Debates of May 22, 2025 (day 57)
Question 675-20(1): Trespass Act Update
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I understand why people do encampments. There are a variety of reasons, whether they're exercising their freedoms, they're demonstrating political statements, affordability and, of course, addictions and other types. It's not meant to be an all-inclusive list, but there's reasons why.
Mr. Speaker, knowing that the government isn't moving forward on the Trespass Act any time in the foreseeable future, it may be on a list for one day in the fulsome of time, but the truth be told is we need to act now.
So the question to the Minister of Justice is would he be supportive of accelerating the Trespass Act within this next sitting -- upcoming sitting. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Member for the question. Totally agree. I think that, you know, the three pieces of legislation that we've been targeting from the Department of Justice, the SCAN legislation, the Trespass Act, and the Civil Forfeiture Act, are certainly high on a priority list since I've become Minister of Justice and continue to have conversations with the department about moving these forward. And we've already accelerated the timeline from where it was originally proposed and, you know, we'll continue to work toward trying to bring that quickly to the House as possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the spirit of collaboration, that was the nicest no I've heard all week.
Mr. Speaker, the Premier yesterday -- I'm not going to quote him in specifics because I don't have it in front of me, but he said it's the time to do things. So less talk, a lot more engagement and walk.
Mr. Speaker, would the government be supportive if a Private Member, such as myself, brought forward a Private Member's bill noting that most of these examples, whether they're Alberta and Nova Scotia, Manitoba, BC, are less than six pages? Would the government be open to a proposal from a private Member? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a considerable amount of work is already underway toward the Trespass Act. An LP is being currently developed. A lot of research has already started to address the fact that, you know, all the provinces within Canada have a Trespass Act. Unfortunately, the three territories, as of today, do not. It's certainly a priority of mine, as I said, to push this forward as quickly as possible and I am happy to, you know, continue in that direction. Certainly, you know, respect the private Members -- or the Member's right to move forward with a private Member's bill if he so chooses. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Justice. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Mr. Speaker, I'm always happy to do the government's work for them so anything they want to share with me, I'd be pleased. And that's not the question, but certainly I hope that's embedded in there somewhere.
Mr. Speaker, I want to point out and finish with families are feeling emotionally hostage, their personal safety, financial costs, and it's impacting their general daily lives. Mr. Speaker, would the Minister be willing to share what they have prepared today on this initiative? Because I'll push to move forward on a draft bill this coming fall so we can actually see some action in this Assembly with some new meaningful legislation that affects the day-to-day lives of citizens. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I previously said, a lot of work is already started on this initiative and just prior to coming into the sitting today, I did have my staff reach out to the Department of Justice and ask them to provide me with an update on how quickly we could advance these three pieces of legislations quicker than the planned accelerated timeline that I spoke to yesterday. So happy to share that information with the House as soon as it's available. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Justice. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.