Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, most communities in the Northwest Territories have a youth justice committee and, for the most part, young offenders are diverted to that committee. So residents in the community can decide what is an effective and appropriate manner of dealing with offenders. What it takes is an agreement or acknowledgement by the offender that they have committed an offence, and a willingness to work with the community to deal with that offence in an appropriate way. That is by far the biggest option that we have for young offenders in our communities across the North, but we are also operating

programming for young folks at risk. For instance, in Arctic Tern the staff there have developed some programming that is offered to young people who are at risk but who have not been charged with offences, to try and help them develop the skills that it will take to keep them out of the facility. So there is some programming that has been undertaken from our department to try and deal with people like this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, by the way, I'm very encouraged to hear that the Arctic Tern is not just being used as a facility for incarceration, but that there is programming that is available as an alternative. That's the first time that I heard that. I don't sit on the Social Programs committee anymore, and that is very good news. That's the kind of innovative, responsive way we need to deal with some of these issues. We have to think outside of how things have traditionally been done. Is there any other programming, Mr. Speaker, available to assist communities besides the youth justice committees? Is there any other assistance through the Department of Justice available to help communities who are dealing with issues of vandalism and crimes committed by youth? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the department has funded one RCMP officer to work as a community liaison person. That position has worked with the organizations in Yellowknife, Inuvik and Norman Wells. So there is a resource available from the RCMP to help, for instance, organize committees like the Wellness Coalition in Yellowknife. So, yes, there are programs available to help communities. We generally try and work through the justice committees in communities, because we have the infrastructure there to focus our activities. So they tend to be the focus, but we do provide other resources, yes.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it would assure me if I knew that young people who are incarcerated in young offenders' facilities were able to receive programming which would address some of the issues in their lives which lead them to be in trouble with the law in the first place. I know, for example, through the young offenders' facility in Hay River, at one time they did have a very good lands program for the youth which is intended to rehabilitate them. I think it was a program with a considerable amount of merit. So could the Minister please tell us, for those who are incarcerated in young offenders' facilities, is there adequate programming now to help them deal with the issues that got them there in the first place? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is a wide range of programming available for young offenders in our facilities, everything from schooling to special programs aimed at troubled youth. The On-the-Land programs have had a bit of a setback in the recent past because we haven't had enough people incarcerated to have the interest in going out to that kind of facility. The other problem we face, of course, is there has to be a willingness on the part of the person incarcerated to attend an On-the-Land program. They can't be forced to attend it. But we have, in the past, offered those kinds of programs and we do offer a considerable range of programming aimed at helping young people get their lives back in order. I know that I've personally spent some time in the school at the young offenders' facility here in Yellowknife, and I was quite surprised to see the range of programming that they can get involved in. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have one more set of questions for the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation. Mr. Speaker, there is a facility formerly occupied by the Northern Addictions Services in Detah, which I believe the government had some financial interest in and this facility has come back into the ownership and control of the GNWT. I'd like to ask Minister Krutko, Mr. Speaker, what is the status of the use of that facility at this time? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, the Honourable Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In regard to the Somba K'e Lodge, we are looking at proposals. We have put out calls to different non-government organizations and are considering looking at usage for that facility. It is presently unoccupied. We're paying somewhere in the range of $300,000 for the operational costs of that facility. We are looking at proposals from different organizations, the people in Detah and Ndilo and also we've been approached by the Salvation Army. So we are looking at offers right now.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at one time that facility was contemplated as an option for a family treatment centre for families that had issues with addictions. I was wondering, Mr. Speaker, if the Minister would consider applications or proposals from

either NGOs or the Department of Health and Social Services for a use like that for that facility. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the facility is an asset of this government and because it is unoccupied, we are looking at offers right now. We're open to discussing this matter with anyone who wants to come forward with a reasonable offer. It is open for proposals for which they should maybe contact the president of the corporation to open a dialogue. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, would the Minister's corporation give priority consideration to anyone who would use that facility for programming related to alcohol and drug addiction? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are open to finding a usage of that facility. If the Member is right, that facility was designed for an alcohol and drug treatment centre and the usage of it is restricted because of that. So the purpose of the facility does meet that goal. Like I said earlier, we are open to proposals and we'll definitely look at anything out there right now because we are paying for this facility. It's unoccupied and it is a $300,000 cost to the corporation just to keep the place heated. We are open to proposals.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I understand it has been vacant for a number of months now and the Minister has shared the kind of operational costs. I think it's been vacant for six months. If a good proposal for programming out of that facility were to come forward, how soon could that building be up and ready to go in terms of the structure of the facility at this time? Thank you.