Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll follow up with the Premier with a similar line of questioning. He brought it up. So knowing that there's an encampment downtown, I brought it to the attention of several Ministers, not directly to the Premier, but I have no doubt he is well aware of it. You know, and I'm concerned that if the government starts providing food, water, toilet, security, etcetera, it becomes entrenched.
So, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to know what the Premier is doing or instructing through his government through various departments about removing the current encampment that's downtown to a more appropriate place. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Mr. Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And so I think one thing that the House needs to be aware of is that there's no legal authority to actually -- for us to remove an encampment. We can't go down there with a bulldozer and knock it down. We have to work with the individuals who are staying there. And so that is the plan, is to work with those individuals, find a -- help them find somewhere to stay -- whether that's a shelter, whether that's a different location -- that's not as disruptive to business and the general public downtown. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I'd like to find out what "work with" means because the residents of that area, be it the neighbours with children, families, investments, businesses, same situation, investments, Mr. Speaker, they want to understand why are they being held hostage over people who have taken over a government parking lot that's usually used for vehicles to park in while these people are stealing power and being set up quite nicely? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I know the Member referred to these people who are stealing power and holding people hostage. I get if you are living next to an encampment and there's late night partying, that would be very disruptive and if that goes on continuously, that, you know -- that would aggravate anyone and rightly so, and I understand that. But the fact is that these are people who need a place to stay. I can't imagine that this was their, you know, destination in life, being in an encampment, in an alley, but that's the situation. So we are working with them, having conversations, working with their legal representation, and doing our best to find locations that might be more suitable. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Premier. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe there's a law or an area you can cite called mischief and hence why don't we send the authorities down and work with them and say we'll deal with this problem under the mischief. It's the catchall of statements and charges, Mr. Speaker. Because we have families -- and just to be clear, when I say held hostage, held hostage by the noise, the intensity, the irregularity, and the frustration that they can't sleep, they can't live healthily. That's what I mean about being held hostage, not physically bound, just to be clear.
Mr. Premier.
Mr. Speaker, thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is mentioning mischief. I'm not sure if that's reference to the Criminal Code but if it is, if there is something in the Criminal Code that would allow the RCMP to go and address this situation, I would not -- I don't have the ability to direct the RCMP to do that. The Justice Minister does not have the ability to direct the RCMP to do that. We have a contract with the RCMP that makes very clear that we do not direct to the RCMP. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Premier. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.
