Thank you, Mr. Chairman. For sake of time and energy, of course I won't run through all the comments highlighted earlier today by a few of the previous speakers here. But the truth be told is, you know, we talk about these challenges at Justice, and I can tell you being the Member for the downtown riding, it is stressful for many people. And so whether you live on the edge on one side of it or closer to the Ruth Inch Pool or you live on the other side towards the Salvation Army area, I mean, it just seems to be one of the most interesting catchall areas from one end to the other. And by the way, those aren't the exact descriptions of the riding. But I mean, the point being is it really captures the downtown. And many people, you know, whether they live in Northern Heights or they live in houses downtown from where the future proposed Yellowknife Sobering Centre is, or will be, I mean, people are stressed, and they're worried about response times, they're worried about fulfillment of justice mandates, people following through. I mean, the other day I was raising the issues of scooters on roads and sidewalks and, I mean, it makes me frustrated and chuckle when I see enforcement drive by and bicycles and whatnot. We don't even enforce laws now, such as those things are legal. And as a person who's had two young people -- now they're both taller than me but, you know, when they were both short legs and drove bicycles with small tires, I mean, as a parent, we want them on sidewalks. But the point I'm making is we don't even enforce all our laws and, you know, which often makes me wonder why we even keep them on the books because we're waiting for that one circumstance where we want to hit them with everything.

Mr. Chairman, you know, we see the destruction of neighbourhoods because of drugs and alcohol and drug dealers and people taking advantage of elders and seniors and the outright frustration of the neighbours who are held hostage. You know, somebody buys, you know -- property values, you know, it's not subjective but it's subjective in the context of where you live. You live in one neighbourhood, it's -- you know, that house is worth so much and you live in another neighbourhood, and next door you have problems, it tanks. And you know, we have people who have made life investments into their community, and, you know, it's very difficult to get a response time when, you know, you're complaining about this problem or that problem, and my goodness, I would love to see that SCAN app come into force. I would love to see stronger rules on how we deal with bail reforms highlighted by the Premier. We've heard of -- I heard it many times about these challenges and I mean, like I say, I see good people in good neighbourhoods having to listen to problems and deal with problems, and their hands are tied. I mean, I don't know what the right answer is, but I can certainly say that one of them has to do with stronger enforcement measures such as, in other words, following through on showing up and charging them who are causing problem. I do not believe for a moment that more charges solves social problems, and I'm not connecting the two, although, unfortunately, the two bleed into each other every day, which is, you know, drugs, you know, lead to one problem, alcohol leads to another, you know, buyers are there, and if people weren't buying, they wouldn't be selling. So when you live in a neighbourhood that has those problems -- and no neighbourhood downtown is exempt from this. You can say you live on one street, well we don't have problems. No, they've got problems too. So I'm very supportive of any measures that can help support the rule of law. At the same token is I'm very supportive of ways of expanding -- although I should stress I know this isn't the department but, that said, expanding treatment options and providing avenues for people to find their souls again. And I often refer to them as lost souls that need support in trouble and guidance to find their way home.

The last few years, I had the pleasure of being involved in a restorative justice program. I think that that is a bang up opportunity where -- you know, where I'd like to personally see that used more, although I'm not involved in the program anymore but I mean, I can certainly see many people who've made some challenges and found themselves in circumstances and, you know, maybe on a good day, they wouldn't have been there, but on a bad day that's where they found themselves. And I can say that there are many other things about giving people opportunity and finding their way with support of others. So Mr. Chairman, I don't want to spend too much time. I do want to stress, though, that the core of downtown is frustrated, and what it needs specifically is a larger presence. And the larger presence doesn't necessarily mean more people arrested but people to be reminded that, you know, they have to be on some reasonable behaviour. Because people live there. They have children there. Families want to do things. And when people leave apartment buildings or condos and feel threatened or unsafe, I mean, it's -- that's not a win for anyone, really. And ultimately -- so I was just talking to my colleague from Range Lake. I mean, you know there was a time where I was trying to press -- and I would certainly like to see this. I mean, I think this is a justice issue, not necessarily a health issue, but, you know, there was a time I was trying to press that we need to put social workers on the street downtown Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night talking to people, trying to give them some guidance and maybe asking, you know, somebody who's, you know, 16 years old who's saying it's 2 o'clock in the morning, what are you doing out, you know, you're up to no good, or people trying to take some level of responsibility. And it's a community problem. I'm not going to say it's just one person. Yellowknife is a big community. And I mean, I grew up in a small one, and I know what it's like being a young person and I'll say full of adventure, and though I can't talk about a few stories due to statute of limitations, but they're going to be funny one day.

But in all seriousness, Mr. Chairman, a greater presence is really -- if I had an ask specifically at this particular time, a greater presence, that we find a way to put, for example, the RCMP in the community more out of cars, talking to people, you know, whether it's telling a person in front of the Reddi Mart downtown, you know, here's an ice cream, now walk home. You know, it's 11 o'clock, you should be home. You know, somebody who's having trouble, you know, can we call someone and send you home, you know, type of thing. And like I say, a bigger physical presence would go a long way. And by no means have I -- will advocate for harsher punishment because I think some of these troubled souls in general have their own challenges and our job is to help guide them back to some stability. But to the hard crime folks, we have to find a way because it rots the community. And I'm hopeful, like I said, with the SCAN app coming down the pipe and maybe a larger presence, we can have a more positive influence on our community, which is what many of us need. And I can assure you a guy who knocked down -- knocked on doors for many years despite the sabbatical, I can tell you it has gotten worse, and our job is to make things better. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.