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Legislative Assembly briefs Relief jail to be permanent facility Jeanne Gagnon Northern News Services Published Monday, March 25, 2013 The territorial government approved more than $14 million for the project, slated to go out to tender this spring.
Hudson Bay MLA Allan Rumbolt asked Justice Minister Daniel Shewchuk to clarify his comment made the day before, namely whether the facility will be permanent. Shewchuk responded the structure should never have been named "temporary relief structure," as it had been previously referred to.
"It is now called the overcrowding relief structure," he added. "This is more than a temporary facility. It is a permanent facility."
The facility will be used until a bigger facility is created to house all the inmates, explained Shewchuk on March 19. He said building a facility to house all Nunavut inmates is a long-term vision of the government.
Rumbolt asked whether Shewchuk would commit to provide copies of the facility's design to members of the legislative assembly. The justice minister said he would during the spring sitting of the legislative assembly. Planning and design of the new structure is complete.
Beer and wine stores a possibility
The territorial government agrees with a task force recommendation that sales of beer and wine should be liberalized across Nunavut.
The Nunavut Liquor Act Review Task Force provided a number of recommendations last fall on how the Nunavut Liquor Act could be changed. To stop bootlegging, the report recommended opening a government-run beer and wine outlet in the communities that want them.
In its response, the territorial government stated it could allow a pilot project to open one or two liquor warehouses for people to buy beer and wine.
The GN also stated any change to the current liquor system should be phased in, first by testing a new system in one community or region prior to rolling them out across the territory.
The territorial government would like to disband alcohol education committees in favour of a system restricting alcohol quantities. It would be appropriate, added the GN, because the report recommended the committees should no longer have the responsibility of approving individual liquor orders.
Increasing the threshold of signatures needed in a petition to trigger a plebiscite should be changed to better reflect the size of the community, agreed the territorial government. It also agreed the legal drinking age should remain at 19 and supported introducing special identification tags to identify alcohol legally purchased through the GN system.
Changes to campaigning law
The legislative assembly passed Bill 50, amending the Nunavut Elections Act to reflect the recommendations of the Chief Electoral Officer in her 2011-2012 annual report.
Non-residents and companies established outside Nunavut without a legal presence in the territory will be prohibited from campaigning and making contributions. This does not prohibit a person or a business from merely declaring its support for a candidate, making general statements on issues of public policy or displaying campaign material.
Other changes include allowing voter information to be used for a plebiscite and a federal referendum.
Every candidate must ensure his or her campaign material includes his or her name as well as the name, valid phone number and e-mail address of a person responsible for the content of the material. For a candidate, the act states that person is his or her financial agent. The information must be easy to read, see or hear as must be the message being communicated on the campaign material.
The proper way to mark a ballot, states the act, is with a cross, check-mark or other mark within the circular space on the ballot, adjacent to a candidate's name, with the pencil provided or any other pen or pencil.
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