosis of their condition and a lack of recognition of why they are misbehaving.
Self-medication is common, generally with illegal substances, and we all know the effects of that.
Given these characteristics of FASD, it’s no surprise that affected people face challenges at all stages of their lives and often end up in the criminal justice system. These characteristics lead to a much higher rate of recidivism for FASD affected prisoners.
We recognize the challenges that our disabled residents face and we provide programs and services to assist them in their daily lives. We need to do the same for our residents affected by FASD and Mr. Leef’s bill will help us do that. Support for the bill from all three territories will hopefully make an impression on our federal parliamentarians when they consider Bill C-583, this private member’s bill, at second reading and hopefully they will be impressed enough to support the bill.
FASD is a totally preventable affliction. If the mother does not drink alcohol while pregnant, there will be no FASD in the baby, but we all know how difficult it is for us to remove the scourge that is alcohol addiction from our northern people.
While we try to eradicate alcohol addictions, we can at least give proper consideration to FASD inmates in our prison system. We can ensure that their incarceration and programming in jail is suitable for their special condition. After all, we want to help our inmates break the cycle of committing crimes over and over, help them become contributing members of our society instead of a drain on our society. I’m sure that’s what they want too.
So, Mr. Speaker, in closing, I ask all Members of this House to support this motion and by doing so, to send a message to all federal politicians that our FASD afflicted residents need the help that this bill will bring. It’s my hope that Bill C-583 will pass and our FASD Northerners destined for federal jails will be the better for it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. I will allow the seconder to the motion to speak. Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would just like to, first of all, acknowledge and thank Ms. Bisaro for bringing this bill into the House so we can have a good debate on it today. I would also like to make a special recognition and acknowledgement of Mr. Ryan Leef who brought this private member’s bill forward that is now being debated before the House of Commons. I think what gives strength and credit and the need for this bill is the previous career that Mr. Leef had, and that was in law enforcement, and all the work he did in dealing with such individuals and seeing the need to have some type of system in place and that we need to amend the Criminal Code to make those much needed amendments.
More importantly, this government is actually going through a Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan, which we are recognizing wellness courts, which is an opportunity to address specific individuals with mental health disorders or mental health delays that might help them with diversion or in the court system.
We already know the high cost associated with the court system, for one thing, with our incarcerations in the jail system as well. I think this would really reflect on the cost that we, as government, do put forward, not only that, but if we do a pan-territorial support with both Nunavut and Yukon, it might cut down the cost and see the need for resources we need in other areas, such as mental health counselling, and start putting our efforts towards prevention, promotion, education and awareness in other areas.
Mr. Speaker, I also agree that we do need one hearing here in the NWT. I think that would be beneficial to all our health professionals and our professionals in the judicial system, RCMP officers, lawyers, all those associated when we have somebody that may have FASD and they are going through the court system, all the expertise they can bring, experience that they have.
Although there are some challenges such as assessments and diagnosis, when you look and do research on this bill at hand, Alberta is the leading province and jurisdiction and making the biggest commitment and has done the most adult diagnostic and assessment clinics in all of Canada. With something like this coming forward, as a pan-territorial and even the NWT moving forward, we can build off of what Alberta is doing and start implementing those things in the Northwest Territories so we don’t have people slipping through the system, that we help people who need the help sooner than later and it shows the need for resources in the Northwest Territories. Hopefully it will cut down on some of the high cost associated with people being incarcerated, cut down on the backlogs of people who need lawyers and those types of things.
Once again, I thank Ms. Bisaro for bringing this bill forward and I do believe that the 17th Legislative Assembly needs to support this private member’s bill that is before the House of Commons. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. To the motion. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank my colleagues for bringing forward this motion. As we know, this disorder occurs at varying degrees and, in some cases, judgment capability is impaired in individuals, as Ms. Bisaro has clearly laid out. Judgment may become quite limited and equivalent to that of a child, even when they are fully grown adults. Yet, our system and our laws treat these people as if they have the full ability of an adult to make logical judgments. This is where we start to really get into trouble.
The current laws assures them of their rights as an individual to make those judgments typical of adults, and without full capacity for reasoning and judgment leads to very tragic consequences.
People with FASD often don’t have this capability and, again, they end up playing a role that leads to getting off track and causing a lot of problems for family members as well as themselves and society.
The consequences also end up in our corrections system all too frequently and repeatedly. There is exposure to our corrections system which is not fully equipped to deal with people with FASD. They are not funded appropriately for that. They don’t have the necessary expertise. Again, this is exacerbated further when people don’t have a clear diagnosis or assessment.
As mentioned, this leads to tragedy for families, especially for those people with FASD as well as the individuals themselves: their parents who are trying to care for them often even when they’re adults in physical age, and their siblings and their friends.
So, I appreciate that there are some steps being reflected in this private member’s bill at the federal level. I think it is appropriate to speak out in support of this. I am also encouraged that this government is moving this fall, I believe, towards the implementation of a wellness court, which takes acknowledgement of this situation and begins to address this condition and the consequences of it right here in the Northwest Territories for residents and families.
So this is a national issue, certainly, but it’s also a very big issue in the Northwest Territories. Again, thanks to my colleagues. I will be supporting the motion. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. To the motion. Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Members for their comments as well.
FASD affects far too many Northerners. As a government, we are committed to supporting people who live with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. We are always seeking out new and better ways to offer that support. That can include working with both Yukon and Nunavut and learning from their experiences. We certainly appreciate the commitment that led Ryan Leef, the Yukon Member of Parliament, to introduce this private member’s bill in Parliament.
People with FASD need access to services and supports when they run into trouble with the law. They can have difficulty understanding the consequences of their actions and we agree that the court system needs more flexibility to deal meaningfully with them.
In the past decade, the Yukon has shown leadership in their response to FASD in criminal courts. Since 2007 they have provided support to those with FASD through their community wellness court. The Northwest Territories has been working very closely with the Yukon as we prepare to launch our own wellness court later this year. This court will not only deal with persons with FASD but with people with other cognitive impairments, mental health and addictions issues.
That flexibility, Mr. Speaker, is a key part of the project. The primary goal of the NWT wellness court is to reduce recidivism while helping offenders access needed services and supports related to the underlying issues and challenges that they live with.
Federal, provincial and territorial officials are working on a justice response to FASD and other cognitive disabilities. They are collaborating with the Canadian Bar Association and reaching out to professionals who are involved in diagnoses and assessment. Any changes to federal legislation, however, whether through Mr. Leef’s private member’s bill or other initiatives, must come with sufficient funding so we can deliver quality justice services to all of our citizens.
Mr. Speaker, Cabinet will be supporting this motion today. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. I will allow the mover of the motion, Ms. Bisaro, for closing remarks.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to, first of all, as did Mr. Moses, recognize the actions of Mr. Leef to bring his private member’s bill to the Parliament of Canada. It’s a bill that will assist Northerners right across the whole of the North.
I’d like to thank my colleagues who have spoken in favour of the bill and I’d like to thank the seconder of the motion, Mr. Moses, for doing that job for me. I’m pleased to hear that there’s recognition of the need to address the problem of FASD by Members and by Cabinet alike. I really appreciate that.
