Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement today I spoke about the problems the residents of Tlicho had with accessing service from the RCMP. Can the Minister of Justice inform the Assembly whether there's a standard service level that a community of a particular size can expect to receive? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me start by saying I want to thank the Members in the House for the support they're showing the RCMP. Obviously, yesterday was a banner day for the Northwest Territories, for the RCMP, and will go a long way toward ensuring the safety of our residents.

In terms of standards of service, the RCMP, with the resources that we provide them, determine where

manpower is most needed and scheduled accordingly. They are and have made one of their priorities working with us. One of the priorities we've talked about is staffing in small communities, especially those without detachments. We recognize that there is a challenge in responding. I know the Member is very concerned about it, and certainly we intend to meet with the Tlicho leadership. I know the MLA was instrumental in setting up a meeting that the dates had to be changed. We're certainly still committed to coming into the communities to talk about the service levels in those communities. But as per standards, I think it varies by community. There isn't a determined service level on the basis of size of a community. There are so many variables that come into play: proximity to other closer regional centres, et cetera. So it does vary by community, but let me assure the Member that it is of highest priority that we work on improving the service levels in our smaller, outlying communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I stated in my Member's statement, the RCMP workload is impacting on the service levels in the isolated communities. Can the Minister inform the Assembly whether there's a plan to increase the number of RCMP officers in the communities so that they can take a proactive role, rather than a reactive role in community policing? Mr. Speaker, mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the Member is absolutely correct in saying that when the RCMP is taxed and pressed because of the level of activity, they end up having to, first and foremost, respond when crimes are committed. They want to and are committed to doing proactive work, working with the community, working with the schools. We know that their presence alone in a community goes a long way toward acting as a deterrent, and that's something that is very important. So the RCMP is absolutely committed to that approach.

As a government, we've been responding to the RCMP's needs through the business planning process. They've submitted a business plan to us. It was a three-year ask for resources. We're going into the third year of that plan now and we'll be discussing that in the upcoming budget session. Suffice it to say there will be additional resources for the RCMP, but until that budget session I hesitate to get publicly into the details. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our responsibility for fire prevention flows from the Fire Prevention Act. Our department has many duties and responsibilities in that area, from investigations to inspections to building reviews; it is also involved in training, and we also provide capital for equipment. Colville has been a community that has wanted to live a traditional lifestyle. We've had the fire marshal going in two and sometimes three times a year to work with the community over the last while. The community has recently passed a BCR to create a fire department. As of yet, there is no active fire department. We continue to work with them and hopefully will have something in operation to provide fire services for that community.

But I want to point out, Mr. Speaker, our responsibility in those areas is in the form of support. We cannot force people to be on a fire department. That has to come from the community, and the municipality is responsible for creating the fire department. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Mr. Minister. I understand that the community of Colville Lake wants to maintain their traditional lifestyle in Colville Lake. However, Mr. Speaker, the Minister is saying that they cannot force anybody to be on the fire department. But for people in Colville Lake, that's where we have flexibility, and there could be some creativity by this government to look at training people in the communities that do not have any type of fire department training or prevention or other services. So they're going to sit around and see another house burn down. My question to the Minister of MACA is, how many times has someone from his department gone into Colville Lake to deliver some sort of fire service training, fire prevention program, public safety or education courses? That's the question. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't have that exact detail. I know over the

last three years we've been there at least once if not twice to set up training programs. We cannot force the community to attend. We have been very unsuccessful in attracting people. The community has agreed that we should have it on those specific dates; however, if the interest is not there, that's not something we're in a position to deal with. It's very costly to set up these programs, it's costly to go into the communities; however, we can't do it by ourselves, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if there are no fire trucks or no other means of having some sort of support there to fight these fires, how can you...People are not going to be interested. You need some equipment, you need some roads and some water. You need some equipment to get the people there. So it's ludicrous. My question to the Minister is because there aren't any kind of provisions in terms of protection against house fires, can the government look at some provisions to have the equipment there for the people to use? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm not sure what kind of equipment we can put in the community of Colville Lake at this point. Maybe we can sit down and talk to the Member. As the Member has pointed out, you can't put a fire truck in there because there are no roads and there is no water plant at this point. So it's something that we have to be very creative about. There are mobile water pumps right now; there are dry chemical provisions; but it's very difficult until we have the infrastructure in place to house a fire hall, a fire truck and the roads that they can travel on and the system to fill up. We can't provide that type of equipment, so I'm not sure what type of equipment the Member is referring to. If he has some suggestions for that, we would take that into consideration. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a lot of suggestions and Colville Lake has tons of suggestions to stop this type of situation happening in Colville Lake. Are there any future plans to start spending money in Colville Lake to look at fire equipment or some creative solutions in terms of training in Colville Lake? I guess the question would be, when will the Minister come to Colville Lake and talk to the people? They will certainly give you solutions when you get there. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am glad to hear the Member say that. We are very open to going to Colville Lake to talk to the community, to talk about the different infrastructure needs there. There is a plan to put in a water plant for next year. However, it's still a question of how do we get the water from the plant to the fire. We still need that mechanism. I would be glad to send our officials up there. I am hoping to have somebody in a position to attend the community meetings myself. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.