Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, you know, me and my spouse are from the territory and sometimes we'll run into someone who went down that path, and we can see that impact where, you know, our paths diverged and someone has gotten into that life and it is -- it's tough. It's tough on us to see. And so I know that when it's in your family, when it's someone close to you, when you see it every day in your community, it is difficult. So this is a serious issue that we are all feeling the effects of one way or another. And so there's a number of things that we're working on to try and address this. Looking at ways to shut down known drug houses. That's one way. We want to introduce the SCAN legislation, which would allow premises to be shut down as opposed to evicting the residents. So it's a different process, another tool for the RCMP. There is the civil Forfeiture Act, which I will be bringing forward, which will allow the government to retain proceeds of crime without a conviction in certain cases. So we are taking steps, both the government and the RCMP, to address these issues. Ultimately, I always say this, drug use is a public health issue. It's a tough battle to fight. I always look at the United States. They spend over a trillion dollars on the war against drugs, and they're not winning either. So, ultimately, we need to work on the demand side of things because if there's a demand, the supply will make it in. Thank you.
R.J. Simpson on Question 197-20(1): Policing in Northwest Territories Communities
In the Legislative Assembly on May 28th, 2024. See this statement in context.
Question 197-20(1): Policing in Northwest Territories Communities
Oral Questions
May 28th, 2024
Page 519
See context to find out what was said next.