Jackson Lafferty

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I, too, would like to recognize the new Commanding Officer, Mr. Wade Blake, who is fulfilling a new role as commanding officer. I’d like to thank Mr. Middleton for all these years of commitment and dedication and wish him all the luck in his retirement. I also recognize Bronwyn Watters, my deputy minister of the Justice department.

Mr. Speaker, further to my return to Written Question 17-16(4), I wish to table the following document entitled Lutselk’e Income Assistance and Public Housing Rental Subsidy Program Caseload Statistics 2007-2010. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, yes, we’ll definitely do what we can as a department, but I would encourage the Member to assist, as well, identifying those organizations that would pick up these apprentices. It’s almost as challenging a task for us as a department to seek out those organizations that are willing to take on these apprentices, but we’ll do what we can to train those individuals and provide subsidies for them to be trained as an apprentice. But at the same time, if the Member can assist in this area, that will be very helpful as well. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, through our Department of Education, Culture and Employment we do provide various subsidies and also training programs to the communities, whether it be apprenticeship, occupational certification that falls within the Apprenticeship Program, Occupational Program, Training on the Job. Mr. Speaker, we also provide Labour Market Development programs to the communities. That essentially involves building essential skills, self-employment, training on the job, apprenticeship, and youth employment and so forth, Mr. Speaker. Just recently we signed off with the...

Mr. Speaker, I have to correct the Member: we do not have eight students out of school. As of today we have one student that went back to Sachs Harbour, one student from Sachs Harbour that’s enrolled in school and supported the independent study, the other seven students are in school. A total of 10 students; sorry, a total of seven students. So, Mr. Speaker, these students are in school, second semester, and there’s only one that went back to Sachs Harbour for personal reasons. This is accurate information from the superintendent of the board of education council of the Beaufort-Delta. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if there is a report, it will be up to the Beaufort-Delta to produce one. And if they are, then we are looking forward to a report. At the same time, there is an Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative that’s underway. There are several meetings undertaken about the success of students and the programming, the schools and the enrolment issues. So those are the areas, the key target discussions that they are having. So if the Member can elaborate on the actual report that’s been worked on. I’m not sure what specific documents he’s referring to, if there is one...

With the federal government and their own initiatives, we don’t know if this is on their radar. At the same time, if we’re going to build this kind of facility, we’re talking millions. Those millions going through the communities, such as preventive programs that we currently are pursuing, we are again achieving those successes to date. Community policing. We’re talking about an institution here that could be in the far distance, down the road. At the same time, we have to listen to what the federal government’s goals and objectives are for the Northwest Territories. When the opportunity comes...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. This particular area, we get direction from the Legislative Assembly and the priorities and goals and objectives of this government. I didn’t see any penitentiary within the goals of this Assembly. There are other priority items, priorities of the Northwest Territories and the communities such as community policing or other community programming. Those are the areas we focus on. Mostly on community policing, the Community Policing Program. Those are the areas that we’re focusing on. The areas we feel we can achieve and we have to date achieved those goals and objectives...

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to update the House on the Department of Justice’s work to improve policing services across the Territory.

I would first like to recognize the new commanding officer of the Northwest Territories “G” Division, Chief Superintendent Wade Blake. Chief Superintendent Blake has 29 years of experience in the RCMP. Residents of Fort Smith will recognize him from his posting there from 1989-1992. He is well known for his commitment to alternative justice approaches and community policing. He is very familiar with the needs of small aboriginal communities without on-site...

I can commit to the Member that I am willing to work with them on this symposium that he’s referring to. He did bring that to my attention and I believe that’s going forward. I told him, if we’re invited, we’ll certainly be part of that ongoing process. Mahsi.