Jackson Lafferty

I need to go back to my department and the court ruling. We can probably provide a number. So we can certainly provide those numbers. Whatever we can share with the Members we will.

I cannot comment on specifics to this inmate because it’s before court proceedings. However, I can speak to the process itself. Since this process came to our attention, it is the responsibility of counsel to notify the RCMP, which in this particular case did not happen for various reasons. At the same time, we deal with Alberta Hospital. At Alberta Hospital there is a long wait list which Alberta Hospital provided to our attention as well. We have to keep in mind that there is a new process in place since the issue came to our attention. Copies of the psychiatric assessment are to be sent to...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment, as the government lead on the work to revitalize, enhance, and support the Northwest Territories official languages, continues to actively engage with language communities in the preparation of the Official Languages Strategy to be tabled this fall.

We are in the midst of planning a major Aboriginal Languages Symposium March 30th to April 1st in Yellowknife to bring together government, aboriginal language communities and other stakeholders to discuss the overarching principles of an Aboriginal Languages Strategy, how...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Wednesday, March 3, 2010, I will move that Bill 5, Apprenticeship, Trade and Occupations Certification Act, be read for the first time. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Wednesday, March 3, 2010, I will move that Bill 3, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2010, be read for the first time. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with respect to the SCAN legislation, we have visited the Yukon, our neighbouring Territory, to see how their legislation was going. We met with several of the leadership of that community, Whitehorse, and also visited the First Nations group and also the community council. So we just wanted to have a firsthand look at how that legislation was operating.

At the same time, Mr. Speaker, we are currently conducting our own research in other jurisdictions as well. The SCAN legislation is at the preliminary stages at this point. We want to make some changes so it...

When we had to make a decision at that time, it was strictly an operational one that we made last year.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. We do have contacts with the Alberta Hospital when it comes to assessments. Not only that, we do have a staff on hand that is a counsellor training to be a psychologist in that respect within a year. Once that individual obtains credentials, that individual will fulfill that position. It’s a current position that we have. We are making progress in this line of work. It has been taking some time, but we wanted to find the right individual with the right credentials to fulfill the position. We are moving forward on this.

That is waiting to be seen, based on the comments and input from the general public-at-large. I certainly cannot make the decision on my own without input from the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, we have to keep in mind that the Deline First Nation, there was a study commissioned by them and the study doesn’t provide certainty that Deline is the birthplace of hockey in Canada. It was quoted in there. Mr. Speaker, they realize that Deline should be recognized for their important contribution to the history of hockey in Canada and for the strength of hockey culture in the community. So that...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the Member is correct that there was an advertisement in the newspaper on February 22nd requesting input and feedback from the general public at large. It was a recommendation by an ad hoc evaluation committee that met on February 12th that identified 10 different key sites and events. The Member is referring to the event of the first recorded hockey game in the NWT. Those are the areas that we’ve highlighted in the newspaper and now we’re just waiting for feedback. The deadline for feedback submissions is March 3rd, so it’s just around the corner. Mahsi.