Thank you, Mr. Steen. Do you have that information, Mr. Arlooktoo?
Debates of Feb. 19th, 1998
Topics
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 945
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 945
Goo Arlooktoo Baffin South
Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Yesterday, I committed to providing Members a list of the communities that do not have RCMP officers. I understand that is in the process. I will ask the staff also to include the locations of these 425 RCMP officers in the NWT and provide those to the Member as soon as possible.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 945
The Chair Jane Groenewegen
Thank you, Mr. Minister. That is the end of time for Mr. Steen. We can always come back to him. I have Mr. Krutko.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 945
David Krutko Mackenzie Delta
Thank you, Madam Chairperson. My question to the Minister is a follow up to yesterday's question regarding Tsiigehtchic in consideration of establishing a training program within the community for a constable or peace officer. I would like to ask the Minister exactly what the status is to date with regard to that process and will the community be able to implement this program in this fiscal year since they have been recognized on the short list?
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 945
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 945
Goo Arlooktoo Baffin South
Thank you, Madam Chairperson. The community has completed a memorandum of understanding with the RCMP under the Community Constable
Program. I understand there has been training with some community members or at least a community member and there is more planned. The Community Policing Program coordinator, Mr. Gunther Lobby, is travelling to this community in the next few days and will be discussing the matter.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 946
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 946
David Krutko Mackenzie Delta
Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Could the Minister tell me when the MOU was signed? The information I received in September, there was no MOU in place. It was pending approval by MACA. Could you tell me what the status of that MOU is now?
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 946
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 946
Goo Arlooktoo Baffin South
Thank you, Madam Chairperson. I do not have the exact date, but the information we have is that the MOU was completed since September of last year.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 946
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 946
David Krutko Mackenzie Delta
Thank you, Madam Chairperson. In regard to the peace officer and Community Constable Program, is the community presently receiving funding and training for this individual right now?
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 946
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 946
Goo Arlooktoo Baffin South
Thank you, Madam Chairperson. That is my understanding. If the Members will recall, our explanation of the Community Constable Program is where there is cooperation between the Department of Justice, the Department of MACA, the RCMP and the community where we arrange for and fund the training of by-law officers to take training in the RCMP Academy in Regina, therefore, assisting the RCMP in adding to security and safety in the community.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 946
The Chair Jane Groenewegen
Thank you, Mr. Arlooktoo. Law Enforcement, operations and maintenance, total operations and maintenance, $28.015 million. Agreed?
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 946
Some Hon. Members
Agreed.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 946
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 946
Vince Steen Nunakput
Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Madam Chairperson, I have some more questions on how the department approaches the communities in offering community constable by-law officer training, and what they expect of these community constable by-law officers after they are trained. From the response of the Minister yesterday, it was suggested that this would enhance the police presence in the community that does not have police presence. It is my experience, Madam Chairperson, that by-law officers in the communities in the past were not expected to enforce the Criminal Code. They were never asked to do that. As a matter of fact, if you take the simple description of the by-law officer's title, he is a by-law officer. He is there to enforce municipal by-laws and nothing else. He was paid a salary based on that. Obviously, the department is now expecting to replace the RCMP presence with an enhanced by-law officer, but the fact of the matter is, the communities are not accepting that this person would, in fact, be fully trained or capable of handling a crisis situation.
Therefore, I am sure the communities are starting to question whether or not they should have taken this service on at all for the amount they are receiving in return. That is my understanding, Madam Chairperson, from meetings with the community as well as the statement in a letter from the hamlet of Sachs Harbour to the Minister, which I gave him a copy of. How is the department selling this program to the community? I believe that is what is happening. The department is selling the program to the communities.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 946
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 946
Goo Arlooktoo Baffin South
Thank you, Madam Chairperson. We have a situation here of the GNWT and the federal government that has limited resources that can no longer afford to put a couple of police officers in every single community. You also have a situation of communities, residents who wish to have law enforcement and justice in general closer to the communities and be more run by them. If you marry those two, first of all I think it would be much more desirable to have more police officers or to be able to give all these communities that require or want police officers those officers, but the fact of the matter is we cannot. We cannot afford to do that. Over the years, through MACA, the hamlets and the communities have gained the ability to hire and train by-law officers and to have these peace officer types in the communities who have some training. If you go a step further from that, what you could have and what we have in some communities is an arrangement where these by-law officers receive further training, upgrade their skills and their knowledge. They work closer with the RCMP and help the community in general in the security and safety area. I know this is not as desirable as having at least a couple of full-time police officers all the time in the community, but in some communities it is working very well. In many communities, it has made the RCMP more accessible, more accepted, et cetera. It is a relatively new program that we see as a viable option or addition to law enforcement or the restorative justice that we want. Thank you.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 946
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 946
Vince Steen Nunakput
Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Madam Chairperson, I understand that the Police Constable Training Program that went on in Fort Good Hope and in Coral Harbour was one level up from community constable. It is quite effective and very satisfactory to the communities. Could the Minister tell me what it would cost to have this type of constable in other communities? What would the cost be to this government?
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 946
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 946
Goo Arlooktoo Baffin South
Thank you, Madam Chairperson.
It is important to say to the Member that I do appreciate his comments and the Department of Justice, at no point, pretends to have all the answers. I do appreciate his feedback on this, very much. The pilot projects which occurred in Coral Harbour and Fort Good Hope were successful, as far as I can understand. The draw back with those projects was and is the extra amount of money it takes to run them because you are talking about hiring some extra part-time staff. At this point in time, the government or the RCMP cannot afford that much extra resources.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 947
The Chair Jane Groenewegen
Thank you, Mr. Arlooktoo. Law Enforcement, operations and maintenance, total operations and maintenance, $28.015 million.