Thank you. Member for Great Slave.
Debates of March 3rd, 2022
This is page numbers 3711 - 3754 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 know.
Topics
Committee Motion 194-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 - Education, Culture and Employment - Deferral of Department, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 3738
Committee Motion 194-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 - Education, Culture and Employment - Deferral of Department, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 3738
Katrina Nokleby Great Slave
Thank you, Madam Chair. And I should probably know this but if we don't have some of that work that the department has been doing around the victim services and the action plans coming out of that, I would really like to see that information. I'm a big firm believer in collecting of statistics. So again, I just want to really stress that I think your partners there at the YWCA and victim services could be, you know, obviously providing a lot of feedback to the department.
I guess my next question or my next category I just wanted to talk about was the guns and gangs strategy. I'm really happy to see an increase in funding here but one thing I do hear is that it perhaps is not enough. We have a crack epidemic in our territory and that has been largely due to the infiltration of gangs. It is my understanding that the jail itself has now -- or the corrections program itself has become somewhat of a way for infiltration. As gang members from the south are incarcerated with Northerners, they are able to then influence and permeate into our communities.
I guess maybe I can ask, do we expect that in the next several years that this funding will increase? Is this federal money that we can get? Is there another program we can look for that money from instead of our own? Thank you.
Committee Motion 194-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 - Education, Culture and Employment - Deferral of Department, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 3738
Committee Motion 194-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 - Education, Culture and Employment - Deferral of Department, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 3738
R.J. Simpson Hay River North
Thank you. And to the Member's earlier comment, there is a victims services review, and that has been provided, but we can package that up and provide it again, as well as our response to that, because it did make a number of recommendations,and we have followed through on a number of those.
This guns and gangs strategy funding is federal, and there's interest, not just from us but from all of the jurisdictions from what I can tell based on my recent meetings, in not just maintaining but enhancing this funding. So there is -- all of the provinces and territories are putting pressure on the federal government because they do see the need to enhance this. Thank you.
Committee Motion 194-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 - Education, Culture and Employment - Deferral of Department, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 3738
Committee Motion 194-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 - Education, Culture and Employment - Deferral of Department, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 3738
Committee Motion 194-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 - Education, Culture and Employment - Deferral of Department, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 3738
The Chair Lesa Semmler
Thank you. Are there any further questions under community justice? Member for Frame Lake.
Committee Motion 194-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 - Education, Culture and Employment - Deferral of Department, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake
Thanks, Madam Chair. I think this is where the integrated case management program is found, but there's no line item; there's no -- nothing. It's hard to know what expenditures there are on the program. Can I get some detail about that and whether the budget is increasing, decreasing? Thanks, Madam Chair.
Committee Motion 194-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 - Education, Culture and Employment - Deferral of Department, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 3739
Committee Motion 194-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 - Education, Culture and Employment - Deferral of Department, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 3739
R.J. Simpson Hay River North
Thank you. So we have one associated position, and that position helps coordinate with other departments. But the ISD program -- or ISD, integrated service delivery, is more than just a position or a program; it's an approach that not just justice is implementing but we are trying to implement across the GNWT. For more information, I can hand it over to the deputy minister. Thank you.
Committee Motion 194-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 - Education, Culture and Employment - Deferral of Department, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 3739
Committee Motion 194-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 - Education, Culture and Employment - Deferral of Department, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 3739
Doolittle
Mahsi, Madam Chair. The integrated case management program has a 2022-2023 annual operating budget of $830,000, the majority of which is dedicated to salaries, including four pathfinder positions and one intern pathfinder position.
Committee Motion 194-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 - Education, Culture and Employment - Deferral of Department, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 3739
Committee Motion 194-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 - Education, Culture and Employment - Deferral of Department, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 3739
Committee Motion 194-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 - Education, Culture and Employment - Deferral of Department, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 3739
Committee Motion 194-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 - Education, Culture and Employment - Deferral of Department, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 3739
R.J. Simpson Hay River North
Thank you. Changes from last year? I'll hand it to the deputy minister. Thanks.
Committee Motion 194-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 - Education, Culture and Employment - Deferral of Department, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 3739
Committee Motion 194-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 - Education, Culture and Employment - Deferral of Department, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 3739
Doolittle
Mahsi, Madam Chair. There were collective agreement increases. That's it. Thank you.
Committee Motion 194-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 - Education, Culture and Employment - Deferral of Department, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 3739
Committee Motion 194-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 - Education, Culture and Employment - Deferral of Department, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 3739
Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake
Thanks for that, Madam Chair. And thanks to the Minister and his staff. Can we get that split out somehow in next year's main estimates? Like, we're spending $6 million on community justice and it's like two lines in the program detail. Community justice is a big lump sum of $5.6 million. Protection against family violence is 500 -- come on. Can we get some more program detail, a better breakdown next year? Thanks, Madam Chair.
Committee Motion 194-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 - Education, Culture and Employment - Deferral of Department, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 3739
Committee Motion 194-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 - Education, Culture and Employment - Deferral of Department, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 3739
R.J. Simpson Hay River North
Thank you. And I used to express the same frustration about $165 million one line in ECE's budget so I understand where the Member's coming from. I'll work with the department and with Finance but there could be rules related to how this is organized that are, you know, beyond my ability to influence. But we can provide committee with a breakdown, a more detailed breakdown. Thank you.
Committee Motion 194-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 - Education, Culture and Employment - Deferral of Department, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 3739
Committee Motion 194-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 - Education, Culture and Employment - Deferral of Department, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 3739
Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake
No, thanks, I appreciate that commitment from the Minister. And I think that subject's going to come up in one of the other activities that we're going to get to.
But on integrated case management, I understand that this is a program that's largely centered in Yellowknife. And I think a while back, we did have a return on social investment study that was done that was very complimentary of the program and the assistance that it offers to the clients, very successful.
Are there any plans to expand this program outside of Yellowknife, perhaps into some of the regional centres? Thanks, Madam Chair.
Committee Motion 194-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 - Education, Culture and Employment - Deferral of Department, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 3739