Jackson Lafferty

Mr. Speaker, these corrections officers need to be at the centre. They are required to monitor and also look after those inmates in case there are any issues that may arise. There is a constant issue that may be conducted at the centre as well. They are required to be there. Other staff may come and go, as I indicated before, administrative staff, but at the same time, these corrections officers need to be at the centre. That is a big difference. They can’t leave the premises to go for, let’s say, a smoke outside the premises because they are on duty eight, 10, 12 hours as identified by their...

I did commit to working with various northern artists and also the potential partners that would be out there such as the Member indicated. There are a couple more that could be added to the list. Mr. Speaker, we will be working closely with the museum, NWT Arts Council, Canada Council of Arts, Aurora Arts Society and also working very closely with the northern artists as well. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, those are the discussions that we need to have with the NWT Arts Council and other partners as well. If we need to do a pilot project, those are discussions we need to have as we move forward. Mahsi.

I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Range Lake, that Bill 3, Electronic Transactions Act, be read for the second time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill provides for the recognition of electronic communications and documents under Northwest Territories law, in the absence of specific treatment in each applicable enactment. This bill does not require the use of electronic communications, but does establish minimum standards that must be met when electronic documents and information are used in transactions. The bill also makes consequential amendments to the Interpretation Act to further...

Throughout the Northwest Territories we serve over 40,000 people, 33 communities. Not everyone has phones per se. As indicated in the past, where there are individuals that are working, they don’t even have phones sometimes, can’t afford it. It’s not only income support clientele. There is a variety of people who may have phones, but some don’t have phones for various reasons. Again, to reiterate, our program is for basic necessities: food, shelter and clothing. That’s what we’ve been providing over the years and we will continue to provide those services to the 33 communities that we service...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The income security is for basic necessities of life where food, shelter and clothing are required. So we provide those services to those individuals that are on income support. A lot of clientele do have telephones in their home units. Some just have local calls, which of course is very cheap. Mr. Speaker, this is an area where we need to focus more on what we could provide as a shelter, food and clothing. That has always been the mandate of this government and we continue to deliver that same messaging as we roll out the program. We made some changes to the program in...

Mr. Speaker, again, it comes down to a health hazard to the inmates. The corrections officers, when they go for, let’s say they are allowed to go for a smoke, they come back and deal on a constant basis with the inmates one to one. They are always with the inmates. Second-hand smoke is even worse. That is what we have heard over and over through health discussions. Mr. Speaker, that is the very reason why we have stopped smoking at corrections premises. That is the very reason why we are not allowing those individuals that are on guard with doing their job and looking after those inmates. Mr...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. When we talk about staff, they have different professions. We have security guards there that monitor the inmates on a constant basis. They are required to be at the centre. We have other staff that may come and go, such as secretaries or clerical or administrative. They go downtown and do their lunch and they may come back. They may pick up a smell of smoke to some degree. Mr. Speaker, those securities need to be at the corrections. That is a big difference where they are required to be at the centre. We don’t allow smoking at the centre, as well, on the premises. Mr...

Mr. Speaker, in coordination with the NWT Arts Council, those are discussions that we are currently having and how we are going to roll out the program, if we are going to enhance our program with the existing funding that we have, so those are the discussions that are ongoing. Once I get that information, more information on the new initiatives and also the research that we have done on the curator shows in northern and southern venues, we will be sharing those with the Members as well. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Our curator initiatives involved various partners, as well working closely with the northern artists, as the Member indicated. We need to work with the museum as well, Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Museum, the NWT Arts Council and also Canada Council of Arts. In the meantime, what we are doing now is we are working closely with ITI and my department of ECE. We are committed to working together to implement the NWT Arts Strategy action related to enhancing the profile of the northern arts regionally, nationally and also internationally. In addition, Mr. Speaker, in...