Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Justice. I have questions for him in regards to the concerns of a constituent of mine and some concerns which were recently brought to my attention. A complaint was laid against my constituent. She’s a member of a self-regulating professional body, and an independent investigator was fired by that body and the investigation took place. The resulting decision, unfortunately, compromised my constituent’s ability to practice. The problem is that the individual feels that the investigative process was flawed and unfair and that it should be reviewed. I would like to ask the Minister what recourse for Justice exist for someone in these circumstances. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The particular investigation, of course, is under the RCMP “G” Division. At the same time, there are avenues that individuals can pursue. One of the avenues that is always open is the Public Complaints Commission. That is an avenue that we encourage people to apply if they are not satisfied with the outcome, whether it be an investigation at the local level, at the district level or even at the headquarter level. But those are just the avenues that we usually send them to first at the local level and then, if they are not satisfied, then the Public Complaints Commission is always open for them. Mahsi.
Unfortunately, the Minister did not understand the nature of this situation. This is a member of a self-regulating professional body. It has nothing to do with the RCMP. This individual had a complaint laid against them. It was investigated by the NWT body. The individual feels that the whole process was unfair and that it wasn’t valid and that it should be reviewed. Again, what recourse exists for my constituent? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, we need to be aware of what kind of investigation it was. We don’t have any background in this area. If the Member can share that information, I can have my department look at it even closer, what kind of investigation was undertaken by whom and what kind of processes are available to that individual. We need that additional information before I speak to it. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
I am afraid I have to disagree with the Minister. I don’t think that the details of this particular situation are relevant at all. This is an example that I feel goes extremely… It is a very pointed example relative to the need for an ombudsman. This is an investigation that was done under the regulations of an NWT professional organization. There is nothing within that organization which allows for any kind of an appeal. The only avenue of appeal is then presumably through the courts, which is something that this person does not want to do. Other than the courts, can the Minister tell me if there is anything for someone who is a member of a professional body, has been investigated by them, feels that it is unfair? What can they do?
Mr. Speaker, there again, I need to look at the file. There are processes within our GNWT system, within Justice, but we need to know what happened along the process. What kind of options are available through our department to assist those individuals? Of course, there is the court avenue that the Member has alluded to. That might be an option, but they can be dealt with in a manner that satisfies both parties, those are options that we need to look at. We need to look at the case file. I am not aware of this case file, but if the data can be shared with us, we can certainly look into it further.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. I reiterate, I don’t think the details of the file should impact. The Minister mentioned there are things available, but he didn’t go into the detail of what things he is referencing when he says there are things available that can be done. Could he itemize for me the things that are available for such an individual as he mentioned in his previous answer?
The process I can certainly share with the Member in writing about the process itself, what kind of assistance is available to this individual. Due to the nature of the incident, we need to clarify that as well. Providing options of where this individual can certainly look at when it comes to options, I will commit to providing that information to the Member.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
