Mr. Speaker, today I would like to speak about community policing. The Department of Justice is actively looking at ways of making certain that the policing needs of communities are met. The priorities of the department are priorities that have been suggested to us by the communities and regions, and by Members of this Assembly. These priorities are: a greater presence of native people as police officers; a greater role for community members in the policing of their communities; and, the safety of all community members, especially those who are more vulnerable. These goals are consistent with the goal, of the Department of Justice and the government, of ensuring that communities control the delivery of services at the local level and with the goal of addressing violence in our society through a policy of zero tolerance.
Fort Good Hope has already put forward the names of its proposed community constables, and plans are made for them to go to the RCMP academy in Regina for training, early in the first part of 1994. At this point, Coral Harbour is having a little difficulty recommending enough participants for the program, but we intend to proceed with a similar pilot project either there or in another community in that region.
We were most disappointed when the previous federal government, at the end of their mandate, cancelled the aboriginal constable development program, an initiative that was useful in providing assistance to a number of aboriginal northerners who are currently serving in northern communities. We will be encouraging the new federal government to reconsider this decision.
We believe that NWT communities may also wish to consider policing alternatives which would provide them with even greater authority over their own police services. Officials from the Department of Justice met just last week with representatives of the RCMP and the federal Solicitor General's department, to identify exactly the kind of support we can expect from the federal government in pursuing our goals.
The federal First Nations policing policy was developed to meet the needs of Indian reserves in southern Canada. Based on earlier meetings that my officials have held with federal representatives, we have been concerned about the inflexible approach which would have meant that many NWT communities would not have been included under the new policy. We continue to have some concerns, given the federal policy of excluding Metis from the application of aboriginal programs, but we are satisfied that now there is sufficient flexibility that we can work together with the Government of Canada in presenting a complete range of options to our communities and regions.
One of the options that the Solicitor General has put forward involves tripartite agreements for RCMP services, between the federal government, the territorial government and a community. This would continue RCMP services, but would provide for greater community control, and would include a commitment to provide an aboriginal police officer to the community within a specified time. Before the end of this fiscal year, we hope to complete a framework agreement with the federal government, to enable these tripartite agreements to be developed.
These tripartite agreements are only part of the picture, though. It will also be possible for communities or regions to move toward the development of independent policing services. I support making this option fully available. Of course, there will need to be a local consultative process to determine that whatever is developed meets the needs of all community members. If a community or region wished to move toward a fully independent police service, a transitional plan would be developed, to allow for experience to be gained locally, before RCMP services are terminated. Alternatively, there may be mixed RCMP/community policing models which communities or regions may wish to consider.
Before a detailed presentation on these options is made available to Members, to groups and regions, we will be seeking firm commitments from the federal government, concerning global issues related to these changes. For example, we wish to ensure that capital assets belonging to the RCMP, such as houses and detachment buildings, would be transferred to community police agencies. This is an issue which is somewhat unique to the north, because in the south, detachments are rarely located on Indian reserve lands.
Our intention is to develop a clear description of the range of options available, the role of the community and of each level of government, and the steps which would need to be taken. This would be the basis for presentations to communities and regional groups next spring. Community justice specialists in all the regions can play a facilitating role in these presentations, along with senior staff of the Department of Justice.
All of these actions could bring about major changes in policing. As this work develops, we will also need to consider whether it is necessary to have a Northwest Territories Police Act. This could provide the framework for local policing authorities, and for setting policing standards which require all police services to meet a basic level of public protection.
Mr. Speaker, I'm happy to be able to tell Members about these exciting prospects for community policing in the north. I will welcome the comments and advice of all Members as this work proceeds. Thank you.