This is page numbers 1715 - 1769 of the Hansard for the 15th Assembly, 3rd 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 housing.

Taking Action Against Crack Cocaine
Item 3: Members' Statements

March 2nd, 2005

Page 1718

Henry Zoe

Henry Zoe North Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and colleagues. If the government hopes to achieve this, I suggest quick action to provide more resources for drug abuse prevention education in schools in all communities. We need to get a grip on this problem before it gets a grip on us. Thank you.

---Applause

Taking Action Against Crack Cocaine
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 1718

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Zoe. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod.

Justice For Victims Of Crime
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 1718

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I want to speak about a group of people who often get forgotten in the whole justice picture. I am talking about the victims of crimes.

Justice For Victims Of Crime
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 1718

Some Hon. Members

Hear! Hear!

Justice For Victims Of Crime
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 1718

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

It is very frustrating to hear so much emphasis placed on the offenders and their needs. We seem to spend a lot of time talking about what we can do for them, how we can help them and how we can accommodate them by keeping them close to their families and their culture. Mr. Speaker, if they cared so much about their families and really wanted to honour their culture, they would be taking responsibility for their actions and staying out of trouble. Granted, Mr. Speaker, some may try to take advantage of any programs offered and hopefully change their ways.

The people that seem to get lost in the justice picture are the victims of the crimes. We just leave them to fix and replace their property and mend their broken bones. Long after the physical damage is repaired, many victims are still living with the humiliation and fear caused by the offence. I am talking about people afraid to go to sleep at night because they don't know what they will wake up to or if they will wake up. People are afraid to go outside because they don't know if they will be attacked or if their home will be broken into while they are away. People are left to grieve for loved ones whose lives are cut short by brutal crimes. These people have to put their lives back together and what are we doing to help them?

Mr. Speaker, we expect transition houses for spousal abuse victims and their children to operate on shoestring budgets, while we put millions of dollars and all kinds of thought and planning into new jails, complete with recreational facilities, warm beds and three square meals a day.

Justice For Victims Of Crime
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 1718

Some Hon. Members

Shame, shame.

Justice For Victims Of Crime
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 1718

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Mr. Speaker, when was the last time anyone offered a program for victims to go out on the land, all expenses paid, to rebuild their confidence, their self-esteem and their connection to the culture?

Justice For Victims Of Crime
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 1718

Some Hon. Members

Hear! Hear!

Justice For Victims Of Crime
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 1718

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Mr. Speaker, I would encourage this government to make the victims their priority instead of putting criminals first. I know this is a tough message to send, but I also know it is pretty tough being a victim of crime. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Justice For Victims Of Crime
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 1718

Some Hon. Members

Hear! Hear!

---Applause

Justice For Victims Of Crime
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 1718

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Police Resources In Fort Simpson
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 1719

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Mr. Speaker...(English not provided)

I rise today to speak about community policing, as well. We expect a lot from our policemen and women. Of course, we want them to solve crimes and get criminals off our streets, all the while following a list of complicated procedures to the letter and avoiding the use of undue force. We want them to break up domestic and street fights; we want them to be running checkstops to get drunk drivers off the road; we want them to escort prisoners on remand back and forth between different communities; we want them testifying in the courts; we want them to do patrols to smaller communities within their own detachment; we want them to be in the schools educating our children about safety, the law and the dangers of drugs and alcohol; we want them to be consulting with leaders and working with community groups; we want them to be coming up with plans to deal with emerging issues like crack cocaine and crystal meth, which are making their way into the smaller communities. That is a long list, Mr. Speaker, especially when we don't provide the resources to make it happen.

Just looking at Fort Simpson where we recently lost an RCMP position, the need is already there for at least two more officers. The word is out that there are jobs in the Deh Cho and we are already seeing an influx of transients. Pipeline construction is set to begin as early as 2007 and we need to get a handle on this to protect our residents and keep our communities safe.

Mr. Speaker, I would urge the government to work with the RCMP, to take a good look at our policing resources and come up with a plan for what we are going to need to have in place to deal with the pipeline and other resource developments. We are running out of preparation time and I would hope to see a budget for more officers in Fort Simpson and maybe other communities as well, no later that the next set of draft business plans. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Police Resources In Fort Simpson
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 1719

Some Hon. Members

Hear! Hear!

---Applause

Police Resources In Fort Simpson
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 1719

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Funding For The Yellowknife Cops Program
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 1719

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, crime occurs 24/7, 365 days a year. The North has significantly elevated levels of crime in all categories compared to the South, including break-and-enters, assaults and theft from vehicles, not to mention all of the drugs and related crimes.

We, as a community, cannot leave everything for the police to solve. We, as a community, must do our part to make our streets, homes and families safer. We can do just that through programs like COPS. This is the mantra on which the Yellowknife Coalition for Community Wellness stood on to start a program known as the COPS program.

Mr. Speaker, I have attended and observed the birth and growth of this program from the beginning over the last three years. This group is made up of people who just got tired of listening to stats that were read in the House, like the ones we are talking about, who just got tired of waiting for the government and someone else to take care of the program. This is a group made up of women who had to watch their 12-year-old daughters getting lured by drug dealers and get hooked on cocaine, who they lost every weekend because they had to go out and get hooked up into drugs. These mothers would nurse them into health, put them back to school, and they were back into drugs again because these drugs were so strong. One of these mothers is supporting her daughter down south, because she has to keep the daughter away from the drug dealers and the triggers that keeps bringing her back to that addiction.

Instead of sitting around and crying over these things, all these people got together and set up what is called COPS, and this is a patrolling service, Mr. Speaker. It started back in February 2004. Just between May and November, there were 84 patrols done. They travelled 6,000 kilometres, and they reported 51 incidents. They don't replace the RCMP. They work with the RCMP. They are trying to do something about it. They operate on their volunteer hours with two donated vehicles and $5,000 of fuel subsidy from the RCMP. They are doing all they can to make a difference. They have applied to this government for funding and they were turned down.

Funding For The Yellowknife Cops Program
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 1719

Some Hon. Members

Shame, shame.

Funding For The Yellowknife Cops Program
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 1719

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

The government talks all the time about how individuals have to take...Mr. Speaker, may I ask consent to finish my statement? Thank you.

Funding For The Yellowknife Cops Program
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 1719

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude her statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Ms. Lee.

Funding For The Yellowknife Cops Program
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 1719

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, honourable colleagues. Mr. Speaker, I just want to conclude by saying we speak all the time here about the fact that government can't do it alone and that it is the people who have to take responsibility to make a difference. I am telling you that this COPS program of Yellowknife's Coalition of Community Wellness has done that. There are dozens and dozens of people who spent the last three years meeting every month to work this out. They are literally patrolling the streets. I run into them on the weekends. They pick up girls who are walking alone at night. They drive them home. They report to the police when they see incidents. They are making a difference. The city government could only afford $5,000. I could tell you that this government, with a billion-dollar budget and all that it has, surely can do better. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Funding For The Yellowknife Cops Program
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 1719

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Disciplinary Process For The Legal Profession
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 1720

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise to speak about an issue that has been raised to me by my constituents. It is with regard to the discipline of lawyers and the regulating organization that they have which is complaint-driven.

Mr. Speaker, the legal profession is a self-regulating industry, not unlike many other professions out there. This means that the lawyers have the ability to govern their own admission requirements. It also means they can govern their membership requirements, as well as decide their own discipline on alleged allegations of misconduct.

Mr. Speaker, the public truly has no role to play at all. The discipline proceedings are done entirely by lawyers. The only role that the public truly has is to lay a complaint. They can be a witness to proceedings, but they have no true involvement. The capacity to govern itself is not truly in question there. But it is the ability of honouring that privilege and trust. Mr. Speaker, it is not a right. The privilege and trust must be safeguarded by a fair process that does take the public interest into hand.

Mr. Speaker, in a discipline proceeding, lawyers must be ever mindful of being careful not to look after their own. Mr. Speaker, the onus on them regulating their own process is to ensure the safeguards of the public are there.

In order for us to ensure maximum public confidence, Mr. Speaker, this process must be under an automatic review when a lawyer is convicted of an offence. Mr. Speaker, there should be a requirement put into the act, not talked about as a willy-nilly policy. It would help this profession to enable self-regulating which wouldn't change if we made sure that lawyers convicted of all crimes go under a review process.

Mr. Speaker, this small step in legislation is not a big requirement to change the system to ensure public confidence. Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, I will have questions for the appropriate Minister, and I will have some solid suggestions for him to address this public confidence question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Disciplinary Process For The Legal Profession
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 1720

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, reports of standing and special committees. Item 5, returns to oral questions. Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Item 6: Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Item 6: Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

Page 1720

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to recognize Ms. Judy Hewitt. I see she has two colleagues with her. I am not sure of their names, but welcome to the Assembly. Thank you.

---Applause

Item 6: Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Item 6: Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

Page 1720

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery.

Before I go into the next item on the order paper, I would just like to take a moment to remind Members on both sides of the House of a little talk that I gave before with regard to oral questions on February 17th. That was to do with the length of preambles to oral questions and also the length of answers from Ministers. I just want to remind Members of your own rules. I know that, after that speech, you did very well. It is starting to slip a little bit. So just in order to help me get the most out of your question period, I just ask for your indulgence in obeying your own rules. Thank you, Members.

---Applause

Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Bill Braden

Bill Braden Great Slave

Mr. Speaker, the effectiveness of bringing justice down from the courtrooms of few and larger communities to the street level in the community halls of our smallest communities is something that, I think, we should have been placing a great deal of value on. I wanted to ask the Minister of Justice, Mr. Dent, this afternoon, are community justice committees well-established in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.