This is page numbers 45 - 54 of the Hansard for the 12th Assembly, 5th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was services.

Dennis Patterson Iqaluit

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I appreciate that Mr. Pollard may come back with more details and blow-by- blow when he gets in the House tomorrow, but I think, through us, the people of the Northwest Territories are entitled to know some basic facts about this major issue that has occupied the national press for weeks now. I would like to, respectfully, with your lead, Madam Speaker, ask the Premier if she could at least tell us, has the price of cigarettes changed in the Northwest Territories since the federal government's announcement of yesterday? Thank you.

The Speaker

Thank you. Madam Premier.

Return To Question 31-12(5): Change In Cigarette Prices Since Federal Announcement
Question 31-12(5): Change In Cigarette Prices Since Federal Announcement
Item 5: Oral Questions

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Nellie Cournoyea Nunakput

Madam Speaker, the price of cigarettes has not changed and there will be no change until such time as we can meet effectively with the details, with the Finance Minister, and to find out the exact breakdown. I realize there has been a lot of discussion in the press in what's happening between Ontario and Quebec, and I understand the anxiety that Members may have. What are we going to do immediately? I feel ill-prepared to bring to this House any indication of change, until I have the full particulars and the details of what is really happening in terms of what the federal government is going to take off and reduce, because there is still considerable debate about that. My apologies for not answering today, it's just that I'm ill-equipped because I do not have all the details. Thank you.

Return To Question 31-12(5): Change In Cigarette Prices Since Federal Announcement
Question 31-12(5): Change In Cigarette Prices Since Federal Announcement
Item 5: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

Thank you. Item 5, oral questions. The honourable Member for Amittuq, Mr. Allooloo.

Titus Allooloo Amittuq

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would like to direct my question to the Minister of Renewable Resources. I know the Minister and his staff have been representing the Northwest Territories in Europe to talk about the fur issue. The fur is still very important to the people of the Northwest Territories. I wonder, Madam Speaker, if the Minister is going to report on his meetings or his trip over to Europe, during this session. Thank you.

The Speaker

Thank you. Minister of Renewable Resources, Mr. Kakfwi.

Return To Question 32-12(5): Report On European Meetings Re Fur Issues
Question 32-12(5): Report On European Meetings Re Fur Issues
Item 5: Oral Questions

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Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Yes, Madam Speaker, it's my intention to provide to Members of the Legislature a short report, in the next couple of days, in relation to the trip I took to Strasbourg and Brussels, my meetings with the Members of the European Parliament, and some of the information I gained. The comments have gone to those Members and, perhaps, some of the communication of the exchanges we had in the few days I was in attendance there. Thank you.

Return To Question 32-12(5): Report On European Meetings Re Fur Issues
Question 32-12(5): Report On European Meetings Re Fur Issues
Item 5: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

Thank you. Item 5, oral questions. The honourable Member for Kitikmeot.

Kelvin Ng Kitikmeot

Thank you, Madam Speaker. My question is to the new Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources. I congratulate him for taking on this important department. On December 13, the former Minister tabled a document "Towards an NWT Mineral Strategy" and on December 14, in response to a question, she conveyed to this House that a thicker document was being translated, and as soon as it was available she would circulate it so we didn't have to wait until the next sitting of this House to review it. I'm assuming that she was referring to this NWT mining strategy. My question to the Minister is, what is the status of this GNWT comprehensive mining strategy?

The Speaker

Thank you. Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, Minister Todd.

Return To Question 33-12(5): Status Of GNWT Comprehensive Mining Strategy
Question 33-12(5): Status Of GNWT Comprehensive Mining Strategy
Item 5: Oral Questions

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John Todd Keewatin Central

The comprehensive mineral strategy was in place, and what the Government Leader said at the time was correct. I have reviewed it, since taking over the responsibility, and there were some minor adjustments I wanted made to it. They are now made and I will be able to table the minerals strategy in this House, hopefully by the end of next week. Thank you.

Return To Question 33-12(5): Status Of GNWT Comprehensive Mining Strategy
Question 33-12(5): Status Of GNWT Comprehensive Mining Strategy
Item 5: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

Thank you. Item 5, oral questions. The honourable Member from Amittuq, Mr. Allooloo.

Titus Allooloo Amittuq

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would like to ask the Premier if the government is planning to report to the Legislative Assembly on the sale of staff housing. Thank you.

The Speaker

Thank you. Madam Premier. I'm sorry, I should have directed the question to the Minister of Public Works, who is taking on the responsibility for the sale of staff housing. Minister of Public Works, Mr. Morin.

Return To Question 34-12(5): Report On Sale Of Staff Housing
Question 34-12(5): Report On Sale Of Staff Housing
Item 5: Oral Questions

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Don Morin Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Yes.

Return To Question 34-12(5): Report On Sale Of Staff Housing
Question 34-12(5): Report On Sale Of Staff Housing
Item 5: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

Item 5, oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Allooloo.

Supplementary To Question 34-12(5): Report On Sale Of Staff Housing
Question 34-12(5): Report On Sale Of Staff Housing
Item 5: Oral Questions

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Titus Allooloo Amittuq

Madam Speaker, the sale of staff housing is very important to my constituents and to other people's areas. I would like to know if the Minister knows when he will be able to make a progress report to this Legislative Assembly on the sale of staff housing. Thank you.

Supplementary To Question 34-12(5): Report On Sale Of Staff Housing
Question 34-12(5): Report On Sale Of Staff Housing
Item 5: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

Thank you. Minister of Public Works, Mr. Morin.

Further Return To Question 34-12(5): Report On Sale Of Staff Housing
Question 34-12(5): Report On Sale Of Staff Housing
Item 5: Oral Questions

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Don Morin Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I will make that available to the House before Monday. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 34-12(5): Report On Sale Of Staff Housing
Question 34-12(5): Report On Sale Of Staff Housing
Item 5: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

Thank you. Item 5, oral questions. Honourable Member for Yellowknife North, Mr. Ballantyne.

---Applause

Question 35-12(5): Level Of Policing In Yellowknife
Item 5: Oral Questions

February 8th, 1994

Page 49

Michael Ballantyne Yellowknife North

Thank you, Madam Speaker. It has been 100 months since I've asked an oral question so I'm looking forward to this one. My question is to the Minister of Justice. The question I would like to get a response to is on the level of policing in Yellowknife. Over the past while, the safety situation in Yellowknife, I think, has deteriorated considerably. For the first time in my memory, there have been armed robberies. There are break and enters, we have had drunken brawls in the streets of Yellowknife in the summer when the bars shut down, and we have unsolved crimes in Yellowknife. I wonder what the Minister is doing to address this very serious situation.

The Speaker

Thank you. Mr. Kakfwi.

Return To Question 35-12(5): Level Of Policing In Yellowknife
Question 35-12(5): Level Of Policing In Yellowknife
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Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Thank you, Madam Speaker. It is no secret that, as a government, we've had difficulty, over the past few years, trying to balance the demands of large growing urban centres like Iqaluit and Yellowknife, and the increasing social problems that manifests with the need, on the other hand, of small communities like Trout Lake, Resolute and many other small outlying communities that need the most basic policing services. That is, one member of the RCMP to be permanently resident in their communities. We've had ongoing discussions with the RCMP about this problem.

I have taken the view that we should, especially in consideration of the women, the elderly and the children in the communities -- those who are the least able to defend and protect themselves -- that there should be at least one person always present in the communities to give them the sense of safety and security. That has been my view. At the same time, I recognize that we do have escalating problems in places like the city of Yellowknife.

Ultimately, it will be, perhaps, political will that will dictate on how we settle where the limited resources should go. I think the RCMP will also be making some suggestions, in the next few months, on how they propose to reorganize and allocate their members in response to demands that face them every day. A review is going to be done in small measure to look at the work that RCMP members do, especially in small communities.

There was a time when the RCMP did all the work of the federal government and was the dispenser of drugs for people and dogs. They did welfare work and worked in many other areas. Over the years, through direct and indirect redefinitions of workloads, this has changed and diminished. I think it may be time to look at their role again. For instance, the RCMP are still inoculating dogs in some communities. Surely, there are other resources that could be used to decrease their workloads. That is the main difficulty facing many members in the small detachments. We need to look at that.

I have also suggested to the department that we look very seriously at the suggestion that there will come a time when we can expect communities, community leaders and parents to take more responsibility for policing themselves, their neighbourhoods and their children. There will need to be some attempts made by communities to identify ways to address the problems that demand that more and more police forces be made available in our communities. There may be a day when we can say that unless communities come up with some concrete approaches to resolving some of these problems, we will simply start to roll back the number of RCMP members that are allocated in each community.

If you look at the allocations across the north right now, there are large discrepancies on a per capita basis. Yellowknife is one example. There are other communities which are of similar size across the territories that have a huge difference in the number of members assigned. We have a pilot project that we just initiated a week ago, to have a joint funding arrangement with the federal government, to look at training some community members from Fort Good Hope and Coral Harbour. They will train for a month or so in Regina, return to their communities and be available to assist RCMP to carry out their policing duties. We will see if that sort of approach will help in getting communities to take more responsibility and ownership for policing work and to diminish the demands on the police in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Return To Question 35-12(5): Level Of Policing In Yellowknife
Question 35-12(5): Level Of Policing In Yellowknife
Item 5: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. The honourable Member for Yellowknife North, Mr. Ballantyne.

Supplementary To Question 35-12(5): Level Of Policing In Yellowknife
Question 35-12(5): Level Of Policing In Yellowknife
Item 5: Oral Questions

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Michael Ballantyne Yellowknife North

Madam Speaker, that was a long, philosophical, interesting answer, but I think it answered more than the actual question I had asked. I think people are very supportive of the initiatives of the Minister in smaller communities. There is no argument with that. Smaller communities deserve to have basic policing services.

Our concern, though, is with the Minister's responsibilities for the safety of everybody. Here in Yellowknife, the RCMP also look after the safety of Ndilo, Dettah and the largest aboriginal community in the Northwest Territories who live here in Yellowknife. It is my very strong feeling that the RCMP in Yellowknife, right now, are doing a great job, but they are really over-extended. We're at the breaking point here, as far as providing a safe environment for the people who live in Yellowknife. I wonder what specific steps the Minister is prepared to support to deal with this issue, before we have a very serious problem.