Thank you, Mr.
Speaker. My
questions today are actually to the Premier. I would ask the Minister responsible for the Department of Justice or the Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, but I think my questions combine both of those departments.
Today I made a statement about equal and shared parenting. Within the GNWT I think it’s important that we support equal and shared parenting. It’s in the best interests of the children, which is a clear tie to our strategic plan. First, I’ll focus a little bit on justice and then focus on health.
First, on justice. Within the current court system around divorce of parents it’s very adversarial, very confrontational. It’s in our best interests as a territory to support mediation and avenues within the justice system to encourage parents to talk rather than go through the process.
I was wondering if I can get the Premier to commit to work with the Department of Justice and have the Department of Justice and the Department of Health work together on a process that supports equal and shared parenting, especially around the court system and the divorce process.