Julie Green

Thanks to the Minister for that response. I'm going to ask a follow-up question. In what circumstances are they valuable if they are revealing information that is not a conviction but only that a person has had some kind of contact with the justice system or the police?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Justice. In response to my questions on the topic of records of non-conviction in November, the Minister said that criminal records checks are intended to protect vulnerable groups and "essential in certain circumstances dealing with vulnerable populations or children." To be clear, does the Minister really believe that the police should be making any records public which do not deal with a conviction for a criminal offence but disclose only that a person has been in contact with the police or justice system? Mahsi, Mr...

Just one more. Yes, I appreciate that that is a goal and not a definition, and for sure this work is going to be hard. I don’t think that we should wait for the federal government. I think that we need to consider in our own context what poverty is. We often hear that people with low income don’t feel like they live in poverty, so it's not only income driven, but we do hear that lots of people don’t have enough food to eat.

So I think that we really have to make the effort to do that, and I think the biggest danger here is overthinking it and making it complicated, and that's why I'm talking...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am going to return to a topic I raised during the last sitting, as I have had another constituent bring another case of injustice to my attention.

The issue is records of non-conviction, the reports that are produced by the police when a criminal records check is requested. These reports may contain records of a person having been questioned by the police and not charged, or charged and the charges were later dropped, or charged and the person was later acquitted. In the latest case of my constituent, the person was charged with assault in 1990 and received a...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will make this my last point. One of the difficulties of the antipoverty work, since it was really renewed with vigour in 2009, is that the territory doesn't have a definition of poverty. I am wondering if the Minister believes the time has come to create a definition. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don't have any further questions on that, now that we know what that is about. Also, during the business planning process we talked about the tremendous backlog of need in both longterm care and homecare, and the Minister said that the department is aggressively exploring options to acquire additional longterm care beds in Yellowknife in the short term. I wonder if the Minister could give us an update on that issue. Thank you.

No further questions. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Well, Rockhill is almost 50 years old. The plumbing system is going. The electrical system and fire suppression systems have been upgraded, but its lease on life is in fact coming to an end. Has the department started planning for where this program will be offered when Rockhill is finally declared dead? Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that notwithstanding Rule 4, when this House adjourns on February 9, 2017, it shall be adjourned until Tuesday, February 14, 2017;

AND FURTHER, that at any time prior to February 14, 2017, if the Speaker is satisfied after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, the Speaker may give notice and thereupon the House shall meet at the time stated in such notice and shall transact...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Finally, Mr. Speaker, I asked the Minister whether he would consult with his federal and provincial counterparts and he said, and I quote, "I'm always willing to consult." So can the Minister state his commitment to suggest that an evaluation of the application of the Criminal Records Act be placed on the agenda of the next FPT Justice Ministers' meeting? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.