Robert Hawkins

Mr. Speaker, I’m trying to phrase this in a manner that makes the most sense. I’d like to support this highway. I’d like to have reasons to support this highway. We have clear issues. Last week the Minister of Transportation said we had a $299 million estimate for this particular highway construction. So the royalty fee must be built into that estimate as the cost of the highway. We have a $299 million estimate to build a highway, so we must know what the royalty fee is and that’s what I’m asking the Minister to lay before the House. Thank you.

Because we’re not allowed to ask the Minister’s opinion if 88 percent is fair, reasonable, or just disgusting, what I will ask is: What work has the Department of Justice done to find out what the root cause of this is and, furthermore, what are they able to do to help bring what one may describe as a reasonable balance in the sense of representation? Because I would say that 88 percent of our population representing the jails being solely Aboriginal people is not reasonable.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. From the list I have, it looks like a couple people were missed. First off, I want to recognize the St Pat’s Students Against Drinking and Driving, so the St. Pat’s students. Although I’m not sure if Sir John has their own students, but these are the St. Pat’s students that I’m aware of. The few that were missed off the list are Ryan Lu and Savannah Lane, as well as the staff member they have with them is Anne-Louise O’Brien, who I know works very hard with them, and we cannot forget all the hard work brought to making SADD so important, the hard work brought to us by...

Mr. Speaker, I guess the notwithstanding clause does not apply to us on this one. I can tell you first hand, when I worked in the correction centre as a corrections officer and certainly in many roles that I had worked there, a lot of inmates had mental health problems. What type of options, treatments and assessments are provided to inmates who are incarcerated? Furthermore, is there any follow-up provided to these particular inmates or are they simply just let go once they’re free? Thank you.

Thank you for noticing there, Mr. Speaker. My questions once again will be to the Minister of Justice. Earlier today my colleague Mr. Moses had asked, are treatment programs such as alcohol and drug treatment programs mandatory. I believe his answer was no. I am going to turn the question around and say, what would it take for the Department of Justice to make treatment programs such as alcohol and drug treatment mandatory.

I appreciate the answer from the Minister because I was going to ask about diversion techniques. Has the department studied the diversion techniques? As I understand it, diversion techniques are sometimes necessary for the potential person who has been arrested and charged with a crime, to actually go and appear before a court to get a direction rather than maybe a sentence. That’s the type of thing I’m saying, that in some cases it probably makes more sense. Has the Department of Justice considered and studied things like rehabilitation, based on proper direction and diversion techniques?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise with question period and my questions will be directed to the Minister of Justice, similarly as my colleague from Inuvik Boot Lake. In my Member’s statement, and again similar to Mr. Moses, our Member’s statements really talked about how we feel disgusted with the national rates of Aboriginal people. They’re not reflective of what’s considered fair and it certainly is a shocking or glaring reality which must stop. My first question to the Minister of Justice is: In the Northwest Territories we have a number of correctional institutions, would the Minister be able...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Equally, like my colleague Alfred Moses here, I too woke up this morning to the national news where they were piping out this story with a shocking, if not shameful, reality. One story clearly said that Aboriginal people are so vastly overrepresented in Canada’s federal prison system that current policies are clearly failing them. I could not agree more with that.

It went on to talk about the gaps in the corrections system, how it’s failing Aboriginal people. This is a shame. This should be a call to action, if not a simple marquis of this federal government to say let’s...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. How often is court-ordered treatment offered to inmates is not necessarily but as a direction that go to prison? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, that’s a bold statement by saying forcing them will not work. Maybe the Minister of Justice can clarify for the House where that reference and where the strength of that statement comes from. He must have some information reference expert that says, when you are locked up for two years less a day, of course, and you have nothing to do, that forced alcohol treatment… I’m talking about court-ordered treatment, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.