Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr, Speaker, I’d like to move, seconded by the Member for Frame Lake, a motion.
WHEREAS rates of mental illness in the Northwest Territories are disproportionately high in comparison with other Canadian jurisdictions;
AND WHEREAS a high proportion of persons involved in police incidents suffer from mental illnesses;
AND WHEREAS national research indicates that securing mental health services without resorting to the usual criminal justice system can greatly reduce the likelihood of further offences by helping individuals receive appropriate treatment;
AND WHEREAS introduction in other Canadian jurisdictions of mental health courts as diversion programs from the criminal justice system are proving successful in improving illness treatment success rates and providing cost benefits to the policing, court, and corrections services;
AND WHEREAS there are examples of provincial mental health courts developed through partnerships between existing programs and without the introduction of additional resources;
AND WHEREAS mental health court diversion programs have been designed to ensure that the rights of the accused and the public, and the integrity of the criminal justice system, are protected according to the principles of the Criminal Code;
AND WHEREAS mental health court diversions hold offenders accountable for their behaviour while promoting their access to effective treatment;
AND WHEREAS the highly successful model of mental health court diversion programs is adaptable to the NWT policing and criminal justice system;
AND WHEREAS the Department of Health and Social Services is in the process of reorganizing its mental health services based upon the Framework for Action for Mental Health and Addiction Services;
AND WHEREAS the recommendations of the Phase III Report of the Coalition Against Family Violence emphasize the need for diversion of offenders into treatment programs;
AND WHEREAS the Department of Justice has pioneered its Community Justice Program, providing progressive alternatives for rehabilitating offenders who accept responsibility for their actions, community input in solving problems, and reducing the need for incarceration in appropriate cases;
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Frame Lake, that the Government of the Northwest Territories begin research to examine options and potential benefits for introduction of a mental health court diversion program as an adjunct to the NWT court system;
AND FURTHER, that this government make note of this initiative as a recommendation included in the transition advice being offered to the 17th Legislative Assembly.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. A motion is on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Very briefly, the Minister of Justice and the department have shown very progressive leadership on diversion programs that support early intervention and prevention of correctional court and health costs. Secondly, the current review and reorganization of the mental health services underway is extending into the next Assembly. This coincidental and overlapping initiative is a good time to bring a mental health court forward.
I want to point out that in the experience to date in Canadian jurisdictions they have enjoyed very healthy savings. In fact, they found that 90 percent of the people diverted into the program completed the program and of that 90 percent, 85 percent did not re-offend again. This is a huge opportunity and I’d be very happy to see this government initiate the research, and claim the credit that can go along with doing that, and putting this before the 17th Assembly for their consideration.
I’d like to ask for a recorded vote.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. To the motion. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to say that I fully support this motion and I am very happy to second it on behalf of the MLA for Weledeh.
I think that anything we can do to keep our residents out of jail is a good thing.
We’ve had some recent court changes. The Family Violence Court is starting to prove, it’s fairly new, but it’s starting to prove extremely successful. We are far better off if we can keep people out of jail rather than putting them in, releasing them, and we find that once we release them, the recidivism rate is extremely high. Anyone that goes to jail once is quite likely to go back there again.
This motion really only asks the government to get things going. We’re asking that the government start looking at this program, to investigate it a bit, find out how valuable it’s been in other parts of the country, and make sure that we can afford it, that it is going to be positive for us.
I want to also say that it is specifically referring to people that are dealing with mental health issues. I think it’s probably pretty well known that we don’t make people better, we don’t make them healthier by putting them in jail. All people do not get better if we incarcerate them.
Apart from that, I really don’t have anything else to add. I would urge all Members to vote to support this motion. It’s going to only do good things for our residents.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. To the motion.
Question.
