Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Hard to know where to start here. I listened to the Minister answer Mr. Abernethy’s questions with regard to the business plan and what we thought was there and what apparently is not there anymore. The Minister just mentioned, and I am reading from page 42 of the Health and Social Services business plan, and it says work with communities to establish child and family service committees and at least five more communities in this business year. That’s from the business plan which Social Programs committee spent a great deal of time discussing, debating, getting...

Thanks for the information. I look forward to when that plan is actually developed and in place. I think it will be a good step forward and I think we then have to look at other aspects of abusers. I know it’s been mentioned we have a program for men who abuse, but there also are women who abuse and I think it is something that we probably have to look at in the future.

I wondered if the department could confirm or dispel a rumour that I heard a little while ago. I know the coroner’s office falls under this particular section and I heard a rumour that the coroner’s office is going to be...

Thank you to the Premier. I now understand where he was going. Not in my backyard, I guess. I’d like to know from the Minister whether or not the issue of an ombudsman office is far enough to the forefront of this government that it might be included in transition documents to take us from the 16th Assembly to the 17th. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, I guess just a comment here. I appreciate that specific situations have specific results, but I think there is sort of an educational aspect to this particular issue that needs to be addressed. I don’t think a lot of the people that mentioned this difficulty to us that the number of hours for their lawyer ran out, I don’t think a lot of those people understood that they could ask for an extension. It probably wasn’t offered to them. So I think there’s an education aspect on the part of the victims or the users of the system and there’s an aspect of education on the part of the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister for Executive, and it’s quite convenient because he also happens to be the Premier and my questions go across several departments.

I mentioned in my Member’s statement that I think that there still is a need for an ombudsman office. I also mentioned that I have heard from another Minister that apparently they are working in conjunction with the Executive to consider options for an ombudsman office. I’d like to know from the Minister for Executive what action has his department taken in the last year with regard to the...

Mr. Chairman, thanks to the Minister. That is all well and good, but there are people now in our communities that run into difficulties whether it be because they are the victim or they are the person that is creating the disturbance or they are the parent who is having a child apprehended. All of those things. They need access to a lawyer and to legal aid. They don’t have it. There is lots of opportunity for use of technology I would think. I didn’t hear anything in the Minister’s answer that they are looking beyond just hiring more lawyers. They generally happen to be in Yellowknife. If I...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I wanted to ask a few questions here with regards to legal aid services and the needs that we have with legal aid. When we travelled with the Child and Family Services Act review, one of the things that was made very evident to us as committee members was the difficulties that people have particularly in the small communities accessing legal aid services in terms of child apprehensions and so on. I think there is an increase. I think we are hiring another lawyer for legal aid services in this next year’s budget, but I would like confirmation on that. I would also like...

Thanks for the explanation. I believe that the GNWT has a consultation framework, so will Justice be working kind of across government either to amend or adjust or help people implement the consultation framework that the government has?

Thanks for that explanation. I did want to ask as well about the Aboriginal consultation unit. I can’t remember if that’s a new unit or not. If it is a new unit then my question is mute. Could I get a report on how that unit is going or, if it isn’t yet established, when it will be operational?

Oh, $45,000. Okay. That’s fine. So you’re suggesting that we might train one worker three times in a year. Is that correct?