Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when one lives in any small community in the North, one is subject to higher costs for goods and services.
Mr. Speaker, I want to focus on one area that I am familiar with, and that is the need for basic legal services to those who reside in the smaller communities throughout the Northwest Territories. What we in the larger communities take for granted, those residing in small communities go without. And if they want access to what we have, there is always an additional cost.
Mr. Speaker, as an MLA and a member of the Law Society of the Northwest Territories, I have had the satisfaction, over the last two years, of providing some of those legal supports in my community at no charge to constituents and those from other regions. Some of the legal issues that land on my desk require information, advice, and some drafting of documents. These services include wills and estates; personal directives; power of attorney; guardianship; Rental Office applications; Emergency Protection Orders; Affidavits; Statutory Declarations; land transfer documents; land lease agreement disputes; employment matters; contract/security document review; criminal law and court applications; and other matters.
Mr. Speaker, as you can imagine, if we, as MLAs, are dealing with the foregoing matters in our mid-sized communities, one can only imagine how the lack of legal services in a small community will impact the residents. This government talks about bringing services to the people, and rightfully so, and legal services has to be a priority. We as a government bombard businesses with contract documents. The NWT Housing Corporation place tenancy agreements in front of clients, seniors are signing off on matters that impact their care, finances and assets, and, in many instances, are signed with no legal understanding and no legal advice.
Mr. Speaker, we have only one legal outreach worker in the NWT who can only offer information and advice on certain legal matters but are not in a position to complete documents on behalf of the clients. We also have legal aid workers however they too are limited in what services they can offer.
Mr. Speaker, it is important all residents in outlying communities have access to legal services so they are provided with an understanding of their legal rights along with an understanding of legal processes. I will have questions for the Minister of Justice later. Thank you, Mr. Speaker
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Members' statements. Member for Deh Cho.
