Julie Green

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Section 77(1) of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Counsel Act, I wish to advise the House that I have a conflict of interest in Bill 30, Health Statutes Law Amendment Act. This bill amends the Public Health Act to clarify that the Commissioner may make regulations respecting cremation and crematoria.

Mr. Speaker, my spouse is a funeral planner and, as such, has a private interest in this bill. I will excuse myself from the Chamber during consideration of this matter. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Could the standing committee write to the Minister to ask for a commitment for this funding? Would that make any difference? Thank you.

That was a less robust answer than I was hoping for. I believe we are agreed that combatting the brutal and unending murder of women is a priority, and redoing the family violence survey would give us the data to ensure our crisis response is an informed and intelligent response. Will the Minister commit to updating the cost of redoing the survey and including this funding in the upcoming business plan for his department?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Justice. In my Member's statement today, I noted that the mandate for this Assembly defines family violence as a crisis. Presumably, our efforts to combat a crisis should be extraordinary and urgent. Does the Minister accept the mandate definition of family violence as a crisis, and does this mean combatting that crisis is among the top priorities of his ministry? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in her most recent report, the chief coroner noted that four out of five murders in the NWT in 2015 involved domestic violence. This is a repeat of 2012, where four of out five murders also involved domestic violence. That's 80 per cent, Mr. Speaker. The rate for Canada as a whole is less than half that, at 36 per cent in 2015. In discussing her findings with the media, the chief coroner said the territory needs a massive shift in attitudes so people realize that this is not normal and not acceptable. To make this shift, there needs to be education for...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I made an effort to improve Bill 16 to benefit both students and teachers by aligning the mandatory minimum instructional hours with Alberta while reducing the current instructional hours at the high school level by 45 hours. I was unsuccessful in that effort, and I can't support Bill 16 in its current form, so I will be abstaining in this vote. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. On page 10, we authorized an expenditure of $111,000 for a solar array at the Western Arctic Research Institute. This page asks us to approve an additional $200,000 for a photovoltaic system in Inuvik. Could the Minister tell us whether these are complimentary projects or separate projects? What is the status of them? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I understand that a Sissons Study did a planning study of JH Sissons School and was completed approximately five years ago, so what is the durability of a planning study? How long is the information good for? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Justice as a follow-up to the return to written questions he presented May 25, 2017. The RCMP reviewed sexual assault complaints to "G" Division for the period 2010-2016 and reduced the rate of unfounded complaints from 30 per cent to 18.7 per cent.

Did this reclassification include a review of evidence in each case file, and:

Did the RCMP contact complainants and provide an explanation in the cases deemed unfounded;

What is the significance of reporting that 42 per cent of the new unfounded cases originated from third parties;

What...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand the entire Cabinet is going to Inuvik next week for the energy forum. Is there not any way to make choices, intelligent choices, about where to spend money that supports the residents of the NWT other than going for a little holiday up in Inuvik? Perhaps the Minister needs a more insistent request. What if the Standing Committee on Social Development wrote to you and asked you to -