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= Speaker: I will now call the House to order. We will proceed at this t= ime with prayers.
=
Prayers
DAILY ROUTINE
= Speaker: We will proceed at this time with the Order Paper.
Tributes.
TRI=
BUTES
In recognition of Speech= and Hearing Awareness Month
Hon. Mr. Hart: Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House to= day to pay tribute to professionals who are working to improve life for those who = have speech and hearing difficulties. May is Speech and Hearing Awareness Month. It’s a time designated to raise awareness about the difficulties many Canadians experience with hearing and speech disorders.
[French
spoken]
We take communications for granted,= but the truth is, it’s hard enough understanding e= ach other when we have full hearing and no speech issues. Imagine trying to do = your job in this House if you had a hearing impairment or trouble getting your w= ords out. Fortunately we have experts in this field who are trained to identify the problems and either mitigate or resolve them. It’s vital to identify speech and hearing problems as early as possib= le.
Babies absorb language easily by he= aring. Children learn by listening to us. They can’t tell if the hearing is normal or not. That’s why it’s vital for us to pay attention to= any sign that a child may have a hearing problem and take them to experts if we= suspect that they do. Rehabilitation works, but the earlier the problem is identifi= ed, the better chance a child has of avoiding developmental delays.
[French
spoken]
Speech and language pathologists and
audiologists evaluate and treat a full range of disorders. In
In recognition of World Hepatitis Day
Mr.
Fairclough: Mr. Speaker, I rise today on be=
half of
the Assembly to acknowledge World Hepatitis Day. World Hepatitis Day was fi=
rst
launched in 2008, with a campaign awareness theme, “Am I number
12?” It was a simple message designed to communicate that one in 12
people worldwide are living with viral hepatitis B or C. Hepatitis is
increasing rapidly in
In the
Hepatitis C is=
an
infectious virus that is carried in the blood and infects the liver and can=
be
spread through contact with infected blood or contaminated needles. Most pe=
ople
newly infected with hepatitis C have no symptoms and are unaware of their
infections but are at risk of liver damage and liver cancer and can still p=
ass
it on to others.
Approximately =
75 to 85
percent of people who become infected with hepatitis C progress to a chronic
carrier state. We need to have better awareness and understanding of this d=
isease.
Blood Ties Four
Directions is a Whitehorse-based organization that works to help educate and
support people who have blood-borne diseases like HIV and hepatitis C.
By drawing our
attention to hepatitis C and making us aware of the support and compassion =
that
is needed, Blood Ties has helped to put a human face on this disease.
Many people
don’t come forward for the fear of discrimination and the stigma
associated with hepatitis C. The test for hepatitis C is simple: it only
requires a blood test. Blood Ties Four Directions and the No Fixed Address
Outreach van, along with our existing Health and Social Services’ work
with clients, providing counselling and nursing services, education and ref=
erral
services with issues related to substance abuse, homelessness and HIV and
hepatitis C infections.
We would like =
to take
this opportunity to thank all the front-line workers, counsellors, health
professionals and volunteers for their dedication and perseverance in the
ongoing battle to educate and protect our citizens’ health. We must a=
ll
be vigilant and take the precautions necessary to protect oneself and others
from the hepatitis C virus. If we can only educate the public and help redu=
ce
the incidence of hepatitis C, we can save lives.
Blood Ties sta=
ff will
be outside the
Speaker: Are there any further tributes?
Introduction
of visitors.
Returns
or documents for tabling.
TABLING RETURNS
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> <=
/span>I
have for tabling the Yukon Judicial Council annual report for 2009.
I also have for
tabling the annual report of the Yukon Advisory Council on Women’s Is=
sues
for 2009-10.
&nb=
sp; Hon.
Mr. Fentie: I
have for tabling the Yukon Liberal members’ candidate code of conduct,
their contract with Yukoners.
Speaker: Are there any further documents for tabl=
ing?
Are there any =
reports
of committees?
Are there any
petitions?
PETITIONS
Mr. Elias: I have for presentation a petition regarding ATV
legislation and it is signed by 610 individuals.
Speaker: Are there any further petitions for pres=
entation?
Are there any =
bills to
be introduced?
Are there any =
notices
of motion?
NOTICES OF MOTION
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> <=
/span>I
give notice of the following motion:
THAT the Yukon
Legislative Assembly, pursuant to section 22(2) of the Human Rights Act, does appoint Vicki Hancock and John W. Phelps=
as
members of the panel of adjudicators for terms of three years effective
immediately.
Mr. McRobb: I am pleased to give notice of the follo=
wing
five constituency-driven motions on this penultimate sitting day.
I give notice =
of the
following motion:
THAT this Hous=
e urges
the Government of Yukon to make the necessary changes to the Highways Act to allow two road acc=
esses
to land owned privately or commercially and to relax the enforcement of the
archaic existing rules until the changes have been made.
I give notice =
of the
following motion:
THAT this Hous=
e urges
the Government of Yukon to honour the commitments it made to citizens to
standardize highway speed limits on the
I give notice =
of the
following motion:
THAT this Hous=
e urges
the Government of Yukon to honour the commitments it made to citizens with
residences on the
I give notice of the following moti= on:
THAT this House urges the Governmen=
t of
Yukon to resolve issues relating to the road right-of-way through
I give notice of the following moti= on:
THAT this House urges the Governmen=
t of
Yukon to work with all concerned individuals, agencies and governments towa=
rd
removal of the no-hunting corridor along the
Speaker’s statement
Speaker: I would just like to remind the Hon. Mem=
ber
for Kluane that introductions are not permitted to notices of motion. The
member simply stands up and states the notices of motion.
Now we will ha=
ve the
Member for
Mr. Cardiff: I give notice of the following motion:
THAT this Hous=
e urges
the Government of Yukon to recognize the challenges it faces in recruiting =
one
doctor for Dawson City and realize that the staffing needs of a greater num=
ber
of medical professionals for a new regional hospital in Dawson require seri=
ous
thought and planning, in terms of recruitment and retention.
I give notice =
of the
following motion:
THAT this Hous=
e urges
the Government of Yukon to work with the municipal government and conservat=
ion
society in Dawson in order to maximize the diversion of solid waste and
recyclables by:
(1) ensuring
that proper infrastructure, including water and electricity, are in place at
the Quigley landfill site;
(2) ensuring
that staffing levels at the landfill and recycling depots are adequate; and=
(3) ensuring
transportation of waste, including tires, white metal and e-waste, is
coordinated and community groups are not overburdened by red tape.
I give notice =
of the
following motion:
THAT
this House urges the Government of Yukon to work with the citizens of
Speaker: Any further notices of motion?
Hearing none, =
is there
a statement by a minister?
This then brin=
gs us to
Question Period.
QUESTION PERIOD
Question re: Silverfox death, public
inquiry
<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Mr. Fairclough: ̳=
4; The Silverfox family has suffered far to=
o long
from the open wounds of Raymond’s in-custody death. The community and=
the
Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation have drawn together to support the
Silverfox family.
We have asked =
this
government to hold a public inquiry into Raymond’s death and the
government said no. We tabled a motion in this Assembly, calling for a publ=
ic
inquiry, but this government would not even let us debate the motion. They =
used
their majority to adjourn debate before all members could speak to this mot=
ion.
Mr. Speaker, my
community is hurting. The Silverfox family is hurting.
Will the Minis=
ter of
Justice show some compassion for the Silverfox family and hold a public inq=
uiry
into the death of Raymond Silverfox?
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> The fact of the matter is that we h=
ave
several processes already underway, such as the policing review the
superintendent and I announced, the Crown prosec=
utor’s
review of the material noted by the superintendent, as well as the civil su=
it
by the family and an application for a judicial review of the coroner’=
;s
jury’s findings. Let’s let the processes unfold as they should.=
Mr. Fairclough: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> That’s not good enough, Mr. Speake=
r. It is
not good enough for the Silverfox family and it is not good enough for
Yukoners. What happened to Mr. Silverfox, Mr. Speaker, was unimaginable. The
coroner’s inquest left us with a lot of questions but no satisfactory
answers. A general review will not help the Silverfox family and the Minist=
er
of Justice knows that. The death of Raymond Silverfox is a specific issue a=
nd a
very serious issue. That is why the family has asked for a public inquiry. =
That
is why we’ve asked for a public inquiry. That is why we called our mo=
tion
for debate on the need for a public inquiry.
Mr. Speaker, t=
he
Minister of Justice has a duty to the Silverfox family and to all Yukoners.=
She
has a duty to reveal the truth about this issue. Will the minister do her d=
uty?
Will she call for a public inquiry into the death of Raymond Silverfox?
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> Superintendent Clark has already
expressed his shock and his disappointment at the insensitive and callous
treatment of Mr. Silverfox while he was under the RCMP=
’s
custody.
He has acknowl=
edged
that the RCMP is examining the actions of its employees. In his media relea=
se
of May 7, Superintendent Clark stated that the RCMP has requested that tran=
scripts
of the coroner’s inquest be provided through the local Crown prosecut=
or,
who in turn provided it to a Crown prosecutor outside the Yukon, in order t=
hat
all the evidence given during the inquest can be considered when determinin=
g if
the actions or inactions of the RCMP or its employees are of a criminal nat=
ure.
The transcripts will also be provided to the investigator acting on behalf =
of
the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP — as you know, =
that
body is an independent authority that exists to ensure the conduct of the R=
CMP
is consistent with the Criminal Cod=
e
— as well as provided to the independent investigator from Alberta who
will consider the material and could make additional recommendations as a
result of the review.
Mr. Fairclough: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> The Minister of Justice just told the Ho=
use
that a review is good enough. Well, it isn’t, Mr. Speaker. It’s=
not
good enough for the Official Opposition. It’s not good enough for the
Third Party. It’s not good enough for the Silverfox family. It’s
not good enough for the community of Carmacks or Yukoners in general. A rev=
iew
will produce few recommendations and a lot more questions and the Minister =
of
Justice knows this.
The compassion=
ate
thing for the Minister of Justice to do right now is set aside her fears,
whatever they may be. The responsible thing to do right now is serve the ne=
eds
of justice. The right thing to do is to call a public inquiry into the deat=
h of
Raymond Silverfox. Will the minister do the right thing and do her duty as =
the
Minister of Justice? Will she call for a public inquiry into the death of
Raymond Silverfox?
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> Contrary to what the member opposit=
e is
saying, I have no fear; I have compassion for the family of Raymond Silverf=
ox
and what they must have gone through, and my heart goes out to them in
sympathy.
As I said befo=
re, the
fact of the matter is that there are already multiple processes underway.
Let’s let them and unfold as they should. Independent investigators w=
ill
collect the available information, including interviews with individuals who
are involved in order to determine what, if anything, according to the law
would be appropriate.
The member opp=
osite
brought up a question about our jury — the coroner and the jury. I ha=
ve
profound disappointment in that, that we would question the integrity of our
coroner and the jury who sat with her to go through the facts of this case.=
It
was one of the longest inquiries in
Again, the fac=
t of the
matter is that we have multiple processes underway, such as the policing re=
view
that the superintendent and I announced, the Crown prosecutor’s revie=
w of
the material noted by the superintendent, as well as a civil suit by the fa=
mily
and an application for a judicial review of the coroner’s findings.
I would also l=
ike to
point out —
Speaker: Thank you. Leader of=
the
Official Opposition please.
Question re:
Silverfox death, public inquiry
Mr. Mitchell:
Unfortunately =
for
Will the minis=
ter do
the right thing and call an inquiry into the death of Raymond Silverfox?
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
Once again, the Liberal leader has made a
statement and I will just briefly reflect on that. The Liberal of the Liber=
al
Party has now stated that government has refused to call a public inquiry. =
Mr.
Speaker, that is entirely incorrect and the member knows full well thatR=
17;s
incorrect. In fact, the process in this House actually was not about saying
“no” to a public inquiry at all. It reserved that right and opt=
ion
for a later date, once the Crown prosecutor has done its work — becau=
se
there may very well be criminal charges coming out of that work — and
once the independent investigation of a number of individuals with the RCMP=
is
concluded. And because this government is compassionate and aghast at what
happened to Mr. Silverfox, we have launched a major policing review in this
territory.
Mr. Mitchell:
Clayton Ruby, =
a very
prominent civil rights lawyer in this country, also believes the circumstan=
ces
in which Mr. Silverfox died warrant a public inquiry. In fact, he said it is
the Justice minister’s duty to call such a=
n inquiry.
We are quite disappointed with this minister’s hands-off approach to =
this
issue. When we brought forward the motion a few weeks ago to debate this
question, the minister didn’t want to vote against it, but the govern=
ment
also refused to vote in favour of it. It avoided taking a position.
Mr. Ruby also =
said
it’s the politicians who have to call a commission inquiry and here, =
as
is so often the case without public pressure, it’s not going to happe=
n.
When is the mi= nister going to start listening to Yukoners who are calling for a public inquiry?<= o:p>
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
Mr. Speaker, this issue of duty by the
minister is exactly why the government has reserved the right to call a pub=
lic
inquiry. The Leader of the Liberal Party has just suggested that there is n=
o need
for another study. Is the member actually suggesting that the investigation=
by
a Crown prosecutor outside of this territory is a mere study?
Mr. Speaker, w=
e have
to raise the bar here. This is a very serious matter, and I don’t thi=
nk
this House should be making a mockery of something like this. The Crown
prosecutor is doing an investigation, not a study.
Mr. Mitchell:
The family of =
Mr.
Silverfox is asking that this matter be looked at in more detail in a public
inquiry. Two hundred people marched last Friday night in a vigil; a very
prominent Canadian civil rights lawyer has added his voice to those calling=
for
an inquiry into this matter.
What is it goi=
ng to
take for the Justice minister to do the right th=
ing?
Will she call a public inquiry into this matter?
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
There is a lot at issue with what happen=
ed to
Mr. Silverfox, and I don’t think there’s any doubt — and
it’s evidenced by how Superintendent Clark, the commanding officer he=
re
of M Division, expressed his views. The superintendent openly admitted fail=
ure.
They had failed Mr. Silverfox and they had failed themselves. Openly, and i=
n a
very transparent manner, he apologized.
There’s =
more.
There was a coroner’s inquest and the evidence that came out of that
inquest was shocking. And there’s more: there are investigations going
on, not the least of which is by the Crown prosecutor; and the minister and=
the
RCMP have agreed to go along with the commissioner of the RCMP of this coun=
try
to conduct a thorough, comprehensive policing review here in the Yukon as it
relates to the conduct of the RCMP — the confidence and the trust of
Yukon in the RCMP. Those are significant processes that are ongoing, and the
possibility of a public inquiry is still valid and very much in the forefro=
nt.
Question re: &=
nbsp; Child and Family Services Act
Mr. Cardiff: Mr. Speaker, the new Child
and Family Services Act was proclaimed on
Hon. Mr. Hart: <=
/span>We
just recently announced the proclamation of the Child and Family Services Act here on April 30.
We had a celeb=
ration
here in the foyer of the Legislative Assembly building, and brought forth a=
ll
those involved in looking after children throughout the
Mr. Cardiff: Mr. Speaker, this act has many new concepts for
One of the more
sweeping changes, and one that affects everyone, is section 22, which makes=
it
mandatory to report children in need of protective intervention. The minist=
er
is still working out what that means to the public. There are not regulatio=
ns
specifying what that means.
When will we k=
now what
the consequences of not reporting a child in need of protective invention a=
re,
and will there be public education about this mandatory requirement?
Hon. Mr. Hart: One of the key aspects of the new Child
and Family Services Act is the fact that we are there to protect the ch=
ild.
The emphasis in this particular act is to do just that. That is also the re=
ason
behind the child advocate — to protect and deal with the child. It is
also to ensure that the family is to be protected and stay within the famil=
y unit,
extended or otherwise, and to ensure that that individual is protected by t=
he
family either direct or extended, i.e. grandparents or uncles as they relat=
e to
that child. The Child and Family Se=
rvices
Act — key aspect there is trying to keep the family unit together=
on
its process and that is the focus we have here, to ensure the safety of the
children.
Mr. Cardiff: Well, the minister didn’t answer the question, =
so
now he has two to answer next time. In the act, the director can establish
committees for community involvement and delegate the director’s powe=
rs
to any person or group. This is very good in theory and it responds to the
First Nations’ desire to control child welfare. However, with written
notice from the director, delegation can be withdrawn. Worse than that, rev=
iew
of the director’s decision on withdrawal is done by a procedure
established by the director, and there is no appeal. The director has even =
more
power than he or she had in the past. This is dictatorial and is management=
by
a top-down process. The bottom line: it’s not in the least supportive=
of
community needs or desires.
Will the minis=
ter
immediately review the processes, which are the consequences of this act, a=
nd
assure the House that the new act is, indeed, better than what we had befor=
e?
Hon. Mr. Hart: It’s obvious that this act is
better than what was previously in place. The intent of the new Child and Family Services Act is o=
ut
there and it is being placed. We’ve hired sufficient individuals for =
the
implementation of the new act. A training process is underway to ensure the=
se
individuals are there. We are making contact with the First Nations to deal
with their situation and to assist in proclaiming the act.
As I stated, w= e are working very closely with the child advocate in this situation to ensure, again, that we are looking after the rights and the protection of a child.<= o:p>
Question re:
Territorial health access fund
Mr. Cathers: I’d like to follow up with the
Minister of Health and Social Services regarding federal health funding. The
territorial health access fund, or THAF, spending plan ended on March 31, w=
hen
the original agreement expired.
At the end of =
March,
the minister told me that details of the successor agreement, the renamed
“territorial health system sustainability initiative” were still
being worked out with the federal government.
Will the minis=
ter
please me: has that agreement been finalized and signed yet?
Hon. Mr. Hart: For the member opposite, yes, I did
indicate to him previously that we are working with our sister territories =
on
the renegotiation of this agreement with
Mr. Cathers: I thank the minister for the answer to t=
hat
question. When I last asked the minister about whether programs that had be=
en
funded under the territorial health access fund would be continuing, he
indicated that ongoing programs, such as the diabetes collaborative, the
chronic disease collaborative, palliative care program and mental health in=
itiatives
would not have any interruption in service. But because of the status of the
work with the federal government, he was not able to tell me whether some of
the other THAF-funded initiatives would continue this year.
The health and=
human
resource strategy provided bursaries for
Hon. Mr. Hart: <=
/span>We
are obviously going to continue with those programs. They provide a valuabl=
e asset
here to Yukoners, not only to the students but to the possibility of bringi=
ng
those students back to the
Mr. Cathers: <=
/span>I
thank the minister not only for that answer but for the fact it was exactly=
the
news I was hoping to hear, and I appreciate the continued support for those=
programs.
Other health human resource strategy programs that were funded under the
territorial health access fund included the family physician incentive prog=
ram
for new graduates, which provided up to $50,000 each to new family physicia=
ns
who move to the
Hon. Mr. Hart: <=
/span>As
the member opposite is well aware, the THSSI program is a widely diversified
program involving many projects and programs that were provided for among t=
he
federal government, ourselves and the other terr=
itories.
As I stated, w=
e are
working with our sister territories on just exactly what programs we can
provide to each other and receive agreement from the federal government to
provide services.
We definitely =
are
looking at all those programs that will provide and enhance the retention of
our physicians and we anticipate those programs to be carried on, once our
agreements with
Question re: &=
nbsp; Civil Forfeiture Act, demonstratio=
n
Mr. Mitchell:
Some 200 peopl=
e showed
up, but the Premier told us yesterday afternoon there should have been one
fewer. He singled out one protestor for having a criminal conviction. Why d=
oes
the Premier think that someone who has paid his debt to society loses the r=
ight
to protest?
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
I’m not sure where the Leader of t=
he
Liberal Party comes up with this. I think he knows much better what’s
really at issue here is this: yes, all Yukoners — in fact, all Canadi=
ans
— have the right to demonstrate and protest.
It’s par=
t of our
democratic rights and freedoms. The issue here is what the Liberals said to
those demonstrators and what they didn’t say to those demonstrators, =
more
importantly. They did not tell them what they had voted for in this House a
mere few days before. In fact, they said things to those demonstrators that
were quite inconsistent with the position the Liberals had taken right here=
in
this Assembly in voting for the motion to stop passage of the bill. They did
not tell the demonstrators that.
Mr. Mitchell:
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
I think I also mentioned something about
righteous indignation, Mr. Speaker. The fact of the matter is,
the Liberal members who went out and attended with those demonstrators did =
not
give those demonstrators the facts. That’s the issue here, Mr. Speake=
r,
regardless of who was present.
Regardless of =
who was
present, the real issue is what the Liberal members who attended the
demonstration did not tell those Yukoners. They did not give them the facts=
. In
fact, they were quite inconsistent with the position that they had taken ri=
ght
here in the House. That’s the issue here. The issue is that all MLAs who go before the public should at least be fact=
ual
with the public.
Mr. Mitchell:&=
#8195; It would be difficult for this Premier to=
know
what was said to the demonstrators since neither he, nor any of his colleag=
ues
were out there. Let me be clear about what the Premier did say yesterday. O=
n Hansard, page 6403, he said, ̶=
0;A
very reputable source informed the government that one of the demonstrators=
had
recently been released from the Whitehorse Correctional Centre.”
It’s goo=
d to
know that this government keeps tabs on who shows up at rallies. It’s
good to know that this government makes a habit of noting their past mistak=
es.
Such a commitment to free speech should be applauded. A conviction
shouldn’t take away this young man’s right to protest. Will the
Premier apologize for telling him that?
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
Obviously it didn’t take away anyb=
ody’s
right to protest and the proof is in the pudding by those who stood before =
this
Legislature. Again, the Liberal leader has a responsibility in this matter,=
and
I refer him back to the contract that the Liberals have with the responsibi=
lity
in this matter, and I refer him back to the contract that the Liberals have
with the
Will the Leade=
r of the
Liberal Party take responsibility for their actions by not informing those
Yukon citizens of the facts of the matter — that in fact, right here =
in
this Assembly, with a unanimous vote, the passage of Bill No. 82 had been
stopped. Why didn’t the Leader of the Liberal Party ensure that his c=
olleagues
express that to those demonstrators? That is what taking responsibility for
your actions is all about.
Question re: &=
nbsp; Civil Forfeiture Act, demonstratio=
n
Mr. Mitchell:
Mr. Speaker, I=
was
appalled yesterday when the Premier singled out a protestor for having been
convicted of a crime. The Premier thought that a young man who had paid his
debt to society and moved on with his life didn’t deserve to be anywh=
ere near the Legislature protesting. We wonder how the Pre=
mier
felt when that same young man later sat in the gallery to see his groupR=
17;s
petition presented. It must have been unbearable, Mr. Speaker, to sit in th=
is
distinguished House so close to someone convicted on drug charges. Will the
Premier apologize for singling this person out?
Speaker’s statement
Speaker: The honourable members are starting to p=
ersonalize
debate on both sides of this House, and it’s going to lead to discord.
Just be aware of that, honourable members.
Premier, you h=
ave the
floor.
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
The leader of the Liberals has just made=
a
statement on the floor of this House that is, once again, not factual. Nobo=
dy
on this side of the House made any statement on charges or any other matter=
in
regard to this. That’s why this is not what the real issue is.
The real issue=
is how
the Liberal members presented themselves to the public. In this demonstrati=
on,
those Liberal members who attended did not give those citizens the facts. In
fact, we heard — we didn’t have to be present; you could have h=
eard
it a country mile away. At the top of their lungs, the Liberals said as lon=
g as
they have a breath, Bill No. 82 will never see the light of day.
That’s n=
ot what
they voted for in this Assembly. They did not tell those citizens the facts.
That’s the issue.
Will the Leade=
r of the
Liberal Party take responsibility for their actions — yes or no?
Mr. Mitchell:
Now, Mr. Speak= er, the young man that the Premier singled out made a mistake and he has been up front and honest about it. He addressed it at the rally and he addressed it in the me= dia. Yesterday the Premier identified him as “… one of the demonstrators holding a sign while the Liberal caucus was out there …”
Perhaps it was one of the signs that referred to the legislation’s powers to seize property retroactively. That sign asked: “Why 10 years? Why not 35?” The Premier had a = very strong reaction. Did he object to the protestor’s conviction or to his sign?
Hon. Mr. Fentie: Mr. Speaker, the government side does not object to anyone protesting. T= he government side objects to the fact that the Liberal members of this House = did not provide citizens the actual facts about what was transpiring. = span>
Let me refer to another matter when= it comes to taking responsibility. This very Liberal leader also stated in the contract with Yukoners: “Yukoners have watched M= LAs over the last few years refuse to take responsibility for the things that h= ave happened while they are in office, like paying back outstanding government loans”, said the leader of the Liberal Party.
“They have also watched the P= remier sit back and refuse to do anything about it. That’s not ethical leadership.”
Well, the member knew full well at =
the time
the member made the statement that this government, the first government to
ever take action on the delinquent loans, was actually in collections
collecting money. Mr. Speaker, will the member repair this contract with th=
e They’re all in it together. Will the
member now correct the record?
Mr. Mitchell:
Mr. Speaker, w=
e would
have expected this Premier to be more open-minded than what he stated
yesterday. To use phrasing that should be familiar to the Premier,
this young man has “taken responsibility for his actions, paid for his
mistakes, paid his debt to society and moved on.” More than just payi=
ng
his debt and moving on, this young man is now actively participating in our
democracy and attending this Legislature. Such rehabilitation is heartwarmi=
ng,
Mr. Speaker. We just hope all such young men eventually enter this House on
similar terms.
Does the Premi=
er
really believe that a drug conviction should keep someone out of this House=
?
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
No, Mr. Speaker, we applaud all citizens=
who
carry out their democratic rights and freedoms, and most certainly, in this
case. What we take issue with is the members opposite not being factual with
the
Will the Leade=
r of the
Liberal Party — because they’re all in it together — take
responsibility for his and their actions and correct the record?
Speaker: The time for Question Period has now ela=
psed.
We’ll proceed to Orders of the Day.
ORD=
ERS OF THE
Hon. Ms. Taylor: =
Pursuant to Standing Order 14.3, I
request the unanimous consent of the House to proceed at this time with
government Motion No. 1104 regarding appointments to the Human Rights panel=
of
adjudicators, notice of which was given by the Minister of Justice earlier
today.
Unanimous con=
sent re
proceeding with Motion No. 1104
Speaker: The Government House Leader has, pursuan=
t to
Standing Order 14.3, requested the unanimous consent of the House to procee=
d at
this time with the government Motion No. 1104 regarding appointments to the
Human Rights panel of adjudicators, notice of which was given by the Minist=
er
of Justice earlier today.
Is there unani=
mous
consent?
All
Hon. Members: Agreed.
Speaker: There is unanimous consent.
GOV=
ERNMENT
MOTIONS
Motion No. 1104
Clerk: ̳= 4; Motion No. 1104, standing in the name of the Hon. Ms. Horne.
Speaker: It is moved by the Minister of Justice
THAT the Yukon
Legislative Assembly, pursuant to section 22(2) of the Human Rights Act, does appoint Vicki Hancock and John W. Phelps=
as
members of the panel of adjudicators for terms of three years effective
immediately.
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> Before us are two names for conside=
ration
for appointment to the Yukon Human Rights panel of adjudicators. The chair =
of
the panel has requested more members to deal with matters where existing pa=
nel
member are found to be in conflict on certain matters to be heard. Mr. Spea=
ker,
in those situations, I am sure members in this House will understand that t=
hose
panel members are not able to hear such matters. As a result, just yesterda=
y, I
received the names and background information of two Yukoners interested in
serving on the panel of adjudicators. Within hours of receiving these names=
, I
forwarded them by letter to the opposition leader and the Leader of the Thi=
rd
Party.
Mr. Speaker, I=
do
appreciate that members in this House may have had less time than they might
like to deal with the matter. That said, I also
greatly appreciate the spirit of cooperation from the members opposite in
advancing this motion to help the panel remedy this problem.
I would also l=
ike to
extend our gratitude to the two most recent Yukoners who have agreed to ser=
ve
on the panel of adjudicators. Ms. Vicki Hancock has had a long and
distinguished career with the
Mr. John Phelp=
s is a
fourth generation Yukoner. I’m sure many of us in this Assembly are
familiar with his work as a lawyer in private practice, or his career in the
Crown prosecutor’s office. Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to
listen to Mr. Phelps speak at the special sitting of the Yukon Court of App=
eal.
I was impressed by and appreciated his thoughtful comments about
I would again =
like to
thank these two Yukoners for putting their names forward. I would also like=
to
thank my colleagues in this Assembly for their unanimous consent to bring t=
he motion
forward.
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> I would like to thank the minister for
bringing forward this motion today. It’s again almost the 11th=
sup>
hour of the sitting of the Legislative Assembly. It seems that every time we
come toward the last week of the sitting, we’re confronted with board
appointments for the panel of adjudicators and the Human Rights Commission.
This is twice now that this has happened.
When I receive=
d the
letter yesterday morning — late morning actually, just before the sit=
ting
— I was a little bit concerned that it was being delivered this late =
in
the particular sitting. In talking to the minister, it became evident that
there were some circumstances she has alluded to today, but it seems to be =
an
ongoing issue that every time we get toward the end of the sitting, we̵=
7;re
always confronted with having to look at new appointments for committees. I
think there should be some better planning.
What perturbed=
me to a
certain degree was that, as you know, Mr. Chair, yesterday I tabled two mot=
ions
specifically regarding both the Human Rights Commission and the panel of
adjudicators that go to the heart of these appointments today.
For the record=
, I
would just like to identify those and address those specific issues in rela=
tion
to the request today to approve these two appointments.
I will just re=
ad my
first motion:
THAT this Hous= e urges the Government of Yukon to implement additional recommendations of the Repo= rt of the Select Committee on Human Rights and also to include the following:<= o:p>
(1) that conflicts of interest are identified prior to new=
appointments
being made to the commission or to the panel of adjudicators; and
(2) that the appointments to both the commission and the p=
anel
of adjudicators are merit-based; and
(3) that both the commission and the panel of adjudicators
reflect the diversity of Yukoners by ensuring fair representation, including
First Nations.
I would like to
address the first point in this motion, which is the conflict of interest. I
addressed this issue yesterday to the minister’s aide and asked wheth=
er
or not this specific issue has been addressed. The members of the House may
recall, from the last appointments that we had, that a conflict of interest=
did
come up; hence, that individual has resigned from the panel, and that’=
;s
part of the reason we’re here today — to fill one of those
appointments.
The individual=
staffer
could not answer the question for me — whether or not these individua=
ls
have any conflicts of interest. I note that one of the individuals works wi=
thin
the department now. I’m not sure if they’re still there or not.
Perhaps in the reply at the end, the minister can address the issue of conf=
licts
of interest and whether they have been vetted for that at all.
The second one=
is that
the appointments be merit-based. I think, in looking through the resumés that were delivered to us yesterday, t=
he
individuals appear to be well qualified. One is a lawyer and the other one =
has
a lot of government experience. Personally, I can’t find a fault with
regard to the issue of merit, so I think that’s a positive indicator
within the debate this afternoon.
The third one,=
which
was one about reflecting the diversity of Yukoners on the panel, specifical=
ly
First Nations — and again I put this question to the staffer yesterday
and it could not be answered as to whether or not there were any First Nati=
ons members
currently on the panel. My understanding is that there are none on the pane=
l of
adjudicators at the moment.
What came up i=
n discussion
yesterday elsewhere, where I was doing some research on this was that ̵=
2;
and this is a bit of anecdotal information, Mr. Chair — it turns out
— and I didn’t know this — that on a per capita basis, Yu=
kon
has more First Nations than any other jurisdiction in Canada. So it would s=
eem
reasonable that we could draw upon some of that expertise to sit on this pa=
nel
and that would help make it more merit-based and certainly reflect those
Yukoners.
The final amen=
dment
that I put on the floor yesterday, and I’ll read it: “THAT this
House urges the Government of Yukon to amend section 22(3) of the Human Rights Act by replacing subs=
ection
(3) with the following: “A member of the panel may only be removed fr=
om
the panel by resolution of the Legislature or if that member formally resig=
ns.’”
Really, it rea=
ds the
same as it is now, except I’ve added the statement “or if that
member formally resigns.” There seems to be some conflict over the
interpretation of 22(3) within the =
Human
Rights Act. The way the act reads right now, certainly one can interpret
that in order for the person who previously resigned to actually leave the
panel of adjudicators is if in fact there is a motion in the House to addre=
ss
that issue.
While I think =
that my
motion basically clarifies that for the purposes, a reason brought to my
attention was that there may be an issue of liability around the individual=
who
thinks that they have resigned from the panel but, in fact, may still be on=
the
panel because the act specifically states that they can only be removed by =
an
act of legislation.
So it’s =
a bit of
a clarification that needs to be done there. I think I would like to just
reiterate that my concern regarding this particular act is that it’s
rushed. I think that we do need time to perhaps see if some of these questi=
ons
can be answered and, if they can, that would be great to hear. I guess the
issue here is that we have a situation where the panel of adjudicators needs
some more members on there to address hearings that they have. I understand
that a large number, if not all of them, have some sort of conflict of inte=
rest
with a number of outstanding cases. In the interest of trying to resolve so=
me
of those, I think it’s important that we move forward with these
appointments.
I would ask th=
e minister
to, in the future, perhaps give us a little more time, perhaps be better
informed within the Human Rights Commission and certainly the panel of
adjudicators, so these situations don’t crop up, it seems, at every
sitting.
I know the mem=
ber from
the Third Party has some additional comments, so I’ll let him continu=
e.
Mr. Cardiff: I, too, was rather shocked to receive the letter from=
the
minister yesterday. It was passed on to me by the leader of the New Democrat
caucus. Nowhere in the letter, I might add, or communicated to me, was that
this was a request from the chair of the Human Rights Panel of Adjudicators=
.
The minister s=
aid
that, in order to provide more flexibility and address potential
conflict-of-interest concerns, as well as issues of members’ availabi=
lity
to sit on boards of adjudication, she was proposing the appointments of the
following two nominees. She asked that we give careful consideration to the
recommendations and provide us with her comments as soon as possible.
In response to=
that
— and I have a few copies of the letter that was sent to the minister=
and
I’ll make those available now. I didn’t make enough copies for
everyone. The leader of the New Democratic caucus and I sent a letter to the
minister this morning giving our position and stating the reasons why we ca=
nnot
support these appointments to the Yukon Human Rights Panel of Adjudication.=
Number one, the
minister did not communicate the urgency in making these appointments. The
panel in the past has managed to operate effectively with six members and t=
here
are currently seven members and that’s not including the member who h=
ad resigned.
We are very co=
ncerned
that there was no public advertising, and given the short notice, I can
understand that, but I think that it’s important that the public is m=
ade
aware that their ability to serve on these important panels is going to be =
required,
and that if persons would like to put their names forward, they have an
opportunity to put their names forward.
We wanted some
assurances that a conflict-of-interest check process was used to ensure that
mistakes of the past were not repeated. As the Member for Porter Creek South
indicated, the rushed process that we’ve gone through in the past =
212;
this is the second time in recent memory where, in the last week of the
sitting, we have been presented with making these decisions. We indicated in
our letter that, as a caucus, we don’t have any particular issues with
the candidates whose names have been brought forward. On a merit-based
approach, they’re qualified.
The minister s=
hould
know full well that First Nation persons with the qualifications and the me=
rit
have offered their services to the commission and the panel in the past. It=
has
been some time since that representation has been there.
The other conc=
ern,
which I’ve already touched on, is that bringing these appointments fo=
rward
so late during a sitting does not give us much confidence that the issues
we’re raising with the minister can be addressed to our satisfaction
before the House rises tomorrow, on Thursday.
We indicated t=
o the
minister that if she would like to meet with us to discuss our concerns in
greater detail in the spirit of cooperation and collaboration, we would be
eager to do so when her schedule allowed. We did not receive a phone call b=
ack
from the minister’s office offering to meet with us to discuss those
concerns.
On that basis,=
Mr.
Speaker, regrettably the NDP caucus cannot support these appointments. I th=
ink
that the government needs to look at the way that these nominations come
forward. Given the fact that there have been advertisements in the past =
212;
in the recent past, in the past few years even — and people have put
their names forward, there most likely would have been a list of those peop=
le
and they could have been approached. That may be where these names came fro=
m. I
don’t know whether the minister just picked up the phone book and dec=
ided
to start calling people about this, or what the process was.
We weren’=
;t
informed of where the names came from but, in the past, there have been
processes where people have put their names forward and there should be that
list of people the minister could contact to see if they were still interes=
ted
in serving either on the commission or the important panel of adjudication.=
If the ministe=
r could
answer those questions, it would be much appreciated. I’m sure if she
looked at that list, there would be other persons, possibly of First Nation
ancestry, who would have put their names forward and she could have also
brought those forward today.
I thank the me=
mbers
here for the opportunity to address this motion. Unfortunately, I can’=
;t
find the urgency and the need to support it.
Speaker: If the Minister of Justice speaks, she w=
ill
close debate. Does any other member wish to be heard?
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> <=
/span>As
members of this House are aware, it is the responsibility of this Legislati=
ve
Assembly to appoint a person to the Human Rights panel of adjudicators. Ear=
lier
this session, we amended the act to allow for more panel members. We allowe=
d at
that time for seven members. Yesterday, the chair of the panel indicated the
requirement for more members to deal with matters where existing panel memb=
ers
are conflicted out of being able to hear matters.
It’s a r=
eality
that, given our small population, finding Yukoners who do not have a potent=
ial
conflict of interest with any other Yukoner is going to be very, very diffi=
cult
because each case is on an individual basis. They do not know who is going =
to
come before them. You know, that’s commonsense. The best we can do is
give the chief adjudicator more options so she can empanel members at her
discretion.
The chief adju=
dicator
indicated to us that she needed more panel members yesterday. We responded =
to
that request. I had letters down to both offices within the hour that I
received those names, I believe. The members opposite indicate that the pan=
el
of adjudicators has been able to operate with only six members. The situati=
on
we found ourselves in just prior to session was because six panel members w=
ere
not enough.
As to the timi=
ng, as I
say, within an hour, I had those names down into the offices. I had really
hoped that the members of this House would be able to work together in the
spirit of cooperation and accommodate the chair of the panel of adjudicator=
s.
It appears that we will not be able to do that. They will not be able to he=
ar
cases that they have before them.
Thank you.
Speaker: Are you prepared for the question?
Some Hon. Members: =
b> Division.
Division
Speaker: Division has been called.
Bells
Speaker: Mr. Clerk, please poll the House.
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
Agree.
Hon. Ms. Taylor: =
Agree.
Hon. Mr. Hart: Agree.
Hon. Mr. Kenyon: =
Agree.
Hon. Mr. Rouble: =
Agree.
Hon. Mr. Lang: Agree.
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> Agree.
Hon. Mr. Edzerza: Agree.
Mr. Nordick: Agree.
Mr. Mitchell:
Mr. McRobb: Agree.
Mr. Elias: Agree.
Mr. Fairclough: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> Agree.
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> Agree.
Mr. Cardiff: Disagree.
Mr. Cathers: Agree.
Clerk: Mr. Speaker, the results are 15 yea, one nay.
Speaker: The yeas have it. I declare the motion c=
arried.
Motion No. 1104 agreed to
Hon. Ms. Taylor: =
Mr. Speaker, I move that the Speake=
r do
now leave the Chair and the House resolve into Committee of the Whole.
Speaker: It has been moved by the Government House
Leader that the Speaker do now leave the Chair and the House resolve into
Committee of the Whole.
Motion agreed to
Speaker leaves the Chair
COM=
MITTEE OF
THE WHOLE
Chair (Mr. Nordick): =
Committee of the Whole will now come to =
order.
The matter before the Committee is Bill No. 85, Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 2010. Do members wish a br=
ief
recess?
All
Hon. Members: Agreed.
Chair: Committee of the Whole will recess for 15
minutes.
Recess
Chair: Order please. Committee of the Whole wil=
l now
come to order.
Bill No. 85 &=
#8212; Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 2=
010
Chair: The matter before the Committee is Bill =
No.
85, Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles=
Act,
2010. We will now proceed with general debate on that bill.
Hon. Mr. Lang: I am pleased to be moving Bill No. 85 in=
to
debate and look forward to the full support of this House in passing this
legislation. Before doing so, however, I would like to take this opportunit=
y to
address a couple of items raised by my honourable colleagues across the flo=
or
during the second reading of the bill.
The Member for=
Porter
Creek South asked whether Yukoners would be able to get a new driver’=
s licence
sooner than the expiry date on their existing licence. Of course, our first
priority will be to issue the new licences to those who are receiving their
driver’s licence for the first time or whose licences are about to
expire. But I am pleased to answer “yes” to that question. Shou=
ld
someone want to get a replacement licence before their existing licence
expires, they will be able to do that, just as they can now.
The member also
indicated a question about the cost to Yukoners to get a new, secure licenc=
e. I
am pleased to advise that at this time, we are not anticipating increasing =
the
fee for a driver’s licence, which is currently $50 for a licence valid
for five years.
We are also no=
t anticipating
that the cost for a general identification card will be any greater than the
cost of a driver’s licence. In fact, it may be something less. All co=
st
details associated with the new licence and general identification cards wi=
ll
be established as part of the regulations currently being developed by the =
department.
The Member for=
Mount
Lorne asked about the security features of the new licence and cards, the
nature of the personal information associated with the new licences and, of
course, the cards and about the protection of Yukoners’ personal info=
rmation
associated with the electronic licensing system. This government takes the
protection of Yukoners’ personal information and privacy very serious=
ly,
and I am happy to speak to this today in relation to the new driver’s
licence and the general identification cards. With regard to security featu=
res,
the new licence and cards will feature three layers of security protection.=
Level 1 —=
; the
cards will feature a thin, customized, holographic laminate that will easily
show if it has been tampered with. This is called an overt security feature=
.
Level 2 —=
; the
cards will also have security features, such as fluorescent microtext
printing that will show up under a magnifying glass, ultraviolet light or
machine-readable equipment.
Level 3 —
finally, the cards will also have a forensic security feature requiring more
detailed, in-depth evaluation to verify card authenticity.
This will be a=
buried
or what someone might call a “secret” security feature with
variable inks incorporating micro-text and colour-shifting
with another custom holograph.
These various =
levels
of security are not only complementary and layered, but will mesh together =
to
strengthen the individual features. The electronic system that will store a=
nd
transmit
It will involv=
e a
security application log-in procedure and secure connectivity between remote
locations and
I’ll spe=
ak now
to the personal information that must be submitted to obtain a secure licen=
ce
and new general identification card. This information is generally the same=
as
that which is currently required for the existing drivers’ licences
— for example, name, date of birth, address. The one substantial diff=
erence
is the new licence and ID card system will require the taking and storage o=
f a
digital photograph of the person applying for the licence or card. This is =
new
for
I believe the =
member
opposite is also wondering whether or not an individual’s personal
information could be somehow scanned off the new licence or ID card. I can
confirm this is not the case.
Finally, I wan=
t to
assure Yukoners that their personal information captured by the existing and
future driver’s licence and general identification card system is and
will continue to be shared only with those who have legal authority to requ=
est
or access it for lawful purposes.
In short, we a=
re
extremely diligent in upholding the provisions of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act and this wi=
ll
not change as a function of introducing the new licences and cards in
This is a very=
good
and positive initiative for all
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> I look forward to the passage of this
particular bill — Bill No. 85, the Act
to Amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 2010. I would like to thank the offici=
al
who is here today to provide some additional technical support. Departmental
officials are always welcome here, on this side of the House certainly, and=
I
know that the information that will be provided will certainly not only be =
welcomed,
but informative.
Getting on to =
the
questions, I think I’d like to probably move through Committee of the
Whole with this bill as quickly as I can. I do have a number of questions. =
One
of them actually came out of the introductory remarks from the minister.
It revolves ar=
ound the
expiry costs. Just to cite an example, earlier today someone said their
driver’s licence was going to expire in July of this year. One, IR=
17;d
like to know when the minister expects the new drivers’ licences to
actually be rolled out. Will those individuals who perhaps had a driverR=
17;s
licence issued this year, or recently, be able to get a new one? And is the=
re
an additional cost for them to get a new one to replace one that was issued
fairly recently and what that cost, if any, would be? Personally, I donR=
17;t
think there should be one.
Also, what are=
the
rollout plans around this whole issue — when they’re coming, how
individuals will be able to gain access to a new updated one, and when the
minister expects to have all the drivers’ licences changed over?
Hon. Mr. Lang: We are considering just what the me=
mber
opposite has brought to the floor — that there would be transition is=
sues
like this, as part of our implementation planning. We do not believe it wou=
ld
be fair to require people to have to pay the full price again to get one of=
the
new licences, if they were required to renew their licence because its expi=
ry
date fell just before the new secure licences became available.
So we are cons=
idering
setting a licence replacement fee to apply in this situation. Of course, the
details of this will be established in the regulations.
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> Just along the same lines then, I know my
driver’s licence expires over a year and half from now and, if I am n=
ot
mistaken, new drivers’ licences are issued for about five years. I am
wondering, if I go in and get a new driver’s licence because I have e=
xperienced
a lot of difficulties with mine, will I be able to get one, or will any per=
son
be able to get one ahead of time? Is there going to be a renewal fee that w=
ould
extend my licence, say, for six years or seven years, if necessary, to acco=
mmodate
that early renewal?
Hon. Mr. Lang: If an individual were to go in and =
update
their driver’s licence, I am told that it would expire on the same da=
te
as their previous one. In other words, you could do exactly what the member
opposite has brought up, but the expiry date would be the same as the old
licence.
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> Would the fee be pro-rated for the inter=
im
period then?
Hon. Mr. Lang: That’s exactly what I respond=
ed to
in the first question. There would be less of a fee because of the timeline=
s. That’s
exactly what I brought up on the floor here in answer to the first question=
.
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> The concern that has been expressed to m=
e is
one that we’re not going to — for lack of a better word —
“double tax” those individuals who need to have a new
driver’s licence. Obviously there are some real concerns around this =
time
frame, because, as I understand it, if I got my new driver’s licence,
let’s say in January of this year, it is good for five years. If I wa=
nt
to wait, I would have to wait a full five years to get the new driver’=
;s
licence. That presents a bit of a problem if I’m going abroad or out =
of
the territory somewhere, where I’m presenting my old driver’s
licence — we all know the difficulties around it — and yet ever=
yone
Outside is now familiar with the new licence and they then, out of hand, re=
ject
the old one. I think that this issue needs to be addressed.
While it’=
;s a
concern to the general public, I think it’s more of a concern for tho=
se
individuals who are commercial drivers, for example. I think it would be a =
concern
for anybody who travels a lot, either for business purposes or even just if
they travel — tourists who are snowbirds who go south every year and =
rely
upon their drivers’ licences to rent vehicles and things along that l=
ine.
Has the minist=
er
considered this problem of having two sets of drivers’ licences out t=
here
for a total of five years?
Hon. Mr. Lang: Any transition like this has its di=
fficulties
but, as we say in the government here, there will be a form of reduced fee =
for
people who come in and are proactive. I imagine there will be an influx of
people who want to have the new driver’s licence or card itself. We’re prepared for that; we’re loo=
king
at a transition period.
The only thing=
that
will stay the same is the date of expiry on your old licence. It will be
maintained through the system, but there will be a reduced fee for purchasi=
ng
and modernizing your driver’s licence.
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> The minister mentioned the information
that’s stored on the card and that the new addition would be a digital
photograph that would not only be included on the actual identification, but
that it would be stored in the internal computer system. I believe the memb=
er
said that would be accessible to anybody authorized to access that. Will th=
at
information be shared with other enforcement agencies for a purpose other t=
han
motor vehicles?
Hon. Mr. Lang: Certainly it would only be shared u=
nder
the law — under lawful access, and that’s where it would be. I
imagine it would be shared with our police force, the RCMP, when it pertain=
s to
access to information on a driver’s licence, but it will have limited
access. Certainly, the general public won’t have access to it, but the
law enforcement officers who work within the system would have access to it=
.
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> My concern here, as the minister had ind=
icated
earlier, is access to information and protection of privacy. My concern her=
e is
that if the RCMP or law enforcement individual — I could think of the
Department of Environment officials, Fish and Game branch — are looki=
ng
for a particular individual, will they be able to go to Motor Vehicles, pull
off that photograph or that information from the Motor Vehicles branch and =
use
it as a “wanted poster”, for example? I am not sure. My concerns
here are around privacy and what other purposes this information will be us=
ed
for. Perhaps the minister could also just include — and I understand
name, address, phone number, birthdate, those k=
inds
of things — what other unique pieces of information are either stored=
on
the card and/or stored in the computer system also?
Hon. Mr. Lang: Regarding access to a person’s
driver’s licence, we have worked with the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, so that has
been addressed in the workshops we had. Information on the card is strictly
name, address, height, photograph and signature. Those are the things that =
are
covered — no different from our driver’s licence today.
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> That’s great to hear. I’m gl=
ad to
hear that. Is this information stored on a bar code or some other process c=
hip?
Here’s my concern: I know in
Hon. Mr. Lang: I don’t believe that kind of =
access
would be available on our system. I’m not sure what the member opposi=
te
is talking about, but it’s not treated like a credit card where you s=
wipe
it and all that information is available to whomever. I think this is as
private as it can be. As I just said, the information on the actual
driver’s licence strictly hasn’t changed from our old
driver’s licence. The picture on the licence will be much more
sophisticated because of the modern technology we’re using on the dri=
ver’s
licence.
I would like t=
o remind
the member opposite that this driver’s licence is not a secure
driver’s licence, but eventually, if in fact we were to move to a sec=
ure
driver’s licence, this could be added to, to make a secure driverR=
17;s
licence out of it. This licence is only used internally in
A secure
driver’s licence is a complicated process because we wouldn’t h=
ave
the capabilities of producing those drivers’ licences in the territor=
y.
There is a very thorough overview of those licences and those licences woul=
d be
done in a secure area somewhere other than the territory. This driver’=
;s
licence is a modern form of identification for a driver’s licence, bu=
t it
doesn’t restrict us down the road to move forward with that enhanced
driver’s licence.
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> Okay, moving right along, I’m wond=
ering
if there are any built-in features to address issues of health on the cards
— specifically, donation of organs. I’m not sure, in terms of a
signature on there, but is there an endorsement
— you know, 12 or whatever — that says, “I have authorize=
d”
or “I have previously said that my organs can be donated.”
Before we get =
into
that, there is also a second health related issue that I wanted to bring up.
That was if I’m involved, or if a person is involved in an accident, =
is
it possible to also incorporate health-related issues?
I don’t =
have
one, but I am thinking of the bracelet that says, “I’m
diabetic”, or “I have a blood disorder”, so that if I am =
in a
vehicle accident, one can look at the driver’s licence and see that t=
his
individual does have some sort of health disorder. If not, would the minist=
er
look at incorporating that, if possible?
Hon. Mr. Lang: In addressing the member’s qu=
estion
about donors, it will be indicated on the card, so there is an option for t=
hat.
As far as other specific medical issues of individuals, we don’t
contemplate having that accessible on the driver’s licence.
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> Perhaps the minister could explain to us=
how
he perceives the rollout of the drivers’ licences in the communities?=
Hon. Mr. Lang: The licences themselves are issued =
from
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> Recently there has been a letter to the
editor, I know, but we’ve received emails from a constituent in Old C=
row.
This individual, as you know — I’m sure you’re aware of t=
he
situation — moved in from the N.W.T. He is looking for a driver’=
;s
licence. He’s not planning on coming to the
Hon. Mr. Lang: There’s an agreement between =
the
Department of Community Services and the First Nation in Old Crow to issue
motor vehicle registration and non-photo temporary drivers’ licences =
in
the community of Old Crow. We do have a working relationship with the First
Nation. They can issue, in conjunction with the department, a temporary
driver’s licence in Old Crow.
They don’=
;t have
access to the photo, so the photo component to the driver’s licence w=
ould
not be available.
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'>Obviously the issue here is that if the
individual is not ever planning to come to the Yukon, but is travelling out=
of
Whitehorse on another form of transportation — Yellowknife, Inuvik — that he might forever be confronted wi=
th
having a temporary driver’s licence. We know that we have issues arou=
nd
the current driver’s licence and it looks supposedly like a
driver’s licence — a piece of paper with no photo ID is ultimat=
ely
unacceptable. I think that I would encourage the minister to look at Old Cr=
ow
being able to complete the photo component of it or provide some sort of te=
lephone
or some method through which an individual in Old Crow would be entitled to=
get
a driver’s licence Outside like any other
community in the
Would the mini=
ster
look at trying to solve this photo ID problem with the installation of the =
new
drivers’ licences?
Hon. Mr. Lang: We certainly can take his concerns =
under
advisement. We’re working our way into this new system, and it’s
something that we could address down the road. But at the moment, we are
working with our territorial agents in the communities that have access to =
the
equipment and also trying to fill the void in communities like Old Crow that
don’t have a territorial agent onsite.
Certainly in
addressing the out-of-territory driver’s licence, in
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> I appreciate the answer from the ministe=
r.
Rest assured my tenacity in regard to the driver’s licence will certa=
inly
be followed up at future sittings to see whether his accommodation has been
included.
I have just a =
couple
of final questions. I was wondering if the minister could tell us what the
total cost of the new licence is going to be, if some capital costs are goi=
ng
to be needed around the rollout of the new drivers’ licences, and doe=
s he
have a specific date — or maybe not a specific, but pretty close, wit=
hin
early part of September — that he could let us know when we can see t=
he
new ones. We have one more day of the sitting, and it would be interesting =
to
see if we could get a sample of that driver’s licence prior to the en=
d of
the sitting, just to see what they look like — maybe an opportunity f=
or
us to get the new ones too.
Hon. Mr. Lang: Here’s some statistics for the
House this afternoon. Last year in Motor Vehicles — it’s quite =
something
when you see the numbers for our small community. We registered over 34,000
motor vehicles, issued over 25,000 active operator licences in our communit=
ies.
So it is a very busy department.
As
the member opposite was discussing — the cost of this — the cap=
ital
cost is roughly $500,000.
Over and above what our costs are now for our drivers’ licences,
it’ll be another $60,000 a year to add to this cost to upgrade our dr=
ivers’
licences.
We’ve be=
en
working on this as a government for the last seven years. It’s certai=
nly
nice to see it come to a finale here. We have had it proven that the driver=
s’
licences we have today are, at best, very archaic.
I look forward=
to this
fall. The member opposite was talking about looking at a copy of a
driver’s licence. That’s not available at the moment, so I
can’t agree to that. As an advocate of this driver’s licence for
many years, I look forward to having a new driver’s licence out there
this fall for Yukoners.
Certainly the
identification card is going to be another tool for individuals who need
identification, such as students, and also identification for people to go =
into
our licensed premises to make sure that our public houses have access to pr=
oper
information when they identify people. Certainly, a lot of our students who=
go
offshore — in other words, go out of the territory for academics R=
12;
this kind of identification would be very handy. Of course, it’s mode=
rn,
so it’s going to serve the purpose of Yukoners for years down the roa=
d.
But it has been a very long road to get where we are today. I look forward =
to
the passage of this so that we can go to work, invest the $500,000, and move
toward a brand new form of identification, not only for driving, but for
identification of all Yukoners.
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> I’m pretty much finished here. I j=
ust
have a comment that I’m glad the minister has indicated that they have
been working on it for seven years — too bad the Premier, waving his
little green one that he had, referring to it as they were 20 years ago. I =
certainly
remember having my initial driver’s licence here in the 1970s. In fac=
t, I
think I still have my driver’s licence number from then. I think
it’s still only five digits or six digits. I’m hoping that I wi=
ll
be able to keep my driver’s licence number because I’ve had it =
for
so long.
I would like t=
o thank
the officials again for their assistance here this afternoon and I look for=
ward
to supporting this bill. I will now turn it over to the Member of the Third
Party.
Hon. Mr. Lang: I would like to thank the member op=
posite
for his support. I got my first driver’s licence here in the <=
st1:State>
Another piece =
of good
news, Mr. Chair, is that, yes, everyone will keep their driver’s lice=
nce
number. So we will be keeping the number that we have on our driver’s
licence today. So that, again, is good news.
Mr. Chair, I t=
hank the
member opposite for his support on this bill, and I look forward to the vote
this afternoon so we can go to work and do just that — issue new driv=
ers’
licences to Yukoners.
Mr. Cardiff: I believe this is going to be fairly brief. I would l=
ike
to thank the officials for being here in the Legislature this afternoon to
provide technical advice and assistance to the minister and help provide
answers. I’d like to thank the Member for Porter Creek South for bein=
g so
thorough in the questioning and asking all those questions, and the minister
for providing those answers. I only have a few questions.
The minister t=
alked
about fees and things that are going to be set out in regulations. Can the =
minister
tell us what the timelines are for developing those regulations and what the
target date is for the issuance of the first driver’s licence or gene=
ral
identification card?
Hon. Mr. Lang: We’re working on the regulati=
ons
now and the enhanced driver’s licence and identification cards should=
be
available to the general public by September 1. That’s optimistically
looking at this fall, and I see no reason, in talking to the department, why
that isn’t a realistic date to have these licences available to the g=
eneral
public.
Mr. Cardiff: I am glad they are working on the regulations now. Can
the minister tell us whether or not the regulations will be completed before
September 1 then? We’ve already seen what happens when regulations
aren’t done in time.
Hon. Mr. Lang: Certainly, we’re looking forw=
ard to
those regulations being in place ahead of the September 1 date.
Mr. Cardiff: That would be logical but I just wanted to check.
I would like t=
o thank
the minister for answering some of the questions that I raised during the
second reading debate. He talked about personal information being transmitt=
ed
electronically between remote locations and
Hon. Mr. Lang: The answer to that, I’m told,=
is
no.
Mr. Cardiff: One last question: the Member for Porter Creek South
raised the issue of sharing of information with other law enforcement agenc=
ies.
I suspect what will happen is it will follow access-to-information legislat=
ion
here in the territory and federally. What I’m wondering is, if the
information is shared with law enforcement agencies in Canada, what assuran=
ces
are there that, once it’s in the hands of the RCMP or another police
agency in a province or a city somewhere in Canada, that information
won’t be shared with law enforcement agencies or officials in other
countries?
Hon. Mr. Lang: The access to this information will=
not
change. The process that is in place now will continue on access. We do work
with access to information, not only here but in other areas. The access to
this information is not going to change.
Mr. Cardiff: So the minister is confident that Yukoners’
information that’s contained on these drivers’ licences will be=
secure
and protected.
Hon. Mr. Lang: That is very important to us that a=
ny
information that we put on our driver’s licence is clearly used for t=
he
intentions that it was designed to be used for so, in addressing that quest=
ion,
yes.
Mr. Cardiff: I would like to thank the minister and the officials =
for
their assistance today. One last question, and I=
believe
this has already been answered, but I just want to make sure. Other than the
information that is printed on the driver’s licence, there is no
electronic storage device on the driver’s licence itself that would
contain personal information?
Hon. Mr. Lang: I am told, Mr. =
Chair,
that is factual. In closing, I would like to thank the department th=
at
has worked diligently on this for the last six and seven years. When we ope=
ned
up the discussion about new drivers’ licences, we looked with the
I’d like=
to
thank the department for the work they’ve done to bring this
driver’s licence forward and the modernization and the work it has ta=
ken.
Again, as mini=
ster,
I’d like to thank all the individuals in the department for the work
they’ve done.
Hon. Mr. Kenyon: =
Just a couple of points that have been m=
issed
and just want to inform people of some of the other aspects of this. The
general identification card is important in a number of different ways, fro=
m a
senior who loses a driver’s licence and still wants to have that piec=
e of
identification, to a school student who obviously might be too young to dri=
ve
but needs to get on a plane to go somewhere. There are a number of different
things for the general ID card.
At the same ti=
me, the
general identification card will replace the Yukon Liquor Corporation ID ca=
rds.
This was brought to light rather dramatically when, a couple of years ago, a
young couple, about 18, and a young baby, had all their ID stolen and neede=
d to
fly back home to British Columbia.
They had no
identification and no way to get on the plane. So it seemed logical at the =
time
that an ID card, a Yukon Liquor Corporation ID card, showing that they
couldn’t drink and they were too young to purchase alcohol would make
sense. In fact, the Liquor Act =
at
that time said that you could only issue it if you were eligible to drink w=
hich
was, in my opinion, a huge miss when that piece of legislation passed many
years ago.
So the current=
valid
Yukon Liquor Corporation ID cards will be acceptable from 12 months to when
this is proclaimed. Then after that, it will go to the general identificati=
on
card and it will be produced under the same piece of legislation. So there =
is a
general hook or a general integration with the Liquor Corporation.
Basically, to =
jump to
answer some questions that may come up that are related to questions that w=
ere
asked, if you have a Yukon Liquor Corporation ID, can you simply bring your=
old
one in and get a new one issued? The answer there is, of course, no. Basica=
lly
the general identification card will set out source documents required to p=
rove
age, identity, residency, et cetera, so these will be replaced.
They will be v=
alid for
12 months, but after that there would be a requirement to get a new card. A=
lso,
if you hold a current liquor ID, would you be requested to turn it in or wo=
uld
you have to turn in that card? The answer to that is you would be requested=
to
do so, to guard against possible misuse of the old liquor ID by others.
There’s a little bit of a situation there.
Some of the ot=
her
points that I have relate specifically to the general identification card a=
nd
have either been answered or the minister has addressed them. With those, I
just wanted to point out those individual interactions with the Yukon Liquor
Corporation and the Yukon Liquor Corporation identification card.
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> I have just one more question that has c=
ome up
in the last few seconds, actually. The database that backs up the
driver’s licence itself — the actual information that is stored=
on
the computer — is it shared with any other computer system within the
government system that exists out there now? I’m thinking health, but
there could be any other database — is there an amalgamation of this =
data
or shared with any other database?
Hon. Mr. Lang: I would have to get back to him on =
that.
Again, it falls under lawful use of that information. I would have to send
information over to you after the sitting here to confirm that. I can’=
;t
stand up here and say that no other department would have access to that in=
formation,
when you think that for lawful use it covers a bit of gamut. I would get ba=
ck
to the member opposite on that.
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> I would appreciate the reply from the
minister. I am a little concerned. Obviously, if there is data integration,=
it
would be for lawful use. I am just not concerned that it isn’t that. =
I am
just curious as to what other databases these things are shared with at this
point.
Chair: Any further general debate? Seeing none,
we’ll proceed clause by clause in Bill No. 85.
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> I request the unanimous consent of Commi=
ttee
of the Whole that all clauses and the title of Bill No. 85, Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 2=
010
be deemed read and agreed to.
Unanimous consent re deeming all clauses and title = of Bill No. 85 read and agreed to
Chair: Mr. Inverarity has requested the unanimo=
us
consent of Committee of the Whole to deem all clauses and the title of Bill=
No.
85, Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles=
Act,
2010, read and agreed to. Is there unanimous consent?
All
Hon. Members: Agreed.
Chair: Unanimous consent has been granted.
Clauses 1 to 11 deemed read and agreed to=
On Title
Title agreed to
Chair: Do members wish a brief recess?
All
Hon. Members: Agreed.
Chair: Committee of the Whole will recess for 10
minutes.
Recess
Chair: Order please. Committee of the Whole wil=
l now
come to order. The matter before the Committee is Bill No. 85, Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 2=
010.
Hon. Mr. Rouble: =
Mr. Chair, I move that Bill No. 85,=
Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 2=
010,
be reported without amendment.
Chair: It has been moved by Mr. Rouble that Bil=
l No.
85, Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles=
Act,
2010, be reported without
amendment.
Motion agreed to
Bill No. 81 — Victims of Crime Act
Chair: Committee of the Whole will now move to =
Bill
No. 81, Victims of Crime Act.
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> <=
/span>I
am pleased today to speak to the Vi=
ctims
of Crime Act in Committee of the Whole. The bill has received broad pub=
lic
support and the members opposite have also indicated general support of the
bill during second reading. There were, however, a number of questions
regarding sections to the bill and some related policy questions not
necessarily related to the bill itself.
I note that, a=
t the
end of his remarks, the Member for
For those memb=
ers of
this House who are not familiar with this issue, a primary aggressor policy
would direct
The fact that =
women
engage in violent behaviour in relationships should not be denied or minimi=
zed.
However, the reasons for, response to, and outcomes of women’s violen=
ce
remain very different from that of men. While both men and women report
experiencing violence in relationships, research shows that women are more
likely to experience serious physical injuries and that women are much more
likely to fear for their lives and experience emotional consequences of abu=
se.
Research suggests that the consequences of intimate-partner violence remain
much greater for women than men in terms of fear, emotional abuse, risk of
severe injury and death.
The work of the
committee should provide a revised policy guide for police in matters of
domestic violence. The Member for
So any individ=
ual
experiencing harm could request services under this act as a victim, not on=
ly
the direct or primary victim.
The third ques=
tion
from the Member for
The Victims of Crime Act before us only
deals with the return of property that has been used as evidence at trial
during a criminal proceeding. The C=
ivil
Forfeiture Act has special provisions in it that would have allowed for
uninvolved third parties to have their property preserved by the court and
their interests secured so that no harm comes to that interest.
While it is po=
ssible
that a civil proceeding under civil forfeiture may involve a victim of crim=
e,
the two bills would be applied differently based on their specific purpose.=
The final ques=
tion the
Member for Mount Lorne had — and it relates to the issue of compensat=
ion
for victims of crime — was about the revenue stream created from civil
forfeiture being used to fund victim programming. During the discussion on =
the Civil Forfeiture Act, members woul=
d have
noted that under section 26: “Unless otherwise
provided by the regulations, the director must deposit to the credit of the
consolidated revenue fund …”.
This means that under that act, a regulat=
ion
could be drafted which would allow for the fund=
s to
be used for a pu
As it stands r=
ight
now, the government pays for nearly all victim programs from the consolidat=
ed
revenue fund, with the exception of the crime prevention victim services tr=
ust
fund. That fund is financed from the victim fine surcharge, as well as from
Klondike Visitor Association’s profits from Diamond Tooth Gertie’s in
As to the issu=
e of
whether the government considered addressing victim issues through some sor=
t of
compensation scheme, the answer is that our policy, which plays out in this=
act
before us, is to provide strong victim support services throughout the
territory, rather than to get into the compensation business.
For the member=
s’
information,
Our government=
is very
committed to helping victims of crime by offering services that help to rep=
air
the personal harm that victims endure. Often funding programs might pay for
some financial loss or compensation for personal injury, but do little to
assist the victim in rebuilding their trust in others, dealing with grief
issues of the victim and their family, and they certainly do not assist vic=
tims
during the court process.
Our government,
through the Victims of Crime Strate=
gy,
is working hard to ensure the victims’ voices are heard and that there
are opportunities to help victims rebuild their lives. This bill will entre=
nch
specific rights for victims of crime and provide for duties for persons who
will come into contact with victims during the process of investigation, co=
urt,
incarceration of their perpetrator, and during the receipt of services. I am
prepared to answer further questions that members may pose on this bill and=
I
hope the information I have provided today was useful to the members opposi=
te.
Mr. Elias: I thank the minister for her opening remarks with reg=
ard
to Bill No. 81. I would just like to begin by thanking all the officials who
have drafted this particular piece of legislation and led the consultation
processes to have the Victims of Cr=
ime
Act on the floor of the Legislature for debate here. This is a good pie=
ce
of legislation. The minister is right in her assertions that she does have =
the
general support of the Liberal caucus.
I can see why =
this is
a good piece of legislation, because there has been a lot of public
consultation and targeted consultation over a period of time, and we’=
re
hearing that there’s a lot of public support for this piece of
legislation, as it does a good job of defining the specific rights of the
victims of crime. It addresses a demonstrated need in our society, and
that’s the rights of the victim.
I also underst=
and that
the Yukon is one of the last remaining jurisdictions in Canada — the
minister can correct me if I’m wrong — to enact this type of
legislation, in understanding the intention of the act to promote fair trea=
tment
of victims and to minimize the effects of being a victim of crime.
When you look = at the preamble, for instance, in Bill No. 81, where it mentions, “Every person has the right to live without being harmed= by another person’s criminal act;
“Whenever that right is infri= nged, society has a duty to treat the victim with courtesy, compassion and respec= t;”
Also the word “dignity”= comes to mind. It also goes on to say, “Victims should be encouraged to participate in the processes of justice in ways that preserve their dignity= and do not increase their suffering;
“Yukoners recognize and value= their diversity, and acknowledge the special roles that a victim’s family, = clan, community, First Nation or other group can play in supporting and caring for the victim.”
This is a preamble that obviously is
endorsed by the broader
You know, clau=
ses like
that are appreciated and recognize the good work of the minister and her
officials and the public at large in shaping this type of this legislation.=
I
guess these are my opening comments; I don’t have very much to add. I
think this is a piece of legislation that can be agreed to by our caucus an=
d I
look forward to further discussion and questions. I’ll end my opening
comments. I’ll turn the floor over to the Third Party.
Again, this is=
a good
piece of legislation. I can see why due diligence has been done. Consultati=
on
has been fairly widespread for a good period of time. So, again we support =
this
piece of legislation — Bill No. 81,
Victims of Crime Act.
Mr. Cardiff: It’s not very often the members on the other si=
de
give up the opportunity to speak, but I appreciate the opportunity to be he=
re
today to speak to the Victims of Cr=
ime
Act, Bill No. 81. I’d like to thank the officials for being here
today to provide assistance and advice on this particular piece of legislat=
ion.
I would also l=
ike to
thank the minister for responding to the questions that I raised
during second reading. I thank her for that.
This is a piec=
e of
legislation that is welcome here in the
I just have on=
e other
— or a couple of other questions, I guess it will turn out to be.
In her opening=
remarks
today, the minister mentioned that there are no provisions for compensation
within this piece of legislation, but that there are provisions for compens=
ation
through the victims of crime — I’m trying to remember exactly; I
don’t have the name — trust fund, I believe. No?
It’s fun=
ded by
the victims of crime surcharge and the Klondike Visitors Association. Anywa=
y,
I’m sure that the minister knows what I’m talking about. I̵=
7;m
curious about how that is administered — how victims or survivors are
indeed compensated for personal losses or for the pain, the suffering, and
often the indignity they go through.
While I agree =
that the
intent is to treat people with courtesy, respect, compassion, and to consid=
er
their privacy, there is an argument and resources are needed for providing =
some
of these services, which the minister indicated come from the consolidated
general revenue fund.
In clause 8 of=
the
bill, it talks about the rights that are described in clauses 3 through 7.
Those are the fundamental rights. “In their interaction with the just=
ice
system, victims have (a) the right to be treated with courtesy, compassion =
and
respect; (b) the right to the consideration of and respect for their privac=
y;
and (c) the right to expect that reasonable measures consistent with the law
will be taken to (i) minimize their inconvenien=
ce,
and (ii) protect them from intimidation and retaliation.”
There’s =
the
right to information; there’s the right to have their views considere=
d,
the right to the return of property, which has been touched on; and the rig=
ht
to have needs, concerns and diversity considered.
That is where =
we get
to victims have the right to have their needs,
concerns and diversity considered in: (a) the development and delivery of
programs and services for victims; and (b) public education and training
initiatives related to community safety and the criminal justice system.=
221;
It goes on in = clause 7 (2) to say, “Programs and services for vict= ims are, where reasonably possible, to take into account (a) the differing needs and circumstances of women and of men; (b) gender inclusive analysis relati= ng to offences and victims; (c) the cultural diversity of Yukon people, and in= particular the cultures of Yukon First Nations; and (d) the specific needs of groups of individuals, such as those with cognitive impairments or mental illnesses.&= #8221;
So in clause 8 it says, “The =
rights
described in sections,” that I’ve just laid out, “are sub=
ject
to the availability of resources and information.” So when we talk ab=
out
resources, we’re usually talking about the availability of personnel =
to deliver
these programs and services to victims or survivors and we need to know tha=
t in
clause 7 it talks about, “the development and delivery of programs and
services for victims …”
It talks about=
the
development and the delivery of programs and services for victims, but
it’s subject to the availability of resources. The question for the
minister is — it seems like a qualifier. I realize that we can’=
t expect
the government to write a blank cheque for this. But I would like to know w=
hat
the intent is there, because it seems almost like an escape clause. If there
are programs and services that are needed or required under clause 7, or if
there’s anything in the other clauses — 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 —
that need to be provided, they’re only provided subject to the
availability of resources. If the resources aren’t there, it’s =
kind
of a tough luck — “Sorry, you’re not going to get those
services.”
I’d just=
like to
know what kind of commitment the minister has received from the Premier and=
the
Minister of Finance to ensure there will be adequate resources and if there=
is
a threshold where funds will no longer be provided.
I would also l=
ike the
minister to explain if she can — I’m going to roll it all up in=
to
one now — that whole concept around compensation and how that is
administered by the government. If she has the information available, how m=
uch
money is in that trust fund? I guess the other question on that would be
whether or not — I believe we received an annual report on the
expenditures, but if she could confirm that, it would be much appreciated. =
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> <=
/span>I
thank the members opposite for their comments and questions on the act. To
reply to the Member for
Our proposed a=
ct
reflects the Canadian statement of basic principles. We did hear, during the
consultation on corrections, that more needed to be done for victims of cri=
me,
and this was noted in our correctional redevelopment strategic plan.
The strategy w=
as
developed by the Department of Justice and the Women’s Directorate, in
collaboration with First Nations and community agencies, in order to enhance
our responses to the needs of victims’ families and their communities=
. We
did go out for considerable consultation to the communities and to First
Nations.
The strategy p=
rovides
a framework for the Government of Yukon to address the needs of victims of
crime. An advisory committee has been set up to assist with the implementat=
ion
of the strategy.
What this act =
will do
is codify the rights of victims in the justice system and make a big differ=
ence
in the lives of those victims as they travel through the justice system. Th=
is
legislation will give victims a higher degree of certainty. The rights set =
out
in the act state that, at all stages of the justice system, consideration
should be given to the needs and concerns of victims of crime and they shou=
ld
be treated with courtesy, compassion and respect and have access to appropr=
iate
protection. This act will give the victims assurance that this will be done,
this will be carried out.
These rights a=
lready
underline much of the current practices of our courts and its associated
programs and services for victims, but are not supported by legislation, and
this is what we are doing.
The director of
Victims Services is given new duties, which now include monitoring how righ=
ts
are being observed, considering victims’ concerns in new and existing
programs, and conducting research into victims’ issues. This act will
make programs and services more client focused as they are taken into accou=
nt.
Gender-inclusive analysis — this was requested by the Women’s D=
irectorate
— the cultural diversity of
The act tries =
to ease
the experience of the victim in the court system so that their fears of the
system are diminished and their input into the hearing of the case is
maximized. Some people may wonder why the act does not include financial
compensation, which the member opposite just asked. The victims are assisted
throughout the whole criminal justice process. They are not compensated for
their financial losses, but for emergency purposes. In some cases, the
assistance can include modest amounts of financial help where, for example,
clothing or personal property or teeth are damaged or your eyeglasses are
broken. It could cover a whole area of expenses — actual expenses tho=
ugh.
Again, this is part of the program of victim services, not a compensation s=
ystem.
What other que=
stions
— I hope I can remember. The crime prevention victim services trust f=
und
is for community-based initiatives that help victims and reduce crime.
Those go out t=
o the
different organizations throughout the
Mr. Cardiff: The minister clarified a bit of my question around the
victims — it’s the crime prevention victim services trust fund.=
I
think I’ve got it now. Well, it’s not related to this act. The
minister said that the fund — does she know what the total value of t=
hat
fund is? There used to be $5,000, and now there’s $50,000. She’s
nodding her head. So this isn’t a fund.
The way the mi=
nister
explained it the first time was that it comes from a victim surcharge in the
court system and it’s funded by the KDA, which means it should be gro=
wing
annually and it can be drawn on to provide those services — whether
it’s loss of clothing or personal effects, or if it’s for medic=
al
or dental health that isn’t covered under the Yukon health care syste=
m.
I’m a little confused now about what the $50,000 change was all about=
. Is
it that the threshold used to be $5,000, and now it’s up to $50,000? =
What
are the total assets of the crime prevention and victim services trust fund=
currently?
The other ques=
tion I
asked was around clause 8. If the minister could respond to that, about the
availability of resources, so that the rights that are described are subjec=
t to
the availability of resources. What exactly does that mean? I feel thatR=
17;s
important, because when we’re talking about resources, we’re
talking about the availability of staff, the people who work in the Victim
Services unit. But it’s also about other programs and services that t=
he
government might need to fund to provide those services for victims —
whether it is counselling services or other services that are described in =
clause
7. If the minister could provide an answer for that, that would be apprecia=
ted.
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> <=
/span>I
did not respond to a question that the Member for
Clause 8 descr=
ibes in
a general way the reasonable limits that are part of the Victim’s =
Bill
of Rights. Some of these are practical limits. The government does not =
have
unlimited resources for Victim Services. Others are legal in nature. For
example, the victim’s bill of rights
does not entitle a victim to information that is protected from disclos=
ure
by a court order.
Subsection 8(2=
) is
proposed to build on subsection 8(1) with examples of specific circumstance=
s in
which information need not be given to an individual. The individual’s
views need not be considered and property need not be returned.
For this purpo=
se, the
term “individual” refers to anybody who is or may be a victim, =
and “person”
is any official who would, but for clause 8, have a duty to do something un=
der
the draft act.
The section co=
nfirms
that these things do not have to be done if the individual is not known to a
victim, the individual does not want to receive the information or service,=
the
individual cannot be contacted, or the person reasonably believes that doing
the thing would be unlawful or would impede the justice system’s hand=
ling
of an offence.
I believe the =
Member
for
Mr. Cardiff: It looks like I may have to do a little more research
myself on this one.
The minister t=
ouched
on clause 8 and I understand that. What I’m going to do is just direct
her directly to the line. It’s in the second line of 8(1). It says,
“…subject to the availability of resources”, which is a
qualifier. It’s basically qualifying that, “The rights describe=
d in
sections 3 to 7 are subject to the availability of resources…” =
Resources being — as I’ve explained a couple of t=
imes
— personnel within the Victims Services unit and financial resources =
to
deliver or develop the programs that the minister talked about in clause 7 =
when
she responded to that. All I’m saying is that subject to the
availability of resources is a qualifier. What are the thresholds? Resource=
s,
in this instance, could be interpreted to be financial resources to fund a
program, design a program or deliver a service. When I read this, a flag go=
es
up, because it says “subject to the availability of resources”.=
So my concern =
is that
somewhere — at the ministerial level, at the departmental level or it
could be at the Premier’s level — somebody has decided that
there’s a threshold. We’re talking about the availability of re=
sources.
What I want to know is, what is the threshold? It
requires a commitment on the part of the government to commit public funds =
or
resources to the development and the delivery of services for victims, as i=
n 7(1)(a). It also talks about public education and training
initiatives. There might be work being done on that, as well. But when you =
say
“subject to the availability of resources”, it indicates to me =
that
there’s a threshold where these provisions of the legislation
aren’t going to be available anymore. As I said before, I understand =
it
can’t be a blank cheque, but what I would like to know is: what is the
threshold?
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> <=
/span>I
would like to give the member opposite the staff statistics. The Victim Ser=
vices
workers in Yukon communities include: one for Dawson City; Mayo and Pelly w=
orks
out of Dawson City; one travels to Watson Lake, Lower Post and Good Hope La=
ke,
B.C.; six Victim Services workers in Whitehorse — they also travel to
these communities as required; one travels the north Klondike Highway; one =
travels
to Teslin; one travels to Carcross, Ross River, Old Crow and Faro; one trav=
els
to Atlin; and one travels to Carmacks. In fundi=
ng for
victims, prior to 2008, the numbers are difficult due to the alignment of t=
he
units prior to this date. However, I can advise that funding for programs f=
or
victims has remained relatively consistent and has even gone up slightly in=
the
past year. In 2009-10, this government provided $131,000. This does not inc=
lude
staffing costs but is directly related to programming.
We have just a=
nnounced
an increase in funding over the next three years. Management Board has
committed just over $171,000 annually for two additional staff who will foc=
us
on community needs, as well as $85,000 annually for additional training for
people working with victims of crime.
Management Boa=
rd
provided the one-time limited funding in the amount of $50,000 for public
education and social marketing materials. Management Board also committed j=
ust
over $181,000 annually to support the Women’s Directorate in a
community-based social marketing campaign to address the prevalence of
intimate-partner violence in
Our government=
is
concerned about the high rates of sexual assault in
The
The
Department of Justice works with offenders, both individually and in group
counselling sessions at the Whitehorse Correctional Centre and in the
community, by delivering the spousal-abuse treatment program for men and wo=
men
and the anger and violence program for women. Contrary to what the Member for <=
st1:place>
Mr. Cardiff: I thank the minister for clearing some of that up. It=
is
helpful.
I appreciate t=
he fact
that the Management Board has approved an additional $171,000 for two more
positions, because I believe — as we were discussing yesterday during
debate about the Women’s Directorate, the people who work on the front
line oftentimes become entangled in distressing and emotionally charged
situations that take their toll. It’s hard on the people who are work=
ing
in that unit to deal with the workload and with the actual situation
they’re dealing with. So I appreciate the minister’s comments a=
bout
that.
I understand i=
t is at
the discretion of the director to set those limits, and what programming is
needed, and what they can do within their budgets. What I was concerned abo=
ut
was that somewhere there was a threshold. Obviously, it’s what’=
s contained
within the budget. I understand that now.
I support the =
minister
in the increase and further increases in this area because I believe that i=
t is
important that if we are going to treat these people with compassion and
dignity, then it is going to require additional resources to do that. I thi=
nk
this has been a long time coming. From my understanding, there has been
extensive consultation and buy-in from various communities. So we support t=
he
legislation and thank the minister for clarifying the questions that we had.
Thank you.
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> <=
/span>I
again thank the members opposite for their questions and their input, and I=
do
appreciate and recognize the compassion that the Member for
Chair: Is there any further general debate?
Mr. Elias: Under Part 4, General, in clause 12, where it says
“Agreements with Government of Canada,” and clause 13,
“Agreements with First Nations,” where it says, “To assis=
t in
the implementation of this Act,” could the minister provide a practic=
al
example of how she envisions this happening in today’s Yukon, in term=
s of
the implementation of this piece of legislation, please?
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> 12(1) reads, “To assist in th=
e implementation
of this Act, the Minister may enter into agreements under this section with=
the
Government of Canada.” Clause 12 lets the minister responsible for th=
e Victims of Crime Act, who is now a=
nd
expected to be the Minister of Justice, enter into agreements with the
Government of Canada in order to aid in the implementation of the act.
This is very i=
mportant
since, in
It would allow=
Clause 13 (1),
Agreements with First Nations, reads: “To assist in the implementatio=
n of
this Act, the minister may enter into an agreement under this section with =
the
Yukon First Nation or a band council.” This clause lets the minister
responsible for the Victims of Crim=
e Act
enter into agreements with Yukon First Nations and band councils in order to
aid in the implementation of the draft act.
This will be
especially important: if a First Nation has the capacity in law to operate =
all
or part of a justice system and chooses to do so, an agreement under sectio=
n 13
could ensure that the First Nation’s treatment of victims is coordina=
ted
with the treatment of victims under the
Mr. Elias: I thank the minister for her resp=
onse
with regard to the clause 12 overwrite. Her responses to the agreeme=
nts
with First Nations under clause 13 do raise a little bit more questions. So,
this clause is basically — in this Victims of Crime=
Act
— assuming that a self-governing First Nation has occupied the fi=
eld
under their self-government agreement with regard to the administration of
justice. Is that the only reason why this section is here in terms of enter=
ing
into agreements with First Nations to assist in the implementation of this =
act?
Is there a pra=
ctical
scenario in terms of entering into an agreement with First Nations that has=
not
chosen to occupy the field under their administration of justice? If so, wh=
at
is that practical example, in terms of the implementation of clause 13 R=
12;
agreements with First Nations?
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> These are the same conditions as th=
e Corrections Act. We can enter into
agreements with First Nations before they draw down justice. It has to be by
agreement and be consistent with our act.
If you’ll
notice, the wording there — “band council” — is the=
re
for a reason. That is, if they are not a self-governing First Nation and no=
t a
signatory of the final agreement.
Mr. Elias: I am just trying to get some practical example about =
how
this can be an agreement with a First Nation; how this can be developed in =
the
implementation of this act. If she can provide an example or what she envis=
ions
as an agreement being entered into with the First Nation, whether they have
drawn down the administration of justice or not — or a band council
— to successfully implement the Victims
of Crime Act. I am just looking for a practical example in today’s
Yukon if she could provide one for me, because I am just having a bit of
difficulty understanding the intent of the explanation from the minister and
this initial subclause here in clause 13. So co=
uld
she provide me with a practical example in today’s
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> I’ll give an example: if a Fi=
rst Nation
has a victim services worker, that worker’s responsibility and the
services they provide could be coordinated with the services provided by the
Government of Yukon. Say if a First Nation wanted to provide a victim servi=
ce
or offer victims counselling, they would come to the
Chair: Any further general debate?
Seeing none,
we’ll proceed clause by clause on Bill No. 81, Victims of Crime Act.
Mr. Elias: I request the unanimous consent of Committee of the W=
hole
to deem all clauses, the preamble and the title of Bill No. 81, Victims of Crime Act, read and agr=
eed
to.
Unanimous consent re deeming all clauses, the pream= ble and title of Bill No. 81 read and agreed to
Chair: Mr. Elias has requested the unanimous co=
nsent
of Committee of the Whole to deem all clauses, the preamble and the title of
Bill No. 81, Victims of Crime Act=
i>,
read and agreed to. Is there unanimous consent?
All Hon. Members: Agreed.
Chair: Unanimous consent has been granted.
Clauses 1 to 21 deemed read and agreed to=
On Preamble
Preamble agreed to
On Title
Title agreed to=
Hon.
Ms. Taylor: Mr. Chair, I move that Bill No. 81, entitled Victims of Crime Act=
, be
reported without amendment.
Chair: It has been moved by Hon. Ms. Taylor that Bill No. 81, entitl=
ed Victims
of Crime Act, be reported
without amendment.
Motion
agreed to
Chair: Committee of the Whole will now recess for 15 minutes.=
Recess
Chair: Order please. Committee of the Whole wil=
l now
come to order.
Bill No. 20 — First Appropriation Act, 2010-11 — continued
Chair: The matter before the Committee is Bill =
No.
20, First Appropriation Act, 2010-1=
1,
Vote 2, Executive Council Office. We will now continue with general debate.=
Mr.
Fentie, you have about five minutes left.
Executive Council Office — continued
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
Mr. Chair, as it is well-known that the
Executive Council Office is a very important department in the overall
structure of government. Its functions are relatively specific to a number =
of
areas, not the least of which is our First Nation implementation of our land
claims. That secretariat certainly serves important function.
The Government=
Liaison
and Capacity Development branch — we deal with the Commissioner;
development assessment issues; intergovernmental relations; all matters per=
taining
to Cabinet offices; of course, the Yukon Water Board, its secretariat; the
Youth Directorate; the function of the northern strategy; public inquiries =
and
plebiscites; and corporate services. As you can see, it is a very, very busy
department in all of its mandated functions.
Beyond that, M=
r. Chair,
we’ve delved into a number of the areas already with respect to the
department ranging from unsettled land claims to FDA with the First Nations
here in the
The one import=
ant
increase that we must recognize, however, is the Youth Directorate’s
increased investment. Three youth groups in the territory are receiving a
significant increase to carry out their function as front-line agencies in
dealing with matters that are specific to our youth.
Mr. Chair, wit=
h that,
I look forward to any other discussion regarding the Executive Council Offi=
ce.
Mr. Mitchell:
Earlier, I made
reference to a hockey game and, as so often happens, people came to a hockey
game and a fight broke out. In any case, we’ll see how that goes toda=
y.
In the Premier=
’s
remarks yesterday afternoon, he made reference to Bill No. 82. He had a fair
bit to say about Bill No. 82, describing his view of what the government was
doing and what the process was in working with the Third Party, right up to
where amendments were being proposed. I would remind the Premier that
amendments were not being proposed on the floor of this Assembly because we
were still in general debate of Committee of the Whole on the bill, and we
never got to the point where amendments could be proposed, which would have
been when we got to the actual clauses in the bill.
We too had some
amendments in mind but, after reflection, I actually had one amendment on t=
he
correct coloured paper right there at the time;
however, after reflection, we recognized that this, being a bill that really
deals with the law — I guess all bills deal with the law, one might s=
ay
— but amending one clause could impact on another.
We felt that t=
hat would
be dangerous for a bunch of non-lawyers to try and do on the fly, and we
didn’t believe we had the resources to hire the specialized counsel to
effect the significant changes we would have had to make in order to support
the bill. In fact, we considered that, and instead said that it should go to
public consultation.
The Premier de=
scribed
that our position on Bill 82 as having been a reversal. He has talked about=
it
being caught up in the moment — demonstrators and such — and th=
en
he made the comments about people’s right to free expression, whether
implying that because we stood too close to people who might have recently
spent time in the Whitehorse Correctional Centre, somehow that that was
something we should avoid. I’ve addressed that elsewhere and I’m
going to leave that alone here.
But I do want =
to
remind the Premier, because he seems to have not been paying close attentio=
n to
debate during Bill 82, that we said right from the beginning — I spok=
e at
second reading of the bill. I did not endorse the bill. In fact, I didnR=
17;t
vote for the bill at second reading. I said it has often been said that the
devil is in the details, and that indeed is the case in legislation such as
this.
The minister is
correct when she said that, on this side of the House, we encouraged the
government to move forward with this type of legislation; however, we want =
to
put on the record that we certainly weren’t signing a blank cheque wh=
en
we did so.
I went on to t=
alk
about the shift in the burden of proof. I’m not going to read it all,=
but
there’s quite a bit on the record there. If the Premier chooses to re=
ad
those comments I made in Hansard, it
would be hard to find an endorsement of Bill No. 82. We did endorse, by vot=
e on
the motion in the fall, for this Assembly to look into this kind of legisla=
tion
and, at the time, it was either the Member for Vuntut Gwitchin or the Member
for Porter Creek South who talked about public consultation then.
I will mention=
, at
second reading, that I said, “Now there ar=
e a
number of other things that we are concerned about. There has been no public
consultation on this legislation, not with the general public and not with =
any
other groups among the public — for example, with the chambers of
commerce, with the Real Estate Association.
“So this=
is all
news to members of the public the day this legislation was tabled. So the
public hasn’t had an opportunity to look at the legislation in hand a=
nd
people who may have a particular interest in the public to provide input and
suggestions on how to improve the legislation before we debate it and pass
it.”
Later I talked=
about,
again, that there was a method in here for an innocent person to defend
themselves, but they have to do that. They have to defend and prove their
innocence. The government doesn’t have to prove their guilt.
Finally —=
; and I
think this should be very clear to the Premier — after pointing out a
number of other concerns, I said, “We think that there should be an o=
pportunity
in Committee of the Whole to get into this in much greater detail and we in=
tend
to. We hope that when this passes its second reading — because certai=
nly
the government itself has enough votes to pass it at second reading —=
and
if we vote for this at second reading, it should not be seen as a simple
endorsement of the act as it reads.”
Mr. Chair, con=
trary to
the Premier’s views that he expressed the other day — just to m=
ake
sure that we are factually correct — I spoke at second reading and
outlined the Liberal position on that bill. It has been consistent, insofar=
as it
should go to public consultation, that there were flaws in the bill, that we
would not be able to support it as it currently reads, it would need to be
amended, and we felt the first step was to have a good debate on it and then
take it to public consultation. That in fact is what was voiced by my
colleague, the Member for Vuntut Gwitchin, at the rally, which we attended.
That is what should be done.
This bill has =
many
flaws and that is where it should be addressed — following public
consultation. This talk of working with opposition parties on amendments was
only talk, because no amendments were ever proposed on this floor, nor could
they be, while we were still in general debate. We had amendments, they had
amendments, they chose to meet with the government, we<=
/span>
chose to ask for public consultation — just to be clear.
Now, I do have=
other
questions for the minister. Again, I would like to get a more detailed answ=
er
from the minister about where the Water Board decision on Carmacks Copper g=
oes
at this point in time. There are some who believe that it cannot advance
without a re-submission to the Water Board. There are others who have said
that, actually, the minister would have the ability to overrule that simply=
by
signing off. I would like some clarity if that is the case. Quite frankly, I
don’t know the answer to that question but the minister no doubt does=
.
So there are t=
wo
questions in there. One: can the government sign off on this project regard=
less
of the fact that the Water Board did not approve it? Two: if the government=
has
that power, does it intend to use it?
Certainly, we =
know the
Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation, along with many others, wants to know =
the
answer to that.
I have other q=
uestions
and I think I’ll mention a couple of them now — at least one
— and then I’ll allow the Premier to respond and we’ll se=
e if
I have time left to respond again.
Regarding YESA=
A and
YESAB appointments, again, has the Premier forwarded any names to Minister =
Strahl or made any recommendations? Or have names come
forward, in fact, from I think with t=
hat,
I’ll just let the Premier answer those questions and we’ll see
whether we have a hockey game or the gloves come off. Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
He shoots, he scores. Let me go back to =
the
Water Board issue, Mr. Chair. To the best of my knowledge, the minister
responsible for the Water Board cannot override a Water Board decision. In fact, the f=
unction
of the minister is to sign off and approve water licences that come forward
from the board. We have to clearly understand that it’s an independent
administrative tribunal. It couldn’t be independent and quasi-judicia=
l in
nature if the minister could simply overrule its findings. I hope that helps
the member. As far as YESA=
B, the I can’t =
give the
member much more than that, other than the fact that the I believe the
individual — though I am loathe to mention=
names
here, but this might help our discussion — is Tara Christie. On the issue of
amendments to Bill No. 82, I think we’ve delved into this issue at gr=
eat
length. I just wanted to point out though, to the Leader of the Liberal Par=
ty
that on April 28 of this year the minister received a very lengthy and deta=
iled
response from the Third Party as we continued to work on the bill. It liste=
d a
number of areas of amendment and reference clauses for amendment. I think
that’s what the minister was referring to all along, Mr. Chair; that =
the
work is in progress, because this is definitely an issue that the government
was directed by the Assembly to bring forward — civil forfeiture
legislation — and, of course, we all know now that the Assembly has
directed all of us and the government in accordance with the bill that it s=
hall
not pass and that we must continue to do our work. The motion that created =
that
scenario includes public consultation. I think beyond all the other to and =
fro,
the thrust and the parry, I guess we’re actually all on the same page=
and
the work continues. I would hope t=
hat,
fundamentally, however, there is no disagreement on this fact: that the
proceeds from crime, because of criminal activity, is=
span>
an area that should be addressed in the I think I̵=
7;ve
about covered what the member asked, have I not? Are there any other questi=
ons
from the member? The Water Board, YESAA and the issue on Bill No. 82. Other than tha=
t, Mr.
Chair, I don’t have much more to add at this time, unless there are
further questions with respect to the Executive Council Office. Mr. Mitchell: Yes, on Bill N=
o. 82,
we can agree with the Premier that most Yukoners want to ensure that the
proceeds of crime are addressed. We will say that the Criminal Code
already provides some remedy for this, because clearly when someone has bee=
n convicted
of a crime, there is remedy that is available under the Criminal Code.
The issue that became of concern to us and I raised it — the Premier =
says
he talks to officials; he should know that I raised it, as did my colleague
from Vuntut Gwitchin at the briefing, because that’s the first time we
really had an opportunity to address that bill. But the moment=
I read
the bill, I was concerned over some of the clauses in the bill. But I neede=
d to
ask the officials — did they mean what I thought they meant? As
I’ve said, I’m not a lawyer. We don’t have a lawyer on st=
aff.
The government has many lawyers on staff and they had one at the briefing. =
That
was therefore the appropriate place for us to be better informed so that we=
could
have informed debate. The concerns revolved around the fact that this could
start with a file provided by the RCMP to a director in the In a sense,
that’s almost like retrying the circumstances of an offence when some=
one
has been found not guilty and then the property is pursued. Of even greater
concern was when it became apparent at the briefing that there need not have
been any attempt to prosecute a crime. It could just be that the government
believes a crime had occurred and, therefore, goes after the property. Finally, we we=
re very
concerned — I certainly was — over the clauses having to do with
mental conditions because we can think of many possible instances where som=
eone
was found not guilty due to their mental condition and then would have to
defend themselves, with that same mental condition, and would have to defen=
d their
property. If they were not capable of being found guilty due to mental
condition of having knowingly committed a criminal act, one questions wheth=
er
they have the capability or, for that matter, the financial ability, to def=
end
the property. Also, as the Member for Vuntut Gwitchin pointed out during the
briefing — and I did at second reading — there is no requirement
for the government to provide financial assistance to any individual in ord=
er
to defend their property. They can apply for it or ask for it but there is =
no
obligation. Finally, I jus=
t want
to say that as recently as Question Period on the day in which the Third
Party’s motion came up for debate — and I do thank the Third Pa=
rty
for bringing that motion forward because it is likely that it was better
received by the government than had it been brought forward by the Official
Opposition. Nevertheless, in Question Period that day, the Justice minister continued to say no to our requests to take t=
he
bill out to public consultation. She said there had been a consultation. Th=
ere
was consultation with the Crown attorney and the RCMP. She said to bring
forward amendments. Our fundamental position was that we shouldn’t ha=
ve
to try to fix this on the fly; it should go to public consultation. We are glad th=
at the
government changed their position between Mr. Chair, I w=
ould ask
one question. The minister stated in response to a question I asked yesterd=
ay
that all but two First Nations had provided their reports on the housing tr=
ust
money, and he identified the two First Nations that had not. I’d just
like to ask: was there a due date on this? When were these reports due, so =
we
know how much past due they are? Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
The reports on the matter of the afforda=
ble
housing monies are something that are required o=
n an
annual basis. All are up to date except the two First Nations we mentioned,=
and
we continue to work with them on getting them up to date. Further, I thi=
nk
it’s clear that, on Bill No. 82, we’ve discussed at great length
all the scenarios; at the end of the day, what really is important here is =
that
any position taken on Bill No. 82 is also relative to the direction of this
Assembly, and the government honoured that direction and followed that
direction until such time as the Assembly directed otherwise. Having said t=
hat,
we all know that that’s exactly what transpired. You know, I mi=
ght try
also to inject here some discussion on the department that I think we shoul=
d be
actually debating, because these are important areas that involve land clai=
ms,
implementation and boards and committees. I want to just get into a bit of a
breakdown here for the benefit of the members opposite to go over because I
think it’s significant we understand that this portion of the Executi=
ve
Council Office is extremely important and with it comes some significant
investments.. So when we get=
into the
area of the department that has to do with some very major obligations with=
respect
to land claims and implementation of those treaties, there is a total
allocation here of some $6.9 million. Some of the ar=
eas that
this is relative to are important, because they include the RRCs,
it includes the Geographical Place Names Board, Heritage Resources Board, F=
ish
and Wildlife Management Board, Land Use Planning Commission, Peel Watershed=
Planning
Commission and the Dawson Planning Commission. Because I know=
there
have been questions on this matter a few times in this House as it relates =
to
RRCs and other functions within this particular area, I want to point out t=
hat
if the members compared the 2009-10 budget to the 2010-11 estimates, the me=
mbers
would see that when it comes to RRCs, there is indeed an increase for them =
to
undertake their functions. I think that’s an important point that mus=
t be
made. Also, when it =
comes to
other boards like the Fish and Wildlife Management Board, there is definite=
ly
an increase between last year’s mains and the estimates for the 2010-=
11
mains. The Yukon Land=
Use
Planning Commission has an increase, but also I want to point out that the =
Peel
Watershed Planning Commission shows a decrease, but that is relative to the
amount of work that must be undertaken now by the commission. We’re at
that juncture where governments, under the land use planning chapter 11, are
obligated to undertake the work that is required once we get to this junctu=
re
with any land use plan. Also, the Dawson Planning Commission is receiving a=
relatively
small increase in terms of its allocation. That said, Mr. Chair, we also wa=
nt
to make a couple of points regarding the participation that is a tripartite
participation in a number of areas that the branch or the department is res=
ponsible
for. Those include final agreements and self-government agreements, and
implementation plans for each of those agreements. It includes transboundary
agreements. I think members are well aware of the transboundary issues for =
I want to poin=
t out
that we have shared tax room on income tax with Yukon self-governing First
Nations and because in that scenario Canada backstopped Yukon in sharing th=
at
tax room, that’s our position for other possible taxation sharing
agreements. The asset cons=
truction
agreements are more specific to one First Nation at this time, and that is =
the
Kwanlin Dun First Nation. That particular agreement and=
those
agreements are relative to things like the airport expansion and other capi=
tal
projects in the Also, there=
217;s a
great deal of work being undertaken by the Governance Liaison and Capacity
Development branch. Most recently the branch, along with Yukon College, have
now enhanced or expanded on the pilot project entered into with the Champag=
ne
and Aishihik First Nations at Yukon College on a program that was part of t=
he
curriculum that is specific to government administration and will certainly
lead to assisting First Nations in the building of their self-government
structures and educating Yukoners for opportunities that exist in
self-government throughout the territory. Finally on this
particular area, I’d like to just delve quickly into some of the
organization of the Land Claims Secretariat. It actually consists of four
units: the Policy and Administration unit; Implementation, whose budget
includes the recoverable implementation funding; Negotiations is another un=
it;
and of course, First Nation Relations. There are=
a
number of hard-working staff in this area and all recognize that the tremen=
dous
work done and the many years involved here have resulted in something that =
is
now being touted as a model for I believe the =
member
also touched on the northern strategy issue and its continuance and, as I
pointed out, it was sunsetted, as agreed to all along. But in the 2010-11 <=
span
class=3DGramE>budget, we have an expenditure and investment of some =
$3.4
million through the northern strategy. There are a definite range of project=
s
quite specific to Yukon First Nations. I’d just like to briefly touch=
on
those, because I hope this helps the members opposite when they take positi=
ons,
such as that the Yukon government ignores First Nations. I think this is one
area of example that would help the members opposite clear that up. Just le=
t me
touch on some of those. There are inve=
stments
of the northern strategy for the Ta’an Kwäch=
’än
Council. There are investments for the Ross River Dena Council. We did not
penalize or differentiate between First Nations that were settled and those
that were not. There are investments for the There are inve=
stments
for the Tr’ondëk=
Hwëch’in First Nation and that includes
conservation and hatchery training, for example. There are investments for =
the
Liard First Nation, which is an investment in a community-based plan for
regional substance abuse treatment. We’ve heard on many occasions
discussions on that particular issue. There are also investments for the Wh=
ite
River First Nation and of course, for Kwanlin Dun First Nation. Some
significant focus has been developed in collaboration between the These are exam=
ples of
how we have worked very closely with Yukon First Nations. It’s all pa=
rt
of that partnership that the Yukon Party government has established and bui=
lds
upon. Also, Little S=
almon
Carmacks First Nation is getting an investment for traditional governance, and the Selkirk First Nation on capital as=
set
management and reporting, for example. So clearly
there’s a tremendous amount of collaboration between First Nations and
the Let me just to=
uch on
the Development Assessment branch for the members’ benefit. In the
budget, the Development Assessment branch will be receiving in O&M doll=
ars
$1.149 million. This is an overall increase for the Development Assessment
branch and it breaks down. If you look at the 2009-10 b=
udget,
a single year of recovery allocation of $196,000 was included and some revotes from 2008-09, less the revote of some $175,00=
0 for
2009-10 totalled in this budget a shift of $260=
,000.
The 2010-11 budget change reflects a single year of recovery allocation of
$196,000 once again, plus the 2009-10 revote of $175,000. So I would hop=
e that
the members opposite don’t come to the misunderstanding that there has
been a reduction because of that revote from 2009=
-10. No, it is pick=
ed up
again in the 2010-11 budget. I just wanted to re=
flect
on that because sometimes we spend a great deal of time going through those
matters when, in fact, they are before us in the pages of the budget docume=
nt
for our layman understanding. Just so the me=
mbers
are aware, the Governance Liaison and Capacity Development branch of the
department is receiving $1.493 million in this fiscal year. Once again,
that’s an overall increase of $41,000. Personnel costs have gone up, =
and
this includes the costs associated with an allotment transfer from transfer
payments to fund a program and policy analyst position. That is to continue=
to
assist public government in working with First Nations in dealing with capa=
city
challenges that First Nations experience. Other costs ha=
ve
increased by $68,000 from 2009-10, which is related to project funding for =
the
northern strategy projects being undertaken by the — Chair: Order please. Seeing the time, the Chair=
will
rise and report progress. Speaker resumes the Chair Speaker: I will now call the House to order. May the House =
have a
report from the Chair of Committee of the Whole? Chair’s report Mr. Nordick: Committee of the Whole has consider=
ed
Bill No. 85, entitled Act to Amend =
the
Motor Vehicles Act, 2010, and directed me to report it without amendmen=
t. Also, Committe=
e of the
Whole has considered Bill No. 81, entitled Victims
of Crime Act, and directed me to report it without amendment. Mr. Speaker, t=
he
Committee has also considered Bill No. 20, First
Appropriation Act, 2010-11, and directed me to report progress on it. <=
o:p> Speaker: You have heard the report from the Chair=
of
the Committee of the Whole. Are you agreed? Some
Hon. Members: Agreed. Speaker: I declare the report carried. The time b=
eing The House adjourned at The followi=
ng
Sessional Papers were tabled 10-1-166 10-1-167=
Yukon Advisory=
Council
on Women’s Issues 2009-2010 Annual Report (=
Horne)
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