This is page numbers 643 - 675 of the Hansard for the 12th Assembly, 7th 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 chairman.

Topics

Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Mr. Speaker, I wish to inform Members, the public and members of the media, before Ms. Devine does, that yesterday I approached Ms. Devine inquiring as to whether she was going to play hockey on Friday or not. And that if she was up to the challenge, and if she agreed to play, I would do so as well. She very quickly concluded that I meant to inflict some violence on her...

---Laughter

...and scampered off to the media room. I was sorry for it because that was not the intent. It was only my intention that if I was going to try to play hockey with members of the media and my colleagues, I didn't want her to be sitting in the bleachers furiously scribbling down her observations about my, perhaps, rather futile attempts. At the very least, I would like some comfort in knowing that she would also be on the ice at the same time, trying to skate gracefully amongst her colleagues as well as ours. I wanted the Members to know that because we never know what the good lady decides to put in her columns, but surely I have been there with great regularity. If it should come up, I wanted Members to know the context in which those comments were made to her yesterday. Thank you.

---Applause

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Lewis.

Problem Solving Without Violence
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 649

Brian Lewis Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is late in the life of this Assembly to begin grappling with the problem of violence and finding some proposal to change people's behaviours. After racking up thousands and thousands of words about what is right, what we should do and so on, it is good to see people suddenly taking an interest in accountability, trying to do something to solve the problem.

I would like to point out that one of the graces of an Assembly like this -- and they exist throughout the world -- is that we try to resolve our problems through reason, argument, and persuasion and so on, but we don't put fists and boots to people if they don't agree with us. So, if we are going to suddenly confine our activities to doing something about what we call family violence, how do you define it? How far are you going to go? As far as I am concerned, if you decide to solve your problems with your boots or your fists, whether it is in a bar, on the streets or in the house, that is not the way to solve problems. I learned that when I was a very young man, especially when you get beaten once or twice.

I would say that the civilized way in which we do business, if we are going to really seriously look at this and really look at the issue of violence, we have to look in totality at the way we solve our problems and not just simply limit it to what may or may not happen inside the walls of somebody's house. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Problem Solving Without Violence
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Item 3, Members' statements. Are there any further Members' statements? Mr. Patterson.

Editorial On Federal Gun Control Legislation
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Dennis Patterson Iqaluit

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in a recent column in Nunatsiaq News by my former executive assistant, Marina Devine, and in an editorial in News/North, March 13, 1995, entitled "What's the fuss", MLAs are accused of jumping on a band wagon, of creating hot air over gun control because it is an election year; we are accused of trying to scare community people silly, that they will be jailed for acting as they ordinarily do in loaning guns or storing them in other people's houses.

We are told calm down, the law hasn't yet been passed and that we will have our opportunity to modify the bill through the parliamentary committee or through the team of officials -- some of which, by the way, helped write this bill, I am told -- which are being sent around to aboriginal communities to try to make sure the new law doesn't interfere with treaty and aboriginal hunting rights.

I am upset with these comments and I would like to make a few points in response. I will only speak for myself. I am not running for office again, I am not electioneering on this issue, this is a very serious issue on which I feel very strongly.

---Applause

And, I think it's unfair to accuse MLAs who express strong views on an issue in the fourth year of their mandate of electioneering, whether they're running again or they're not. This issue not only affects aboriginal people but a lot of people who are my constituents who live an outdoor lifestyle.

Let's look at our situation, Mr. Speaker. First of all, the Liberal government has a huge majority. Government Members dominate the parliamentary committee which will review the bill and the Prime Minister, himself, has stated that he will support this measure. Unless we make noise now, and that's about all we can do here in the north, we have very little chance of our concerns being dealt with. We don't have a lot of leverage, especially since both of our MPs for the Northwest Territories are somewhat constrained by being Members of the government party.

Mr. Speaker, I request unanimous consent to make a few other points on this matter. Thank you.

Editorial On Federal Gun Control Legislation
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

The honourable Member for Iqaluit is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Please proceed, Mr. Patterson.

Editorial On Federal Gun Control Legislation
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Dennis Patterson Iqaluit

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to outline some of the real problems that the draft bill proposes. First of all, let's look at the requirement that all firearms be registered. We own a tremendous amount of firearms in the Northwest Territories. As this bill is drafted, each and every gun in each and every community, in each and every household, will have to be registered with the RCMP. This will be a nightmare to administer in the Northwest Territories and very costly.

The RCMP are already overwhelmed with paperwork. Our unilingual constituents or constituents whose first language is not English are also cruelly disadvantaged by problems of paperwork like income tax forms and demands which come from the federal government in English and French. And I say to News/North, how patronizing for them to say that the new paperwork regarding ownership will cause some difficulties for people who do not speak English, but News/North assures us people are used to dealing with such problems. How patronizing.

Secondly, Mr. Speaker, people who do not meet these provisions as the law is now drafted will be subject to a criminal record; will be charged, not by summary offence, but by indictment; and, will face a minimum penalty of one year in jail for a second offence. I can easily see people who are in trouble with the law having these firearm offences added to the list of charges and, yes, without control of prosecutions we are very vulnerable to inappropriate values and misplaced priorities from the Attorney General for the Northwest Territories in Ottawa.

Right now, Mr. Speaker, as the bill is drafted, a registration card must be with the rifle if a firearm is loaned. I've heard defenders of this legislation compare it to having a licence to drive a car but not having a licence to drive a car is not a criminal offence. Mr. Speaker, these are some of the problems with this bill as it's drafted. I'm concerned that members of the press have not given Members of this Assembly credit for the hard work that has been done -- along, of course, with the Minister -- for progress that has already been made in dealing with issues such as: gun safety training; modifying the legislation in relation to areas such as the purchase of ammunition; and, perhaps, in securing no fees for general hunting licence holders.

We have made some progress in some areas, this should be acknowledged by the press. And now is certainly not the time to let up. I would like to say again that gun control is okay for jurisdictions such as Ontario which perceive it as needed. We don't need it here and I think we should continue to pursue a blanket exemption for the Northwest Territories. It won't work here, it's not needed and I'm going to continue to work on this, along with Members of this House and Members of the subcommittee that has been established. I think it's important to our people and our constituents, whether the press knows that or not. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Editorial On Federal Gun Control Legislation
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Thank you, Mr. Patterson. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Ballantyne.

Alternatives To Our Criminal Justice System
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Michael Ballantyne Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think that all Members of the House got a flyer about "Electronic Monitoring: A British Columbia Success Story." I think the Minister of Justice also got it. Normally unsolicited advertising ends up in my garbage can but this one is really quite interesting and I just wanted to share it with Members who might not have read it.

As you know, over the last year we've spent a lot of money on corrections -- I think there were 25 or 27 new PYs and probably $15 million in capital expenditures over the next few years -- and this seems to be one way to try to cut down costs. They say in British Columbia they've cut down $10 million in O and M and $30 million in capital. They eliminated three 100-bed open minimal security institutions in BC and they also say that additional savings were achieved through the positive affect on the tax base and reduced welfare payments, and 70 to 75 per cent on EMP have jobs and are paying taxes, et cetera. For those who don't know what electronic monitoring is, an inmate, rather than spending time in a facility, wears an electronic ankle bracelet and has very strict supervision. They have to adhere to an individualized case management plan and have a very strict curfew.

It seems to me, when we're talking about community justice, that this process might have some place in our criminal justice system. I just wanted, Mr. Speaker, to bring this to the attention of Members and I'm going to ask the Minister a question about this in question period. Thank you.

---Applause

Alternatives To Our Criminal Justice System
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Patterson.

Item 5: Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Item 5: Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

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Dennis Patterson Iqaluit

Mr. Speaker, once again, unfortunately, I don't recognize any of my constituents today but I do recognize Mr. Ben McDonald from the Union of Northern Workers.

---Applause

Item 5: Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Item 5: Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Ng.

Item 5: Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Item 5: Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

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Kelvin Ng Kitikmeot

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize two of my constituents, Mr. Eddie Amagonaloak and his stepdaughter. Thank you.

---Applause

Item 5: Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Item 5: Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions.

Titus Allooloo Amittuq

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I asked the Premier about the status of the official language directives and I had a chance to read the unedited Hansard. Mr. Speaker, the Premier seemed to be saying that the directives will be based on the availability of funding that the federal government provides. I wonder if that is true.

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Madam Premier.

Return To Question 327-12(7): Funding For Official Languages Directives
Question 327-12(7): Funding For Official Languages Directives
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Nellie Cournoyea Nunakput

Mr. Speaker, I believe the answer was that, given the new agreement and the new numbers, we would have to take that into consideration in terms of finishing off the guidelines. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Return To Question 327-12(7): Funding For Official Languages Directives
Question 327-12(7): Funding For Official Languages Directives
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Supplementary, Mr. Allooloo.

Supplementary To Question 327-12(7): Funding For Official Languages Directives
Question 327-12(7): Funding For Official Languages Directives
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Titus Allooloo Amittuq

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have an act passed in June 1984 and amended in 1990 called the Official Languages Act. Under the act, there are certain obligations that the territorial government has to adhere to. Would those sections that require the government to do certain things be adhered to regardless of the funding or would we have to break the law to avoid those expenditures that the territorial government has if they don't have the funding? Thank you.

Supplementary To Question 327-12(7): Funding For Official Languages Directives
Question 327-12(7): Funding For Official Languages Directives
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Madam Premier.

Further Return To Question 327-12(7): Funding For Official Languages Directives
Question 327-12(7): Funding For Official Languages Directives
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Nellie Cournoyea Nunakput

Mr. Speaker, I hope that the Member could be more clear and definitive on what areas he

feels that we might break the law. Within the resources we have -- and we are not only obligated to the resources under the official languages agreement -- the Government of the Northwest Territories does contribute to language development outside the official languages agreement with the federal government. So the only reference I was alluding to was that in writing the guidelines they take into consideration the responsibilities we have and how we can best apply the guidelines to make sure that we live up to those responsibilities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Further Return To Question 327-12(7): Funding For Official Languages Directives
Question 327-12(7): Funding For Official Languages Directives
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Allooloo.

Supplementary To Question 327-12(7): Funding For Official Languages Directives
Question 327-12(7): Funding For Official Languages Directives
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Titus Allooloo Amittuq

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In order to answer the question, to be more specific about what areas I feel need clarification from the Executive Council, in terms of sections in the act that have to be adhered to by the territorial government, I am specifically citing section 9, section 10(3), section 10(1), section 10(2), section 11(1), section 12(2), section 12(3), section 13(4), section 14(1), and section 14(2). I feel these sections have to be clarified by the territorial government in order to give more direction to their managers, in terms of giving information or communicating to aboriginal people; they should have clear directions.

Mr. Speaker, my question was would the territorial government fulfil their obligations under these sections, regardless of whether they have money or not. Or would that be based on the funding available to them, thereby contravening the law of the official languages agreement? Thank you.

Supplementary To Question 327-12(7): Funding For Official Languages Directives
Question 327-12(7): Funding For Official Languages Directives
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

That was two supplementaries. Madam Premier.

Further Return To Question 327-12(7): Funding For Official Languages Directives
Question 327-12(7): Funding For Official Languages Directives
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Nellie Cournoyea Nunakput

Mr. Speaker, I don't have the agreement in front of me to refer specifically to those sections. I want to assure the honourable Member that it's the intention of the government to attain as many of the obligations and do what we can in terms of language development. I'm not sure what sections he's referring to, so in that regard I'll take a look at the agreement tomorrow and provide a response as it relates to those sections. Thank you.