Ban is too much: women's group
Yk Women's Society opposes five-year prohibition on people convicted of domestic violence and other similar crimes from running for MLA
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The Yellowknife Women's Society is opposing a proposed limit on people running for a seat in the legislative assembly, saying the measure is unconstitutional and would be discriminatory toward indigenous people.
A committee of the legislative assembly recommended barring persons from seeking office for five years after being convicted of uttering threats violence or committing violence while in a position of trust or intimacy with the victim.
The proposal was supported by the YWCA as the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures held public consultation meetings on a code of conduct for MLAs.
The ban was raised as a way to make a statement about family violence that occurs in the territory at rates well above the Canadian average.
"We agree with the premise behind it that family violence is at epidemic rates across the North and NWT and that there's something we need to do about it," said Anusa Sivalingam, chairperson of the Yellowknife Women's Society, in an interview Tuesday. "We disagree with the recommendation put forward by the committee because we think it comes out being more punitive than healing."
The society opposed the ban in a written submission to the committee, stating indigenous people running for election, especially women, already face barriers and implementing a ban on running for office would only further disadvantage indigenous candidates. The committee acknowledged concerns about the ban potentially being discriminatory but in its report stated there
was no data brought forward.
"There is no doubt that a disproportionate number of offenders in the NWT are of indigenous descent; it is another tragic consequence of northern history, outlined above," said Yellowknife Centre MLA and committee member Julie Green on Feb. 28 while reading the committee report.
In response, Sivalingam and society executive director Bree Denning co-authored a guest column in this edition of Yellowknifer outlining data indicating indigenous people are more likely to experience spousal violence than non-indigenous people.
It would be better to focus on addressing factors that contribute to domestic violence and treatment options for those convicted, Sivalingam said.
The standing committee's recommendation is among several expected to be considered Thursday by the Committee of the Whole, comprised of all 19 MLAs in the assembly.
Should MLAs decide to adopt the recommendations, it would require introduction of legislation amending existing laws to enact the changes.
Any recommendation adopted would serve as instruction to the Board of Management to draft the amendments to existing laws such as the Elections and Plebiscites Act, according to assembly spokesperson Danielle Mager.
The current law disqualifies persons convicted and imprisoned because of a criminal offence, which ends when the jail term ends. The disqualification doesn't include offences that don't result in jail time.
Deh Cho MLA Michael Nadli was re-elected in 2015 after briefly serving time in jail for spousal assault.
