Brendan Bell

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, again just to be clear, I've toured the old facility with the Member in Sachs Harbour. Obviously it needs to be replaced. It's outdated; it wouldn't work today. We do have a residence there that's currently being occupied by a teacher. I think we could make arrangements. So in terms of capital, we need new capital. The feds have made that commitment. The O and M to see bodies on the ground is a shared responsibility between ourselves and the federal government. The federal government has committed; it's now up to us in the upcoming budget process. So I...

Mr. Speaker, I can’t make that commitment on behalf of the RCMP. Obviously we don’t provide them direct operational advice. We can’t indicate to them where they have to put their resources, but I will raise this with the RCMP. I will come to the community and I will give the commitment to the Member in this House that we will work to find a solution. I know this is a need in the community and I do appreciate the region’s support in this regard. So we will work with the region to try to address this problem. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that Bill 8, Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2006, be read for the third time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for the question. This is an issue the Member has raised a number of times. We’ve had discussion in committee about the challenge. I think it’s particularly heightened in the Tlicho region where there are many unilingual speakers. We want to make sure they have access to the RCMP. So it is something we have raised with the RCMP. I am prepared and have indicated to the Member that we would go into the community and talk about policing issues, along with the Minister of MACA. We will be doing that shortly after session. I think we need to propose a...

Mr. Chairman, thank you. With me today, Mark Aitken is the director of legislation, Department of Justice. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The purpose of Bill 8, Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2006, is to amend various statutes of the Northwest Territories for which minor changes are proposed or errors or inconsistencies have been identified.

Each amendment included in the bill had to meet the following criteria:

It must not be controversial;

It must not involve the spending of public funds;

It most not prejudicially affect the rights of persons; and,

It must not create a new offence or subject a new class of persons to an existing offence.

Departments responsible for the various statutes being...

The answer is yes, Mr. Speaker, we're going to do everything we can to make sure we can pass this legislation in the life of this government. Obviously we're interested to hear what the Regular Members think about this. I'm sure they'll want to talk to their constituents. I think it's going to be a very positive and well received piece of legislation, which should enjoy the support of the House. So we think we can do it in this government. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I recognize the urgency. I know it's a priority for the community, and as soon as our schedules can be coordinated, we will look to do that. So I'll have my office speak with the community. Some help from the Member will be wonderful and we'll make sure the two of us can do that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are a number of things going on. We do have an Aboriginal Community Constable Program in the RCMP and there are four positions across the territory that have been earmarked, and that essentially is additional funding provided for positions where can have aboriginal officers trained and then take positions in communities. I believe there is one such position in Behchoko. The former Special Constable Program that the RCMP had, the Member's right, has expired. We have had a number of meetings and lobbied the RCMP to restart a program of this nature. The federal...

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman.