Louis Sebert

There are several stages, and we are only at stage one.

Now, the Member opposite has talked about the information and the plans that we do have. We do not want to intervene between Aboriginal groups and their members. We are consulting with them. They, doubtless, will pass on information to their members. I don't think it would be appropriate or sensible for us to intervene between leadership and members.

Yes, I do remember that there was discussion about that so that prisoners or inmates would be aware of the A New Day Program. I believe some progress has been made, and perhaps I could look into that further and give the Member opposite a fuller answer.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, there are certain programs that I can speak of.

The Corrections Service has implemented a Substance Abuse Management, SAM, Program, Living Without Violence, and Respectful Relationships programming designed to help inmates with shorter sentences, as well as those serving their sentence in the community.

If I might provide more detail with respect to some of those programs, the SAM Program, Substance Abuse Management Program, was launched in 2016, and it has been delivered 36 times. The Violence Prevention and Living Without Violence Program was launched in 2017 and has been...

We do understand that the victim support workers do an incredible job, and it can be particularly difficult. Support for the program, in order to recruit new workers, was another recommendation referred to in the 2014 report.

They do get annual training opportunities, so there is ongoing training that does take place, and in addition, every year the department holds a significant annual training event, where the training provided is typically as a result of victim services providers' requests. Examples include child court accompaniment, critical incident stress debriefing, compassion fatigue...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Member opposite for his questions. There was a review in 2014 of victim service coordinators, and I can advise that this program started out in the late 1990s, with funding initially in two communities in the NWT, Yellowknife and Fort Smith. The Government of the Northwest Territories now provides funding for 11 community-based victim services workers in eight communities, including Yellowknife, Fort Smith, Inuvik, Fort Simpson, Behchoko, Fort Good Hope, Tulita, and Hay River. Workers in those communities also provide victim services to surrounding...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the department fully realized the seriousness of this item, and it is of course a shared priority amongst several departments. I mentioned that we are developing a comprehensive approach to addressing family violence, and maybe I can talk a little bit about the first steps that we are taking. The first phase will be focused on research and analysis and will result in a comprehensive strategy recommendation based on evidence and interjurisdictional analysis of best practices, consultation with northern researchers is in progress, and we hope to have preliminary...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Member opposite for his questions. At this time, we're not aware of any plans for another attitudinal survey. The survey of 2007, some 11 years ago, was helpful in confirming the prevalence of this problem in the Northwest Territories, and we know that the problem has continued through the use of shelters, the rates of emergency protection orders, EPOs, crime statistics, and other measures. Now, I can advise that the GNWT is developing a comprehensive approach to addressing family violence. The goal of this work is to identify best practices, align...

I mentioned that we do not want to intervene between the Aboriginal groups, Aboriginal governments, and their members. It is important that the leadership hears from us as to what our plans are, consults with us, and then deals directly with their members. I think that we do not want to intervene between those two groups of leadership and members. The Member asked about how many stages. There are several stages. We are just at the first stage. Our ultimate goal is to resolve this very complex issue, but we are only at stage one.

As I said previously, Mr. Speaker, there are a large number of Indigenous groups within the Northwest Territories that we have written letters to on September 5th.

Again, I am not certain whether we will be seeking to engage with Aboriginal governments beyond those, but again, yes, we do realize that this is an important issue, and we are hoping that those Aboriginal governments which we are dealing with, of which there is a large number, will spread the news to their various members.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our engagement with Indigenous governments has started. Really, what they do on their side is entirely up to them. We have started engaging with them. It would seem to me that they may wish to consult with their members, but that is their choice, of course. Thank you.