Thank you, Madam Chair. There are so many aspects to what the Department of Justice does and how it relates to life in our communities. I think, as in the case of a number of expectations that the public has, too much is put on the shoulders of police or courts to fix things and remedy them. It is something we are always striving to find a balance for. Earlier today, we talked about the income security framework and how it can streamline and balance the delivery of all sorts of different things that affect people's lives. The aspect of justice is certainly a big one. One of the things that I look at is, well, what is within our realm, our ability to help make a difference, to give people more opportunity or better tools, better ways legally, through programs to help make a difference in their own lives or in their own communities. We are doing things, I think. In fact, in this Assembly, we have done quite a bit and are still looking at doing more.
Madam Chair, the Protection Against Family Violence Act is something that, I understand, has exceeded expectations about the uptake and the involvement from families who need exactly that, protection against violence. Madam Chair, we are soon going to engage in a long-anticipated review of the Liquor Act, not that this is going to solve all the ills associated with liquor abuse, but it is something that we can do in this Legislature that will modernize and reflect more current thinking and standards and put our values on the way liquor is administered as a controlled substance by this government. There has been a lot of work done in a very short period of time on the Safe Communities and Neighbourhoods Act, which also anticipates that something will come before this Legislature and the communities. These are all things, Madam Chair, that individuals and communities can use and that we can do our part as a Legislature.
Madam Chair, our colleague Ms. Lee referenced the fantastic work of another volunteer organization, the Community Wellness Coalition here in Yellowknife which, I think, is in its third or fourth year now. I was at their annual meeting last week. I got the sense that this is an organization that is really finding its feet. It has secured some substantive resources from the federal Department of Justice. I know that the RCMP, our Department of Justice and many other agencies have been involved with it. Ms. Lee outlined a couple of things that are going on that this community should be deeply indebted to that organization. I also learned at their meeting, Madam Chair, that other communities in the NWT are looking at what they are doing and want to engage with them to see if what these volunteers in Yellowknife have started could be also undertaken in other communities. I think that is a
major achievement. In reality, it begins to satisfy one of the visions of this organization, which was to enable a community to take more responsibility and have more involvement in what goes on in the community in the sense of policing and justice and making their community a safe and secure place. That is what has been demonstrated here. I hope that we can give them every possible assistance including maybe a spare vehicle or two.
Madam Chair, something that has come up frequently in this department is the role of community justice committees. These are organizations mandated to serve as alternatives to regular court practice. It seems that we still, Madam Chair, do not give these committees or organizations the recognition or resources that I believe they could or should have as the kind of alternate to our courts and our correction system that just don't seem to work for so many people that get caught up in a life of crime or especially the repeat offenders. I still believe that we can do so much more if we try to assist those people to solve their issues in the context of their own communities, cultures and family situations rather than exporting them to some other place for a few weeks or a few months and expect that they will be able to return being better off.
Madam Chair, my colleague Ms. Lee also referenced the terrific work of the RCMP in the community. While we have achieved new policing resources on the street here in Yellowknife and, of course, in at least a few other communities in the last two or three years, I think there are still things that can be done to enable the police to do more policing, to do exactly what they are trained and expected to do when they put that uniform on. I know that, here in the Yellowknife detachment for instance, Madam Chair, through some creativity and some new ideas and new thinking, they have brought in some different ideas about administration and freed up a lot of RCMP time, trained officer time, that otherwise went into paperwork or administration, is now being achieved in other ways. The police are actually able to do more policing. This is something that I hope we continue to do and that other agencies such as the Department of Justice and corrections and perhaps our municipal bylaw officers where in most communities that have them, can also be involved in sharing more of the responsibilities and, like I say, be more creative in delivering policing services in our communities.
Mr. Chair, that concludes my remarks. I look forward to getting into more detail.