This is page numbers 3619 – 3642 of the Hansard for the 17th Assembly, 5th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was questions.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Moses. The Minister of Justice, Minister Ramsay.

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Stiffer penalties were introduced a number of years ago. I think it was three or four years back for bootleggers in the Northwest Territories, stiffer fines and a possibility of incarceration as well.

We continue to work with the RCMP to ensure that we have the patrols, especially on the winter road, that we are trying to get the drug dealers and bootleggers off the streets and out of our communities. It’s really incumbent, especially in the smaller communities where folks in many cases know who the drug dealers are, they know who the bootleggers are, that they say something about it. I’d encourage the Member to keep promoting Crime Stoppers and the anonymous way that folks can call Crime Stoppers to report a crime, report bootleggers, report drug dealers and we’d make our best effort to ensure that our communities are free from the bootleggers and drug dealers. Thank you.

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

If stiffer penalties were introduced four years ago, we’re still continuing to see these issues in the communities. Obviously we need to address the situation but, as I said in my Member’s statement, government can’t do it alone. We need the support of our residents to speak up and speak out on this. In that case, some of our residents are afraid to say anything or be a witness or go to court to provide some of this information.

What is the government doing to provide that support to our residents who want to speak up and how are we going to keep them safe? Does he have a plan to assist those that want to get the drug dealers out of their communities? Thank you.

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

We need to, again, extol the reality that Crime Stoppers is an anonymous vehicle for folks to make a call. They can also text a complaint to Crime Stoppers. They won’t have to go to court. I served some time previously on the Crime Stoppers board here in the Northwest Territories. It is an anonymous program and it’s a program that works. Tips that are phoned in to Crime Stoppers will be investigated and I would encourage the Member, we can get him a poster for his office in Inuvik, a Crime Stoppers poster. I’d encourage all Members to keep supporting Crime Stoppers here in the Northwest Territories and the good work that program can do. People can make

anonymous tips to the RCMP so they can be investigated and, again, in many cases, especially in the smaller communities, community members know who the drug dealers are and who the bootleggers are. Thank you.

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

The Minister referred to Crime Stoppers and it is an anonymous way to get the information to those that need it to see about some type of case or some type of file.

Does the Minister have statistics on the amount of times that Crime Stoppers has been used over this past fiscal year, the year previous? Does his department collect stats on Crime Stoppers so that we know, as a public, that it’s actually being used and it’s actually being utilized by people of the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

I don’t have those statistics with me today, but I would certainly go back to the department and get the statistics. Also, I’m curious myself to find out what marketing efforts are currently underway for the Crime Stoppers program around the Northwest Territories, especially in the smaller communities, and I’ll get that information for the Member and for the House. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Minister Ramsay. Final supplementary, Mr. Moses.

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Madam Speaker. During our most recent community committee trip to the communities, we heard a lot of startling statistics and facts. Obviously, there has to be some kind of marketing strategy out there to empower our residents to speak up, and I look forward to seeing some of those details.

One of the other ways that we do it is a program called the Not Us! campaign. A lot of communities across the Northwest Territories use it. I just want to ask where the department is in terms of this campaign. How many years has it been running, how successful is it and specifically how many communities across the Northwest Territories access this Not Us! campaign that’s very effective? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Madam Speaker, the Not Us! campaign has been very successful. The department is undergoing an evaluation of the program. We’ve got money out to a variety of communities all across the Northwest Territories.

Getting back to the bootlegging question, a lot of times communities want to focus on the drugs with the Not Us! campaign. But certainly, if the community wants to work with us, we can tailor a Not Us! program to bootlegging, as well, and incorporate that into the Not Us! program. We’re interested in hearing from communities if that’s what they want to see in a program.

In our estimation – and again, we’re doing an evaluation – we believe the program has been hugely successful in a community like Hay River and in other communities around the Northwest Territories, and we look to be doing more of that type of work at the grassroots levels, to try to root out bootlegging and drug dealing in our territory. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Minister Ramsay. Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I want to use today’s opportunity to ask certain questions regarding the consumer affairs division. Sorry, I’m going to change topic for Cabinet and I’m sure they’re disappointed.

On March 6, 2013, the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs committed to me in the House several items, but perhaps the issue really boils down to simply this: I was concerned, and many people in the public are concerned, that the consumer affairs division is anonymous, just like those 571 jobs as a matter of fact. Incidentally, I should say. But that said, I asked the Minister what he would do to promote to profile this office and certainly to access that, and as such, he provided several commitments to the House which are basically to say that they’ll make sure information gets out there, they’ll publicize it, they’ll do outreach and it goes on and on and on.

I guess my question to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs is: They’ve had almost a year – because that’s from Hansard of March 6, 2013 – what have they done to promote this idea when consumers are tired and exhausted, whether it’s gas prices, cell phone prices, other areas of complaint that they legitimately need to bring to an office to complain about to research and get something done for consumer protection? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Minister McLeod.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Our consumer affairs office is actually all of two people. As far as communicating to the public, if there’s a slippage there, that’s on my part. I’ll wear that. But I will see what kind of information we have out there and relay it on to the Member. Thank you.

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Madam Speaker, a commitment was made in the House about developing a communications plan to get out there, we want to promote phone numbers and access points. In my view, the consumer affairs division may not need a

singular street window type of office where people can walk up to, but the fact is, it needs to be publicized in a way that people know where to bring their concerns.

Does the Minister see this as important, or should it be nestled away in some area of government that it’s kept anonymous, as it seems to be? Thank you.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Madam Speaker, our consumer affairs office is not nestled away. If there’s a slippage in promoting it – and I did make the commitment and I will follow up with the department as soon as we’re done here – but it’s not nestled away. We don’t receive many complaints at the moment, but again, that’s still no excuse for not communicating as well as we should that the office exists and what the numbers are. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Madam Speaker, perhaps they don’t get any complaints because no one knows they exist. That could be part of the issue.

I guess my question would be: When would the Minister be able to address this problem? He says he’s going to go back to the department. I heard that; that wasn’t lost upon me. But he did say almost a year ago that they would get on this, so I would like to know if he could have an action plan sent to my office before the end of next week as to how they will address these issues.

The action plan doesn’t mean they’ve done it. What the action plan clearly states is these are the issues we see as a problem the Member has been raising and we’re going to tackle them in this type of approach, and that could at least get me through to at least next week and we can leave it at that. Thank you.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

As I stated before, I will follow up with the department and I will ask for an action plan and have to it to the Member by the end of March.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Minister McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Perhaps my calendar is different than the Minister’s, although he’s laughing and I think he did it as a joke and I’ll accept it in the way it was delivered with some humour. But let’s just be clear. Let’s work off the February 21st date, if that’s

agreeable.

Again, I’m looking for an action plan on direction. I’m not looking for a 20-page report, I’m just looking for a couple pages that say this is how we’re strategizing and we will work toward achievables. Thank you.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

I’m glad the Member took it for the way it was intended, and we were all laughing with him. I’ll have some information for the

Member by the end of next week. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Minister McLeod. Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Before Christmas I asked the Minister of Environment a written question on the cost-effectiveness of the various initiatives his department is funding as part of the Greenhouse Gas Strategy. At the time, I got the impression that the Minister was surprised by the question, which was not my intent. So I wanted to check, was the Minister surprised to be asked about the cost-effectiveness of his department’s greenhouse gas reduction initiatives? Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. I’ll let Minister Miltenberger answer the question. Technically speaking, you’re asking the Minister not about the content of what’s in the purview of his department but you’re asking about his feeling about something, his opinion. It’s a little bit close to the edge, but I’ll let Minister Miltenberger go ahead. Please, Minister Miltenberger.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Thank you, Madam Speaker. After the number of years we’ve been in the House together, nothing the Member asks surprises me any further. Thank you.

---Laughter

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

Thanks for the Minister’s response. I appreciate that and I also appreciate being close to the edge. That means I’m doing my job.

Madam Speaker, the Minister may or may not have been surprised, but I’m fairly sure I have not seen an analysis like this before. While the response left out an analysis of the rebate program that was requested, some programs are clearly more cost-effective than others.

Why, after running greenhouse gas reduction programs for over a decade, has the Minister never presented us with an evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of these various greenhouse gas reduction programs? Mahsi.