Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There's a lot of light sentencing going on with the Youth Criminal Justice Act, and the sentencing is hoping to give these youth a chance and another chance and another chance, and it obviously seems not to be working. I'd like to ask the Minister if we have the authority to introduce legislation that may supersede this act and set our own policies. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Bell.

No, Mr. Speaker, we don't. We can't introduce legislation that would override this federal legislation. But let me talk about a couple of things nationally. There's a Manitoba proposal; there's an advanced number of principles they'd like to see adhered to in the Youth Criminal Justice Act. They would like to see and recognize that deterrents should be, and can be, a valid youth sentencing principle. It really isn't today, and this change could be made. We could also talk more about permitting repeat young offenders to be detained in custody. Another thing, Mr. Speaker, we could do is to limit the presumption of entitlement to bail. I think we could all recognize we have to demonstrate that people aren't a threat to society before they should be allowed out on bail, not the other way around, Mr. Speaker. So we have talked about some reverse onus provisions for bail, where it relates to young offenders who we're having a very difficult time with. So there are a number of things underway, but, no, we can't come up with legislation that

would override the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know I'm all for rehabilitation. I think the offenders are going to have to want it, and it seems like recently there's been a whole new philosophical approach to crime prevention and rehabilitation for young people. I'd like to ask the Minister, has this approach worked? Have there been less crimes committed because of this approach, or are we in worse shape? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Bell.

Mr. Speaker, it's a very difficult question. It's hard to know, in terms of cause and effect, what exactly has happened. It is something that criminologists study and something that we've looked at as a department. When we changed from the old young offenders legislation to the new YCJA, the Youth Criminal Justice Act, obviously the philosophy did change. It's less about custodial sentences. I think the idea is right. We may have swung too far, though, Mr. Speaker, and I think that's what we're seeking to address now. Programming is important, but there are cases where we need to ensure that public safety is upheld and we're going to need to make sure that there are custodial sentences. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to stress the vital need for a public library in Behchoko. As we know, the public library plays a vital role in the communities. Learning and enhancing reading skills and opening minds to new ideas are all positive effects that the libraries can provide. My question is to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Can the Minister tell me what funding he can make available for a public library in the community of Behchoko? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department has no capital funds in its budget for any libraries in the Northwest Territories. Having said that, I've offered previously to meet with the Member and representatives from Behchoko to see if there's anything that we can, perhaps, look at in a joint proposal. But at this point, this government doesn't have any money for any library for capital expenditure. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm curious on the funding for these libraries across the Northwest Territories, whether it be Yellowknife, Hay River or the Fort Smith Area; the public libraries. The Minister just indicated that there's no funding from the GNWT as a contribution to these libraries. I'd like to know where this funding is coming from to support these libraries because it's under education. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For instance, the library in the city of Yellowknife was built by the City of Yellowknife and it's run and operated by the City of Yellowknife. So what has happened in those communities that have libraries, the communities themselves have generally been responsible for providing them.

Last year, ECE helped six communities expand the services that they deliver through their school libraries to open them to the public. Where we can find ways to assist communities to do that, when we have the funds we're prepared to jump in. But when it comes to building a brand new library, this government is hard pressed to deliver its current capital program and we haven't been able to expand any of our capital programming to build new libraries.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Minister's willingness to sit down with the Tlicho Community Services Agency or the community government of Behchoko. He outlined the six communities that receive funding on special projects. It would be great to have Behchoko as the seventh community, possibly for next year as a project. So when could the Minister meet with the Behchoko community government or Tlicho Community Services Agency on establishing a public library in Behchoko as a partnership? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd be happy to meet with the Member and see if we can find a mutually convenient time in the very near future.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my statement this afternoon I talked about the residential school support and residential school in the Northwest Territories and of the impacts. I'd like to talk more about the issue with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, in terms of what type of support his department or the Government of the Northwest Territories is doing in terms of supporting the people who are dealing with the residential school issues, whether it be on a national front, or territorial level, or just through the ADR process. Can the Minister advise the people as to the type of support he's giving the former students of residential school? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Members are aware, the Government of the Northwest Territories is working to make sure that we coordinate support services for residential school survivors. What we're hoping to do is provide a government-wide support system for emotional support, for financial counselling, for helping claimants fill out forms, if necessary. We want to be ready to respond to family violence, including elder financial abuse, and ensure that we're offering victim services. ECE has been assigned the lead and, at this point, a coordinating group has been formed which includes Education, Culture and Employment, Justice and Housing and Social Services. From that support group, we will be looking to branch out, to bring in other agencies, and develop an action plan. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.