Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Standing Committee on Social Programs undertook extensive consultations on Bill 7, the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act, also known as SCAN, in all regions of the Northwest Territories, and heard from 42 different persons and organizations.
Despite the initial excitement at the community level on the department's first round of consultations in November and December 2006, it became obvious to committee members as we proceeded that residents had serious reservations with the final version of the legislation.
The concerns raised by residents of the Northwest Territories centred on the social implications of enacting the SCAN; the rights of an individual to face their accuser and appeal orders made under the act, and the extent of the powers that would be given to officers appointed under the act.
Hearings were held in Yellowknife on April 19th and 20th and on August 14, 2007; in Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk on April 23, 2007; in Ulukhaktok on April 24, 2007; in Colville Lake on April 25, 2007; in Behchoko on April 26, 2007, and, finally, in Fort Smith on May 30, 2007.
Residents of the Northwest Territories raised the following concerns with the proposed Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act.