Roy Erasmus

Roles

In the Legislative Assembly

Elsewhere

Historical Information Roy Erasmus is no longer a member of the Legislative Assembly.

Last in the Legislative Assembly December 1999, as MLA for Yellowknife North

Lost his last election, in 2015, with 21% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Committee Report 1-13(3): Standing Committee On Government Operations Report On The Review Of The 1996-97 Main Estimates May 2nd, 1996

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to present the report of the Standing Committee on Government Operations on its review of the 1996-97 main estimates and departmental business plans. I would like to begin with an overview of the process.

Since being elected in mid-October of 1995, Members of the Legislative Assembly have been developing a new and more effective way of conducting business. An important part of this new approach is the new standing committee structure and the relationships which have developed between those committees and the Ministers and departments. The committee structure allows Members to approach a department holistically, rather than looking only at finances or legislation. Although there is always a need to refine a new system to make it better, committee Members are pleased with how the committee system supports a true consensus approach to government. The efforts of Ministers to facilitate the sharing of information and ideas is appreciated, and Members hope the cooperative relationships developed during the business plan/main estimates review will continue.

Given the difficult financial problems facing the government, the first order of business was to review departmental three-year business plans. From January 19th to the 29th, the standing committees on Social Programs, Infrastructure, Government Operations and Resource Management and Development met to review these initial plans. Over a 10 day period, committee Members analyzed the documents that were provided, held briefings with Ministers and provided the government with recommendations on how these plans could be improved.

During the first three weeks, the government revised the plans and incorporated the recommendations from the standing committees. On February 22nd, the business plans were resubmitted for committee review. From February 23rd to 28th, standing committee Members met, once again, with Ministers and departmental officials to revisit the draft plans. On February 29th, the chairmen from each committee delivered reports to the Standing Committee on Government Operations. These reports outlined additional recommendations as well as areas where each committee felt additional information was required.

During the second week in April, the government submitted final copies of the departmental multi-year business plans and the 1996-97 main estimates to the committees. Standing committees reviewed these final versions from April 17th to 25th, and developed final reports.

Normally, the budget process would begin in the fall and be finalized during the spring months. However, with a fall election, Members and government departments were forced to review both multi-year plans and budgets far later than usual, resulting in the need for an interim appropriation for the first few months of this fiscal year. This constraining factor did not allow Members to review, in detail, all of the programs and issues of concerned within each department. Members look forward to the fall of 1996, when the review of the 1997-98 budget begins. Members expect a more detailed review of both multi-year plans and departmental budgets at that time.

The standing committees, along with the Cabinet, have had to focus all of their energies over the past four months on dealing with the dire financial situation we are in. The committees now look forward to moving beyond dealing with the crisis and into planning for the future.

Question 153-13(3): Use Of Resources For Departmental Staffing May 2nd, 1996

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister responsible for Personnel. Now that the staffing function has been removed from the Personnel Secretariat, I would like to ask the Minister how the government departments will be hiring new employees. Will they be using existing resources to manage their staffing needs, or have we been cutting the Department of Personnel only to have new positions popping up elsewhere in the departments? For instance, one of the envelopes seems to have created a new position for handling the personnel functions within their envelope. I would like to know if the departments are supposed to be using existing resources to manage their staffing needs.

Question 148-13(3): Inquiry Into Electronic Monitoring Program For NWT Offenders May 2nd, 1996

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to know when this research was done; how up to date it is.

Question 148-13(3): Inquiry Into Electronic Monitoring Program For NWT Offenders May 2nd, 1996

I would like to ask the Minister of Justice, further to my statement concerning electronic monitoring ... Considering the fact that our correctional centres are very overcrowded, we have people, for instance in the Yellowknife Correctional Centre, stacked up like cord wood. People serving weekend sentences, intermittent jail sentences, are extremely expensive for overtime and what not on the weekends. Since the former Member for Yellowknife North, Mr. Ballantyne, had asked on March 28, 1995, of the former Minister of Justice whether he would look into electronic monitoring, and the Minister indicated, 'We need to look at all the ideas and innovative approaches taken by other jurisdictions..." and "...We also have the need to find more cost-effective ways of incarcerating and providing relevant programs so we will be looking at these other measures and approaches taken by the governments in countries across the world...' I would like to know if the Minister had actually looked into this and what were the results of the inquiry.

Question 141-13(3): Procedure For Amalgamating Regional Personnel Offices Into Fmbs May 2nd, 1996

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Does the Minister have plans to inform the public of these changes so potential applicants are aware of the new procedures?

Question 141-13(3): Procedure For Amalgamating Regional Personnel Offices Into Fmbs May 2nd, 1996

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Further to this issue, who will now be responsible for receiving job applications? Will there be one central agency to receive applications or will each individual department have that responsibility?

Question 141-13(3): Procedure For Amalgamating Regional Personnel Offices Into Fmbs May 2nd, 1996

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister responsible for Personnel. I understand the Personnel Secretariat is no longer responsible for hiring government staff. Individual departments will be doing their own hiring. What is left of Personnel will be absorbed into FMBS; the Financial Management Board Secretariat. How is this new policy being implemented in the regional offices?

Implementing Electronic Monitoring Program Into Correctional System May 2nd, 1996

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the Northwest Territories, we have one of the highest rates of imprisonment in the country. At any given time, we have about 300 inmates in our territorial corrections system for a total annual cost of over $12 million.

More than any other jurisdiction, we need to find innovative ways to make our justice system more effective and more efficient. One solution other jurisdictions have found to be effective is electronic monitoring; using an ankle bracelet equipped with a transmitter, people can be sentenced to a form of house arrest. If the convicted person is not where they are supposed to be at home or at work, the police or other appropriate authorities can be notified.

In British Columbia, electronic monitoring is used for about 17 per cent of the 2,000 inmates in the provincial correction system at any one time. Even with extensive monitoring and supervision, electronic monitoring costs BC less than half of what it would cost to keep an inmate in a provincial correctional facility.

Of course, the program is not used for inmates who are violent, uncooperative, dangerous or for sexual offenders. If we were to implement such a program for inmates who do not pose a danger to society, we could reduce the costs associated with corrections. Even if only 15 per cent of our inmates used the program and even if our costs to implement the program were 20 to 30 per cent higher than BC's, due to our higher telephone costs, we could still save over $1 million every year.

Mr. Speaker, with the many cuts to government spending that are being introduced in this session, we have a duty to find and implement creative and innovative solutions wherever possible. I hope the Minister of Justice shares this view and I hope we can see electronic monitoring introduced as part of the Northwest Territories correctional system in the very near future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--- Applause

Item 15: Tabling Of Documents May 1st, 1996

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table Tabled Document 27-13(3), three letters in opposition to funding reductions to the Yellowknife Education District No. 1. The letters are from Mr. Ric Bolivar, Ms. Emily Morash and Mr. Nick Sukalowski .

Item 12: Petitions May 1st, 1996

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to present Petition No. 14-13(3), dealing with the matter of the transfer of occupational health and safety to the Workers' Compensation Board. Mr. Speaker, the petition contains three signatures and, Mr. Speaker, petitioners request, "An immediate halt should be put on the process and an immediate, in-depth public review involving both business and labour should be initiated and that an actuarial review should also be undertaken."