Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when we see people on the street who are in a bad state, some of whom who are unhoused and some of whom prefer to live in encampments rather than in shelters, we tend to jump to different conclusions about what should be done. Some people believe they should be moved out of public spaces and ultimately that law enforcement officers should step in, and others see unhoused people as victims who simply require more supports and resources. Either way, we tend to focus on what should be done to these people or for these people. But what if we ask a different question? What can we ask from these people? What are everyone's responsibilities in this situation?
The government certainly has responsibilities to provide decent options for shelter. But we often overlook the fact that people who are unhoused, even when they have addictions, also need to be accountable, especially when they're threatening or harming others.
I think that asking for accountability is a basic sign of respect. It means recognizing someone as a self-determining human. The trouble is when it's GNWT staff who are tasked with enforcing accountability or consequences. Say someone who works for the government comes along and says, come on, you owe it to the GNWT to pay your rent on time or to stop damaging your housing unit or to stop disturbing your neighbours or stop bringing drug dealers around here. Well, people can rightfully say, I don't owe the GNWT anything. It's the government that set up residential schools and took our homes and land away in the past and got us into this mess in the first place. But what if a respected elder comes along and says okay, you owe it to your family, to your community, to keep your home safe, to keep your neighbourhood safe. What if an unhoused person has one of their peers or someone with lived experience come along and say hey, maybe you could settle down or stop yelling at people; you know better than this.
Our law enforcement system has a critical role, but it struggles to hold people accountable over the longer term. Putting minor offenders on a revolving door in and out of jail doesn't seem to help. That's where a move towards restorative justice approaches is so important. The community, as a whole, needs to hold an offender accountable. I'm hopeful that we can use these same kinds of restorative justice principles to address encampments in public spaces, public intoxication, and threatening behaviours. Mr. Speaker, can I ask for unanimous consent just to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and to my colleagues. So I am hopeful we can use these kinds of restorative justice principles to address encampments, public intoxication, and threatening behaviours, by figuring out perhaps community-led and peer support teams who might be able to more meaningfully hold people accountable for their actions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
