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We need more women in power, say MLAs

Walter Strong/NNSL photoYellowknife, NT - Dec. 8, 2015 - Julie Green
Julie Green, MLA for Yellowknife Centre

Women are severely underrepresented in the NWT Legislature.

Julie Green, one of just two female MLAs in the legislative assembly, put forward a motion last week calling on elected members to encourage women to run for office.

In fact, Nellie Cournoyea, who held office from 1991 to 1995, was the territories only female premier and there has never been more than three women in a single legislative assembly, Yellowknife Centre MLA Julie Green told her colleagues last week.

With just two of its 19 seats occupied by women, the NWT Legislative Assembly has the lowest percentage of women of all legislatures in Canada, she said.

“The NWT has the worst record for electing women in the country,” declared Green.

But at a March 8 meeting in the NWT Legislature, members vote unanimously in favour of a motion to change that.

The motion calls for MLAs to support the goal of electing a legislative assembly that is 20 per cent women by 2023 and 30 per cent women by 2027.

It was put forward by Green and seconded by Range Lake MLA Caroline Cochrane.

“The more women who run, the more will get elected,” she said, adding the challenge is breaking down barriers that prevent women from running for office.

Green said studies have shown that women are socialized in childhood to believe they don't belong in politics.

Later in life, said Green, “women give more consideration to the toll politics will take on their families, especially their children, when they will work long hours and may be away from home for weeks at a time.”

They also worry about the impact the costs of a political campaign will have on their family finances, she said.

But women would benefit from equal representation in government, said Green.

“Women are voters and taxpayers. We hold important roles in the courts, public service, and business,” she said. “We want to share the power. We want to present our own perspectives on the issues of the day.”

PM responds to premier's letter on Giant Mine apology

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has responded to NWT Premier Bob McLeod's letter asking for a formal apology and compensation for damage caused by Giant Mine.

Trudeau told McLeod he was sending the letter to the Minister of Crown Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs, and that the regional director for the department has agreed to meet with the chiefs of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, said the premier on Tuesday.

“That's really great news,” Frame Lake MLA Kevin O'Reilly said after hearing of Trudeau's response. “This is something people in this community worked long and hard for.”

McLeod sent the letter after MLAs unanimously passed a motion in October calling on the federal government to issue a formal apology and compensation to the Yellowknives Dene First Nation for the impact Giant Mine has had on its territory.

Contamination at the mine site means the Yellowknives Dene cannot hunt, gather or fish as they once did.

“Plenty of mistakes,” were made at Giant Mine, said Yellowknife North MLA Cory Vanthuyne in the legislature last Friday. “Our Indigenous neighbours weren't consulted about the mines or invited to share in the wealth.”
In a 2015 report, the Giant Mine Oversight Board recommended Ottawa apologize for harms caused by the mine and respond to requests for compensation, “in the spirit of continued reconciliation.”

Pardons for pot a hazy issue

Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh MLA Tom Beaulieu wants to know where the Department of Justice stands on granting amnesty to people with marijuana-related convictions after the drug becomes legal.

Beaulieu asked how the department is going to handle the potentially large number of NWT residents seeking record suspensions or pardons after legalization.

He asked if the minister had any sense of how many people in NWT have a record of cannabis-related charges and noted that a criminal conviction can hamper a person's ability to find work and travel.

Justice Minister Louis Sebert said the issue is a federal one, and Ottawa is not looking at pardons for cannabis charges until after the new pot laws come into effect.

“We are expecting some movement by them with respect to the issue of passed convictions, but time will tell,” said Sebert.

The territorial government does not maintain data on the number of NWT residents who have received convictions for, “simple possession or otherwise,” he said.

People across Canada are still being charged for cannabis-related offences, said Sebert.

“I'm assuming that some of them are Northwest Territories residents, but we don't have those statistics,” he said.