Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, with respect to the honourable Member's comments about the victims having to leave the community in family violence
situations, I totally agree with the Member that we are penalizing the victim. In most cases, it's the females who are abused and they and their children taken out of the community while the perpetrator is still walking around in the community a lot of the time. It is an issue that, as the new Justice Minister, I've actually spoken to my staff on; whether or not we could legally do anything about it.
I think what it comes back to, Mr. Chairman, is community acceptance or community non-acceptance of these types of situations. I think how we have to deal with it is when communities are given the authority or have their increased their capability to perform some of the community supervision functions through the community justice initiative that Justice is working on, in conjunction with our department, we have to have the community take the lead in dealing with their own constituents and saying that this type of action isn't appropriate and having them instigate measures that would have the perpetrators removed from the community instead of the victims. I think it's a process that has to be seeded and developed over the coming years, but I think that's where this type of behavioural pattern has to be addressed, Mr. Chairman.
With respect to the honourable Member's comments about a survey or review of the suicide issue -- which is a very serious issue throughout the Northwest Territories -- and what causes it, nobody has the real answer. I think it can be contributed a lot to lifestyles; personal relationships; personal circumstances of your own affairs; whether you're employed or unemployed; whether you're housing situation is overcrowded; whether there have been incidents of abuse in your life in the past. There are all sorts of factors that are contributors to suicide.
I can say that we have put emphasis on additional suicide prevention training programs, in recognizing the seriousness of the problem. The Dene Cultural Institute, in conjunction with Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, are very active in helping to deliver the training program as far as suicide prevention. We are involved with them on a steering committee in development of the program and the ongoing delivery of these types of programs, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.