Yellowknife (Jan 05/07) - Yellowknife council is poised to make the capital city the first NWT centre to have a drug free zone.

The motion was scrutinized in depth by some councillors at the Priorities, Policies and Budget Committee meeting Tuesday morning at City Hall.

For about a decade, the drug free zone initiative has been implemented in many major cities in North America, including Toronto and New York.

The idea is to establish an area within the city - preferably a school zone - and declare it drug free by putting up signs warning drug dealers to stay away. Also, police are asked to step up patrols in the designated area.

The recommendation for Yellowknife is through the Yellowknife Area Policing Advisory Committee (YAPAC), a body comprising a cross-section of locals.

The group wants to establish the drug free zone for the area around Ecole St. Patrick and Ecole Sir John Franklin high school.

At the committee meeting, Coun. David Wind questioned the merit of having such a small area as the designated zone for Yellowknife.

He suggested that the zone go straight up 51st Street to Franklin, and up Franklin to St. Patrick, in addition to the recommended area. His reasoning was that it would include areas around the library in Centre Square Mall and other parts of the city that he deemed problem drug areas.

"I'd like to see the whole city treated like a drug free zone," Wind added.

Coun. Bob Brooks immediately saw problems with Wind's suggestion.

"I'm very much in support of the program," he said. "It's a pilot project and my belief is that it needs to be a little bit smaller to begin with."

Brooks explained that if the program was a success after a year, other areas in Yellowknife could be considered for the program.

Wind also said that he thought having the zone was somewhat "irrelevant," considering that similar legislation is already written into the Canadian Criminal Code. The Controlled Drug and Substance Act reads in part that it's an offence to traffic a substance "in or near a school, on or near school grounds, or in or near any other public place usually frequented by persons under the age of 18 years..."

Coun. Lydia Bardak said she agreed with much of what Wind said.

"I'm not sure why we wouldn't declare all of Yellowknife a drug free zone," she said. "I don't understand moving drug deals from one area to another...I just can't get my head around that."

However, Bardak said she thinks the drug awareness from learning about the program could be beneficial for students. She suggested this could be realized by having students make the signs for the zone, for example.

Coun. Shelagh Montgomery asked how the YAPAC would monitor the success of the program. She recommended that the group should come to council every four months with a report, among other suggestions.

Coun. Mark Heyck, and Coun. Dave McCann said they agreed with the drug free zone motion, but thought points their peers made should be dealt with before the motion is voted on at the council meeting on Jan. 9.

Coun. Kevin Kennedy was not present for the discussion on the drug free zone, but in an interview with the Yellowknifer said he agreed with it in theory.

"It seems very likely it will pass," he said. "I don't like to make up my mind until I see an outline and plan... But it seems like a good idea."

Mayor Gord Van Tighem said at the meeting on Tuesday that he would take all council's concerns to the YAPAC before council votes on the drug free zone proposal on Jan. 9.

The sooner council decided the issue the better, Van Tighem said, because the city has been contemplating the motion since July and many people in the city have been asking him on its progress.