Mr. Speaker, some presenters to the committee pointed to jobs with higher standards, including requirements for criminal record checks, than those for candidates for our legislature. Others argued that anyone with a criminal record and who had not been pardoned should be denied the right to run for office for two to five years. Some suggested that only persons who had committed very serious criminal offenses should be subject to such a restriction, particularly those guilty of violent crimes. It was also recommended that persons convicted of criminal offenses involving violence or threats of violence against a person over whom the offender was in a position of “trust, authority, or intimacy” should be ineligible for office five years after completing their period of incarceration.
This advice was given with reference to epidemic levels of family violence in the NWT and its northern neighbours and high rates of crime in general. Some of this violence is the sad, long-term by-product of the last 200 years of our history, a history of colonization, and devastating outbreaks of influenza and tuberculosis, sickness, and alcohol addiction, suppression of culture and language, and residential schools rife with physical, sexual, and mental abuse. Healing has been held back by rapid changes in northern cultures, the historically transient nature of much of the non-Aboriginal population, lack of jobs in many communities, poor housing, and low educational achievement.
Our territory’s history is also one of transcendence, of harmony with the land and its lessons, and of determination to reassert Indigenous peoples’ rights and cultures. Visionary leaders have emerged and made remarkable contributions to a stronger, healthier NWT. For the past 40 years, a strong movement has grown to overcome addictions and mental health conditions born of a turbulent past and today’s social challenges. Today’s statistics show that this healing remains a work in progress across our society.
In a typical year, police in the NWT report more than 19,000 alleged Criminal Code violations, excluding traffic. While there are multiple violations alleged of some individuals, this is a large number for a population of 44,000. This figure includes approximately 2,500 reported assaults, about 200 of them sexual assaults. The rate of reported family violence is almost eight times the national average, exceeded in Canada only by Nunavut’s numbers. Notably, the numbers of official reported sexual assault allegations in the NWT is artificially low due to 30 per cent of complaints being judged as “unfounded” by RCMP, according to a recent investigation by The Globe and Mail covering the period from 2010 through 2016. The national average is 19 per cent. The rate in Terrace, BC, a northern community comparable in size and demography to Yellowknife, is 12 per cent.
Given the rates of violent crime in the NWT, what is the probability of being a victim at some point in one’s life? A five-year research project led by the YWCA found that intimate-partner violence “is pervasive and normalized” in the NWT. A map showing numbers of incidents reveals that intimate-partner violence is common in most of our communities and municipalities. In a 2007 survey by the NWT Bureau of Statistics, 88 per cent of respondents across the NWT were either very worried or somewhat worried about family violence in their community. The YWCA’s 2016 report, Hush Hush No More, documents the devastating impacts of this violence and the consequences of silence, and provides practical recommendations for change.
The NWT’s Chief Coroner has repeatedly called attention to the number of homicides involving domestic violence. Most recently in December 2016, Cathy Menard informed CBC News that four of five homicides in 2015 involved family or intimate-partner violence. “Whether I'm talking about homicides or suicides, family and domestic violence is part of a lot of our cases," Ms. Menard told the CBC.
In Canada, seven of 10 victims of family violence in 2014 were women and girls according to Statistics Canada’s General Social Survey, which also found that approximately three-quarters of all incidents of domestic violence are not reported. These are grave indicators of crisis in our society.
The YWCA and others suggest that the Legislative Assembly should lead “a departure from silence and a strong normative statement about leadership. We want family violence to become socially unacceptable. We want extended families to step in to stop violence and support their family members toward change, not silence or denial.” This is a clear call for help, a call for healing, a call for a healthier society in which families can prosper.
Committee members agree that violence, particularly family violence, is far too common in the NWT. Domestic violence causes family breakdowns and undermines communities; it is a tremendous burden on the victims and offenders. Family- and intimate-partner violence is a fundamental violation of trust -- the trust between people who most depend on each other. The damage to children who are direct victims or witness this violence is well-known and cyclical. Children from violent homes have higher risks of alcohol and drug abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, and adult criminality. The damage often spans multiple generations, becoming a “fact of life” for far too many people.
On another level, family violence perpetuates and compounds historical wrongs, deepens societal inequities, and taxes our health and justice systems. Every Member elected to the Legislative Assembly hears a great deal about these issues from constituents and in carrying out their duties as Regular Members and Ministers, and must make decisions for the common good.
During the committee’s hearings, members of the public reminded us that there have been Members of the Legislative Assembly who had committed crimes. There is currently no impediment in law to anyone who has served his or her sentence to becoming a candidate, and this is generally the case across Canada. Some presenters to the committee also noted that a truly rehabilitated offender might be capable of exemplary leadership, and, if they became a candidate, their transformation should be assessed by the voters.
Once in office, an elected Member is subject to the Members’ Conduct Guidelines which require him/her, in part, to:
Hear the voices of all our people…promote the equality of all our people…respect our land and all its inhabitants…To the Legislature, I owe respect as well as dedication to my role in ensuring the integrity of our government and in earning, through my actions, the confidence of the people…To the public, I owe a responsibility to work for the public well-being of all residents of the Northwest Territories…I will respect and abide by the laws of Canada and the Northwest Territories, and I will not act in ways which violate these laws.
These guidelines clearly cover Criminal Code offenses, which include family violence and threats of violence. All Members of the 18th Assembly signed these guidelines upon taking office and unanimously agree that these standards must be met.
The committee heard that candidates for the Assembly should be held to similar standards. Such a proposal must pass legal muster as a justifiable limit on an individual’s Charter right to “be qualified for membership” in the Legislative Assembly. The committee proposes to meet this threshold by adding a reasonable and narrow qualification for candidacy for a five-year period, consistent with the length of current restrictions on those convicted of major offenses under the Elections and Plebiscites Act.
Recommendation 2The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to include a five-year limit on eligibility for candidacy for anyone convicted of an offence of violence or threats of violence under the Criminal Code of Canada and who has not received a pardon or record suspension; and,
Where the offence was committed against a person over whom the accused was determined by the presiding judge to be in a position of trust, authority, or intimacy; and,
If applicable, that the limitation not apply to offences committed before the coming-into-force date of this amendment; and,
That a consequential amendment of section 6 of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act ensure consistency of qualification of sitting Members and candidates.
The committee does not propose to retroactively apply the recommended limitation. While the limit may not deter any criminal offences, committee members feel strongly that no limit should be placed on the candidacy of a person as a result of offences committed before such a provision becomes law. Our report is focused on improving accountability into the future.
It was suggested during the committee’s hearings that a restriction of the type proposed may be discriminatory to Indigenous peoples due to their over-representation in the justice system. There is no doubt that a disproportionate number of offenders in the NWT are of Indigenous descent; it is another tragic consequence of northern history, outlined above. There are also allegations of racial bias in the justice system. However, no presenter at the committee’s hearings provided evidence showing that rates of domestic violence convictions are disproportionately higher among individuals of any ethnicity. No such statistics are readily available in the NWT or Canada. Domestic violence is an issue in our society as a whole and particularly in the NWT. It is the committee’s opinion that its proposed qualification for candidacy does not discriminate against anyone on the basis of ethnicity.
It is well-known that crimes involving domestic violence are heavily gender-weighted; those charged are predominantly male. According to RCMP G Division statistics provided to the Coalition on Family Violence men were charged in 1,897 of 2,316 or 82 per cent of cases involving domestic violence from 2008 through 2012. Note that these are the number of charges, not the number of individuals charged. However, this rate suggests that men are more likely to be affected by the committee’s proposed qualification for candidacy than women.
This is by no means evidence that the proposal is discriminatory; it is simply a fact that the offences in question are most often committed by men. Similarly, it is a fact that far fewer women than men run for territorial office; that only 10 of 60 candidates in the 2015 election were women; that the typical elected Legislative Assembly is comprised of two women among the 19 members. From these facts, one cannot conclude that the electoral process is discriminatory against women, although it may be, for various reasons. The committee is confident that its recommended qualification on candidacy would not result in an under-representation of men in the NWT electoral process.
Mr. Speaker, I will now ask the honourable Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh to continue reading the committee's report.