This is page numbers 19 - 38 of the Hansard for the 19th Assembly, 2nd 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 cancer.

Topics

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We currently have programs in place between the Correctional Service working inside our incarceration facilities and with communities to ensure that individuals have a reintegration plan before they go into the community, and that is meant to be one of the key ways in which we are hoping to assist individuals to not reoffend.

In addition, of course, this is something that involves partnerships throughout all of government to ensure that people have the right supports in their communities so that they can continue to live lives that are healthy when they are out of the facilities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

I am just curious about the priorities of this government. What priority has this Minister given to the problem of the over-representation of Indigenous people in our corrections system?

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

As all of my colleagues here know, over-incarceration of Indigenous people was not an express priority that we noted for the Members of the 19th Assembly. Nevertheless, I have already stated publicly that this is a priority for me personally. It is an issue that I have personally been engaged on for many years, and I can't imagine that anyone who knew me in my past life would expect me to come into this House and not see this as a personal priority. With that, Mr. Speaker, I would certainly like to assure that, doing my part, as Minister of Justice, and the Department of Justice of the Northwest Territories, we will be considering that a priority over the next four years.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Just reflecting on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 94 recommendations, obviously, there is one recommendation that I highlighted as part of my Member's statement. Are there sufficient and stable funds within the Department of Justice to implement and evaluate these measures to provide realistic alternatives to imprisonment for Aboriginal offenders?

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

I have no doubt that any department would like to see more funds. It would certainly make the work easier. At the same time, am I confident that there is enough ability and enough capacity within the Department of Justice to address this? Mr. Speaker, I would say yes. When the story broke nationally about the rates of incarceration of Indigenous people, I met immediately with senior members from the Justice Department, and they are beginning to consider what things we can do, within our control, to affect the over-incarceration of Indigenous people.

It will be a cross-government issue that we need to deal with. It will be a multiple-level-of-government issue that needs to be addressed. To that end, we remain engaged with the national task force in terms of a national strategy, but we are beginning to take steps to look at what we can do here, at home, and I hope to be coming back with that plan in due course.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Monfwi.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Masi, Mr. Speaker. Again, reflecting back on the TRC recommendations, it talks about reducing the systematic discrimination. Looking into the future, what are the Minister's plans to reduce the systematic discrimination that Indigenous people experience in our judicial system or justice system and in our corrections system?

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

There are fortunately a number of initiatives that I can speak to. There certainly is significant effort within corrections to have Indigenous cultural safety training for all staff. There are efforts to have Aboriginal liaisons available to all individuals within the correctional system. There is, in addition to that, a number of initiatives to ensure that there are court workers available in the communities and to ensure that police priorities also include cultural safety.

All that said, Mr. Speaker, I am aware that more still needs to be done, and so I certainly am alive to that and intend to see that we can continue to do more as we move forward, to build on the successes that we already have. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Steve Norn

Steve Norn Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As mentioned in my Member's statement, there has been a severe decline of the Bathurst herd in Lutselk'e, and over-hunting is a concern that they had. They hired four staff to help address this. This area in question is quite a large area, and I have a question for the Minister of ENR. What is the Minister's plan to assist the Lutsel K'e Dene First Nation with the issue of over-hunting in their region? Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Barren-ground caribou are a shared resource and a shared responsibility, and it is important that we all work together to help their recovery. The band is a member of the Bathurst Caribou Advisory Committee, which works on their management plan for the herd. The band also participates in the Bathurst Caribou Range Plan Working Group, which will guide management of the herd moving on, and ENR continues to support the band and other Indigenous governments and organizations with their monitoring. This is in addition to ENR's regular monitoring of the Bathurst caribou herd. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Steve Norn

Steve Norn Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

I know that there are two ENR-monitored stations, but there are still a lot of hunters who are not checking in or reporting their harvest. What is the Minister going to do to ensure that proper reporting is met?

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

I don't know if I heard the last part of the question, but I am thinking. ENR conducts regular ground and aerial monitoring of the mobile zone, and we do have the two checkpoints there. They are manned 24/7 during the season. I know, from talking to some of the hunters, that the monitors and the staff actually stop people and talk to them and communicate, and some of the times, if they have heard or seen some challenges, they investigate that further.

Steve Norn

Steve Norn Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

With those four monitors that LKDFN had, I am just wondering if the Minister can make any commitment to the LKDFN to help fund those positions?

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

No. We are working with the community through the nature fund and some of that stuff there, so the community is actually coming up with the funding. We have monitors right now on the ground. We work with paying for those, again, so unfortunately I can't say we are going to pay for those four, but we do have staff and we do have one staff in the community, an RR-02 position, so right now we do fund those things.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Sorry about that. Actually, I have a question, I guess, for the Premier. It is to do with red tape. I am just wondering what this government is planning to do to alleviate the amount of red tape that we have within the departments. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Honourable Premier.

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am trying to think off the top of my head. Red tape has been identified as an issue for well over four years, I can say. In the last Assembly, we heard it often. Within our priorities, we identified that we need to support northern businesses. In our mandate that will be tabled later, we have some of the policies that we will be reviewing. I am not going to go through the three right now, because we have not tabled our mandate yet.

We recognize as a government that the bigger thing is that we need to support northern businesses and northern residents. Some of the red tape is necessary. We also need to make sure that we protect the environment and we protect all different things that can come up, but we are going to be looking through them all and making sure that what is not necessary is not there. We should not be just developing the pen for the sake of writing. We should be using the pen to make sure that we capture all of the risks, but that it is as comprehensive and appealing to people as possible so that people can access contracts within the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

The other and, I guess, last question that I have for the Premier is that we have been here now for roughly five months, I guess, since the writ was dropped. In my community in Hay River and, I guess, in the regions, contractors are looking for work and people are looking for jobs. What is this government's plan, immediately, I guess, to start looking at putting people to work and ensuring that contracts are put out there?

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

Again, none of us believe that red tape that is not necessary should be there, so we will be looking at them all across. The philosophy is, and we have maintained that not only in what will be coming in our tabled mandate, but also in the priorities that we looked at as Cabinet Ministers when we talked about what our priorities are, we identified northern businesses and northern residents taking opportunities versus the South, so that is one of our priorities.

What have we done? We are already starting it. I attended Roundup, for an example. I am a diamond driller's daughter. I am proud of that, and I support the industry whole-heartedly, but I was very adamant in saying that I support the industry, but I also support northern business and northern residents. I will not accept that it is just about industry and it is about how we do whatever we can to get industries into the territories, unless there is a benefit to Northerners. I was pretty blunt; people know me as being very honest. I was pretty blunt in saying, "What's the use of having the mining companies in the North if there are no benefits to our residents?"

That message, I will carry forward with me, as I move forward. I expect that from my Ministers. I expect that from all MLAs. We have an obligation to make sure that the benefits of the Northwest Territories, as many as possible, stay in the Northwest Territories, and that is my commitment.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Honourable Premier. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I spoke about trust and building trust within this House and also within our communities. My questions today are for Madam Premier. What I would like to know is: how is this Assembly building trust between our Members and between this House and our constituents? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Honourable Premier.