Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to provide a little background to this motion so that people know why I’m bringing this motion forward, why we’re debating something that is before the House of Commons in Ottawa.

Bill C-583 is a private member’s bill sponsored by Mr. Ryan Leef, Member of Parliament for Yukon, and it is soon up for second reading. If passed, it will amend the Criminal Code of Canada to (1) add a definition of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) to the Criminal Code, and (2) to establish a procedure for assessing individuals involved in the criminal justice system who are suspected of suffering from FASD. The amendments will require the courts to consider as a mitigating factor in sentencing, a determination that the accused suffers from FASD and manifests certain symptoms.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is the most common type of developmental delay in Canada. There’s increasing data to suggest that a disproportionate number of people in conflict with the law have FASD. Some researchers estimate the rate of FASD to be 10 times higher inside Canadian prisons than in the general population. Certainly we’re all well aware of the high incidence of FASD in the NWT and in the North in general.

Several months ago I was contacted by Ms. Liz Hanson, leader of the NDP Party in Yukon. Ms. Hanson advised me that Yukon is supportive of Mr. Leef’s bill and the positive changes it would bring about for criminals afflicted with FASD. The Yukon Assembly had considered and passed a motion evidencing their support and they were looking to gain pan-territorial support for Bill C-583. I offered to bring a motion to our Assembly for consideration and here we are.

It’s no secret that Northerners affected by FASD are far more likely to end up in the criminal justice system than others. Our government has recognized that those with FASD need different treatment and the NWT corrections system has established a specialized facility for FASD inmates to assist them in their rehabilitation during their sentence time.

The characteristics of FASD are many and they include:

1.

Trouble with assessment, judgment and reasoning, making it difficult for people with FASD to make choices that seem smart, or to consider long-term goals.

2. Poor memory. A person with FASD does not

choose to forget certain events, but is truly unable to recall what happened.

3. Misunderstanding of cause and effect such that

they have significant challenges recognizing cause and effect. Punishments are unlikely to

have any impact on deterring future similar behaviour.

4. Inability to generalize, to draw connections

between two similar but separate events. For example, being able to apply knowledge gained from one situation to a new situation that may have some key differences.

5. Inability to think abstractly, to understand basic

concepts in math, money and time. All rules and laws are inherently abstract and as such are difficult for individuals with FASD to understand and internalize.

6. Difficulty planning. They’re unable to envision

an abstract view of the future and to achieve goals through a series of complex steps. This leads to highly impulsive behaviour and makes it difficult for people with FASD to be deterred from committing a crime.

7. Trouble in school due to no diagnosis or

misdiagnosis of their condition and a lack of recognition of why they are misbehaving.

8. Self-medication is common, generally with

illegal substances, and we all know the effects of that.

Given these characteristics of FASD, it’s no surprise that affected people face challenges at all stages of their lives and often end up in the criminal justice system. These characteristics lead to a much higher rate of recidivism for FASD affected prisoners.

We recognize the challenges that our disabled residents face and we provide programs and services to assist them in their daily lives. We need to do the same for our residents affected by FASD and Mr. Leef’s bill will help us do that. Support for the bill from all three territories will hopefully make an impression on our federal parliamentarians when they consider Bill C-583, this private member’s bill, at second reading and hopefully they will be impressed enough to support the bill.

FASD is a totally preventable affliction. If the mother does not drink alcohol while pregnant, there will be no FASD in the baby, but we all know how difficult it is for us to remove the scourge that is alcohol addiction from our northern people.

While we try to eradicate alcohol addictions, we can at least give proper consideration to FASD inmates in our prison system. We can ensure that their incarceration and programming in jail is suitable for their special condition. After all, we want to help our inmates break the cycle of committing crimes over and over, help them become contributing members of our society instead of a drain on our society. I’m sure that’s what they want too.

So, Mr. Speaker, in closing, I ask all Members of this House to support this motion and by doing so, to send a message to all federal politicians that our

FASD afflicted residents need the help that this bill will bring. It’s my hope that Bill C-583 will pass and our FASD Northerners destined for federal jails will be the better for it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.