Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the last several years, illicit drugs have been become commonplace in many of our communities. It has taken lives through violence and overdoses and has become an evergrowing public safety concern.
Mr. Speaker, in our regional and small communities, we know who the suppliers and dealers are. We know where they are taking advantage of our most vulnerable population through buying or forcing their way into homes which are then used as a base of operation. Drugs may be manufactured, distributed, or sold from those very premises, some which are government public housing units.
No community in the NWT is spared from this activity. Community residents know where the drug houses are and want something done about it. They want those houses shut down and suppliers and dealers gone.
Mr. Speaker, often, and unfairly, we hear blame placed on the shoulders of the RCMP and enforcement services. Mr. Speaker, the RCMP must work in the confines of the law, which include the Charter, restrictive legislation, emerging court decisions, all adding to administration backlog, lack of resources, and erosion of enforcement tools. Citizens do have rights, and those that are breaking the law know all too well what those rights are.
Mr. Speaker, in 2007, during the 15th Legislative Assembly, a piece of civil legislation referred to as the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act, which is commonly referred to as SCAN, was proposed by the government of the day but was never enacted. Similar legislation exists and is being used successfully in other jurisdictions.
SCAN targets residential or commercial properties identified as places where, among other illegal activities, the manufacture, sale, or use of illicit drugs is taking place. Based on tips and information from citizens, the legislation allows authorities to investigate and take appropriate action to resolve the matter, which may include informal or formal action against the occupant or a property owner. Or based on a reasonable inference, a court order is obtained to remedy the situation if the premises is being habitually used for a specified use or, again by court order, have the property closed for a set period of time. It shifts the burden of proof from that of reasonable doubt using criminal law to that based on a balance of probabilities used in civil law, that being a lower burden of proof to meet.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, talk is cheap when we already know what is needed. It is time we provide those frontline workers with enforcement tools that can be used to limit illegal activities that are taking advantage, harming, and killing our residents. SCAN is not the end all, it is only one such tool, but it is a start. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Members' statements. Member for Thebacha.
