Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On March 22, 2011, the deputy ministers of both Justice and Health and Social Services penned a joint letter to His Worship Mayor Gord Van Tighem concerning GNWT involvement on the City of Yellowknife’s Social Issues Committee. I tabled a copy of the letter on Wednesday afternoon.
The City of Yellowknife does not have a mandate to deal with health and social services issues within the community; no community does. This is a mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories. Regardless, the City of Yellowknife recognizes that they have a role in advising the GNWT and the Government of Canada on social issues within the city of Yellowknife. They also recognize that in city planning they need to be aware of social issues affecting the residents and how these issues can affect city administration and potential programming. Things like, but not limited to, affordable housing, community enhancement, and recreational programming are all affected by social issues affecting residents of Yellowknife and all communities throughout the Northwest Territories.
To address this, the city developed the Yellowknife Social Issues Committee to assist the GNWT by considering issues, conveying areas of concern, and providing advice to the Government of the Northwest Territories. The city asked the GNWT, in particular the departments of Justice and Health and Social Services, to have representation on this committee. Until March 2011 both of these departments had representation on this committee. By way of a letter tabled on Wednesday, the deputy ministers informed the mayor that their respective departments and the GNWT as a whole would no longer be active members of this committee. In my opinion, the arguments for removing themselves as active members of the committee were sound. Given the committee’s mandate, emergent areas of interest, and expectations of the GNWT, it is reasonable to assume that the GNWT employees would be placed in potential areas of conflict of interest. In the responses, the deputy ministers did indicate that they would make staff available, at the request of the committee, to answer questions on
specific programs provided by the GNWT which may be of interest to the committee.
This is certainly one option to consider. Unfortunately, I don’t feel that it will really meet the needs of the city and it certainly doesn’t provide the GNWT with an ongoing and timely community perspective. I feel that there is a better option than just making staff available upon demand. I suggest that to avoid a potential conflict of interest, that the GNWT commit to having representatives from both of these departments attend these committee meetings as non-voting advisors. In addition to being advisors, these individuals could be effective liaisons between the city and the Government of the Northwest Territories on social issues.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted