David Ramsay

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have questions today for the Minister of ITI and it gets back to my Member’s statement where I was speaking about the government’s involvement in the secondary industry. Mr. Speaker, what started out with some very good intentions on behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories in a secondary industry established here in the Northwest Territories over the last number of years has been nothing but a train wreck.

I’d like to begin by asking the Minister of ITI what is taking so long to get a new policy established so that people here in the...

In my years of following this saga, one thing I’ve grown to understand fully is that if you have rough diamonds, you have a captive audience. Seeing as our producing mines have committed 10 percent of their production to local cut and polish production, why don’t we create a Diamond Trading Company Northwest Territories and take control once and for all of our own destiny when it comes to the diamond industry?

Mr. Speaker, we can do so much more. I struggle to understand why we remain, as a government, so complacent, unwilling to unleash the great potential that we have. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m going to speak today about diamonds. Mr. Speaker, my involvement in this file dates back to the beginning of 1998 when, as a newly-elected city councillor, I was appointed to the task force on the development of a secondary diamond industry here in the city of Yellowknife. This task force, in conjunction with the territorial government, was successful at getting a secondary industry established here in Yellowknife.

Over the years, Mr. Speaker, I’ve watched this industry suffer. Mr. Speaker, factories are closing down, the government is losing millions of dollars, has...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, like I said, as well, one thing I’ve learned over the years is that access to rough and having control of the rough trade means you have a captive audience. I’d like to ask the Minister, I think we should be pursuing with vigor and with aggression the possibility of the Government of the Northwest Territories, under some secretariat or scheme or however we can work that out, we take control of the 10 percent allocation of rough and we control that rough, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister if he could, again, pursue that with some aggression. Thank...

Mr. Speaker, I’ve talked about this before. I mean, we need to pursue opportunities with the vigor and aggression that I think… You know, if we do not do this, other jurisdictions now across this country are going to pursue those opportunities when they present themselves. As I said earlier, we have investors here who are waiting for this new policy to be developed and to be out there. So, again, I’d like to ask the Minister, when does the Minister believe that we will have a workable policy in front of the committee so that we can get this out there to the public. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize -- he’s actually my constituent -- Mike Krutko and Ed Jeske that were up in the audience. As well, I’d also like to recognize Mr. Josh Campbell who works for our MP’s office, Mr. Dennis Bevington. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted.

I thank the Minister for that. We haven’t had a clinical psychologist on staff at North Slave Correctional Centre for at least the past 18 months. I’d like to ask the Minister, the decision to not have a clinical psychologist on staff, was that a budget decision or an operational decision that was made?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Justice and it goes back to my Member’s statement where I was talking about the need for a clinical psychologist at our largest correctional facility in the Territory, the North Slave Correctional Centre, which happens to be located in my riding.

It doesn’t take long to understand that if you do not have the required services of a clinical psychologist on staff at that centre, eventually what that is going to do is compromise public safety. I’d like to ask the Minister today why we do not have a day-to-day clinical psychologist...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m just wondering if the Minister is able to let us know how many more inmates currently on remand are awaiting psychiatric assessments and how long they’ve been waiting.