David Ramsay

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’m just wondering if the Minister, I know she was answering some questions from Ms. Bisaro about the deficits at the authorities. Yesterday I had asked for correspondence from the department to the authorities, whatever that correspondence is, on instructions on how to deal with deficit. I was hoping the Minister could perhaps give the committee copies of that correspondence. I’d like to see what the department is telling the authorities.

Come the end of March it’s going to be up close to $30 million in accrued deficits around the authorities. I mentioned to the...

I appreciate the response from the deputy minister. I guess, from my perspective, especially the Beaufort-Delta and Stanton are in such dire straits financially, running up big deficits at those two authorities, my fear is that when you throw this on top of everything else, it has the potential to send them spiralling again further into a deficit situation. I’d like to see the department budgeting for… And these are costs that I don’t think would be too hard to even guess at what your costs are going to be. Your costs are going to go up. If you have to repatriate people within 48 hours, it’s...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I seek the committee’s indulgence to return to 8-21. I just had a couple of questions I wanted to follow up on there. Thank you.

I know the Minister talked about FPT meetings and getting together with his colleagues from across the country. One of the big issues recently that’s come to light is people getting double credit for time served in remand while they’re awaiting a court date. I’d like to ask the Minister if here in the Northwest Territories has our government and the Minister of Justice taken a position on whether or not that’s a good practice to have. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wanted to follow up on some of the questions I had earlier for the Minister of Justice. Mr. Speaker, I must start out by saying I have the utmost respect for the judicial system here in the Northwest Territories, but when there is a public outcry about light sentences handed out to violent offenders here in the Northwest Territories, the public has little recourse but to come to their elected officials and state that something is wrong if somebody is killing somebody and getting five years, or if an individual beats up their spouse and gets five months even though...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the things I alluded to in my Member’s statement was the fact that North Slave Correctional Centre is the largest corrections facility we have in the Northwest Territories. Currently it doesn’t have a clinical psychologist, Mr. Speaker. That, to me, is a gaping hole in the services that are available to violent offenders here in the Northwest Territories, and it’s little wonder our statistics are going up when we don’t have a clinical psychologist at our largest facility. I’d like to ask the Minister if there are any plans to fill the position of clinical...

Mr. Chairman, I look forward to more information on that. Again, I don’t know how we have come this far since the federal government devolved responsibility for health here in the Northwest Territories. We still don’t have that work all concluded. It is troublesome, I guess, to put it in a word.

I also wanted to, while I have a minute and 28 seconds left, comment on my colleague Mr. Yakeleya’s concern over the lack of a social worker in Tulita. I think that is appalling that there is not a social worker there and there hasn’t been one there for three and a half years. All the Minister can say...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to speak today about a very significant and disturbing issue here in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, family violence continues to plague our Territory. In 2010 there were 640 reported incidents of spousal assault. This is 20 percent higher than last year and, incredibly, 107 percent higher under this government’s watch than it was four years earlier, in 2006.

A parliamentary committee recently visited the Northwest Territories to discuss abuse against Aboriginal women. The root causes of abuse should come as no surprise to Members of this House: poverty...

Mr. Chairman, if I am to understand correctly, if we are still working on proper scope of practice for health professionals in the Northwest Territories and we don’t have those concluded or done to a certain extent, I am just wondering, doesn’t that open the Government of the Northwest Territories and the department up to liability. I am thinking malpractice. I am thinking something goes wrong and when you are dealing with health care, there are a lot of things that can go wrong. I would think that this is a huge risk for us not having this work done. I am just wondering if we have any time...

What I’d be looking for is written communication from the department to the authorities, especially the authorities that are in deficit situations. I’d like to get a better idea of what the department is telling the authorities in written communication between the department and the authorities. That’s what I’m looking for. Specific to deficits and financial management at the authority level, and that’s communication coming directly from the department to the authorities. I don’t know if I can make it much more clear than that, Mr. Chairman. That’s what I’m looking for. Thank you.