Jackson Lafferty

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The directive went out to the Members and the communities requesting their input by the 20th of this month. One of the directives is to have the right-holders only allowed in those particular schools: the French schools. Right now it is an open door policy, where any individuals from the community can access their school and take pre-schooling and then a French immersion program. From there they are considered right-holders at that facility.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. April 15 marked the official opening of the Mobile Trades Lab in Inuvik. Many of us here today were present at the opening and had the opportunity to tour the facility. It is an impressive unit — a great example of how innovation and open-minded thinking can allow us to maximize opportunities for Northerners. The opening of this lab was cause for celebration in the Beaufort-Delta region and for all the partners involved in the project.

Earlier in this session I spoke about a partnership approach to building the Aurora College residence in Inuvik. The Mobile Trades Lab is yet...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Range Lake, that Bill 13, An Act to Amend the Legal Profession Act, be read for the second time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill includes a number of amendments to update the discipline process in the Legal Profession Act, including amendments that would:

require that at least one layperson serve on the Law Society’s Discipline Committee and on any committee of inquiry set up to hear a discipline matter;

provide that certain complaints may be referred to mediation;

empower the chairperson of the discipline committee to designate a member of...

Mr. Speaker, we will continue to provide the services and programs that I highlighted. We are in the process of meeting, as the social envelope Ministers — myself as Education, Culture and Employment Minister, Minister Lee and also Minister Miltenberger — on this particular subject that the Member is referring to: homelessness and the programs and services that we provide, how we can enhance those areas, where can we make changes, and how can we improve certain programs. We will be discussing those key areas once we meet. We were talking about possibly sitting down and dealing with those...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. We do have coordination between the departments of Health and Social Services, NWT Housing Corporation and ourselves, and the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. We do have programs with the Small Communities Homelessness Fund towards homelessness and also homelessness support projects, so there are plenty available for these individuals at the community level. Also, when they’re outside their community, there’s assistance for them to go back to their own communities.

Mr. Speaker, once we meet as a social envelope committee, I can certainly share that information with the Member and also the Members of the Social Programs Committee. Certainly, after we meet, we can do up a summary report of what has taken place.

Mr. Speaker, the homeless in the communities can turn to various avenues, whether it’s the social workers who work seven days a week, 24 hours a day, on call. We do have some facilities in communities — in Yellowknife the new Bailey House is going up, the Sally Ann, the SideDoor — and there are homelessness shelters here as well. These are the avenues that individuals can turn to. There are income support areas, but more so, it’s the social service workers that are on call. Those are the avenues they can turn to as well.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. That commissioner has their own role, to implement the operations of the Languages Commissioner within the communities and regions. My understanding is that she is a statutory officer. With our ECE department we work closely with her as well. I believe there have been some recommendations brought forward, and we are working on those recommendations, so she is in that role. Mahsi.

I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Range Lake, that Bill 13, An Act to Amend the Legal Profession Act, be read for the first time. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I think it’s important that we recognize the program delivery criteria. It came down from the federal government, federal Corrections. What more can we offer? It is accredited for these individuals to deliver a program — the four key areas for rehabilitation — into the community. So we have trained these individuals for, as the Member states, a couple of weeks, a few weeks. We train these individuals, and they are trained. They are certified by the Correctional Service of Canada because it is their program, as well, so we are meeting the standards of their criteria at North Slave...