Masi, Mr. Speaker. The enforcement of Behchoko temporary liquor prohibition, Mr. Speaker, the first question I have is for the Minister of Justice. What measures have the RCMP adopted to meet increased law enforcement challenges of the Behchoko temporary ban on liquor? Masi.
Thank you. Minister of Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is always an ongoing dialogue between the Department of Justice and the RCMP, and this dialogue has been particularly keen in the last couple of months. There has been a lot of attention paid to the situation of bootlegging and illicit drug activity across borders. That dialogue continues. Mr. Speaker, I know that, later this session, I expect to be speaking to the police and priorities and would continue to encourage every community to develop their own community police priorities which can also then be a direct link into the activities of the RCMP in their regions. The RCMP have been, I also believe, particularly active of late in terms of enforcing alcohol and drug measures and have been putting out a number of their own press releases on that front. To that extent, all of that work continues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
From what I've been hearing from my constituents and in the community of Behchoko is, obviously, there is a lack of enforcement, a lack of officers at the Ray Junction area. I live in Edzo, and I go there, and I haven't seen cops on the road yet. I am hoping that they are enforcing it.
Mr. Speaker, the second question I have is, how many vehicle searches and check stops have the RCMP conducted at the Ray Junction since the introduction of the Behchoko temporary liquor prohibition compared to other jurisdictions as well?
We don't necessarily keep detailed track at the Department of Justice about all of the actions of the RCMP. I can certainly commit, for one, to just follow up with the RCMP and determine exactly what statistics they might maintain so that we can ensure that they are provided. Certainly, they do provide reports to every community on a regular basis, but on this specific discussion, we will follow up with them. I can indicate, Mr. Speaker, that between May 19th and 25th, Behchoko RCMP did make five seizures of alcohol within the prohibition boundaries.
Along with that second question, this is a follow-up. If the Minister can provide that if she doesn't have it with her, along with that consultation with the RCMP. How many charges have the RCMP laid under the Behchoko prohibition order? Masi.
Yes. Again, I don't know that the Department of Justice has right now, on track, that specific information, and it may well be that it's held by the RCMP. However, again, what I can do is at least ensure that that question is transmitted to the RCMP directly and see that they can follow up.
As I mentioned, the RCMP does have regular updates they provide to communities, and it's a good opportunity to ensure that, when they are doing that, that they are providing updates to the extent that they have the information about Liquor Act violations, Liquor Act prohibitions, since that certainly has been of significant interest of late.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Monfwi.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] Right now, when they put the restriction on liquor, we were told by the RCMP that they were going to help and do the check stop. When this sort of stuff happened within the community, people were trying to help themselves, and the leaders are doing work for the people and also get help from the RCMP to do the check stop, because we all know that the restriction is there and that the RCMP are not there most of the time. Thank you. [Translation ends].
Mr. Speaker, I certainly am pleased to be able to say that the Tlicho region will be getting two further officers under the First Nations policing program, so, to the extent that there is a need for greater enforcement by the RCMP, with more manpower in the Tlicho region, that is at least one piece of good news I can give to the Member at this point.
Beyond that, Mr. Speaker, I can also say I have now had several hours of conversation with some of the Indigenous leaders, including some of the chiefs from the Tlicho region, and certainly intend to continue to do so as or when necessary, regarding bootlegging or other matters that may arise in relation to the enforcement of bootlegging. I appreciate that question. Again, it's certainly my hope that, with these two officers, enforcement measures can only continue to be improved upon. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
