Rocky Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the reality in the Northwest Territories right now is that the drug trade is expanding. You know, we see, you know, the addictions growing. We see deaths increasing. We see families torn apart. And it's important that we do something before we can't handle it.

So, Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of Justice tell me what happens when the RCMP seize large amounts of money, or assets, suspected to come from illegal activities; are these seizures made under criminal or civil legislation? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yeah, and we're counting on, you know, criminal legislation and it's tough to get convictions sometimes. It takes a long time. And, for instance, you know, I had one constituent who had people in the house under the Residential Tenancies Act trying to get rid of somebody because there was illegal activities there. Well, you got to prove that in court and if you don't, they just stay there.

So, Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit his department to undertake a jurisdictional scan and review of civil forfeiture legislation and consider moving it forward in the NWT? Thank...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It sounds very complicated, and I'm not sure if we really accomplish much with it.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell me with respect to the illicit drug trades, in the past year how many seizures of cash or assets were made by the RCMP, and how much of that was returned to those that it was seized from? And I realize I'm asking for statistics so I will allow the question to be taken on notice. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when it comes to the illicit drug trade, it is all about money, power, and control for those higher on the food chain, and all about access to drugs and the high it provides for those addicted. Life is unimportant to those in the drug trade, as many of us have attended numerous funerals and services for friends and family murdered because of it. Families are being torn apart with little or no consequence for those responsible. It is time for this government to provide our frontline enforcement and health workers with the tools needed to effectively deal...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table a copy of Bill 7, Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act, from the sixth session of the 15th Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it sounds like maybe we should be enacting this piece of legislation. It didn't happen in the 15th Assembly, but the difference now is that we have a lot of people dying because of drugs.

Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit his department to undertake and complete a jurisdictional scan and review of the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act used in other jurisdictions? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, later today I'll table a document, being a bill that was prepared in the 15th Legislative Assembly but not enacted. Mr. Speaker, that bill is the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act. With some minor revisions, the enactment of this draft bill, we could provide enforcement with the tool to help addressing the manufacturing and sale of illicit drugs. The legislation's already present and working in Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, and the Yukon.

So, Mr. Speaker, will the Minister of Justice confirm...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Hay River residents, and NWT residents, do not want to attend more funerals. What we want is the enforcement tools to hit those who are manufacturing and selling out of public housing units, out of private housing, and out of commercial properties. I know the Minister has already alluded to this next question but, Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to review this draft SCAN bill and consider it for the NWT before the end of this Assembly? We have to do something and doing nothing just isn't acceptable. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I thank the Minister for that answer. I think it's important that we look at expanding the tools that we do have, and if that means going and looking at civil legislation then that's what we should be doing.

Mr. Speaker, will the Minister confirm why we'd want to look at civil legislation to deal with those drug houses? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the last several years, illicit drugs have been become commonplace in many of our communities. It has taken lives through violence and overdoses and has become an evergrowing public safety concern.

Mr. Speaker, in our regional and small communities, we know who the suppliers and dealers are. We know where they are taking advantage of our most vulnerable population through buying or forcing their way into homes which are then used as a base of operation. Drugs may be manufactured, distributed, or sold from those very premises, some which are government...