Yukon Legislative Assembly Number 151 1st Session 33rd Legislature HANSARD Thursday, May 1, 2014 — 1:00 p.m. Speaker: The Honourable David Laxton YUKON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY SPEAKER — Hon. David Laxton, MLA, Porter Creek Centre DEPUTY SPEAKER — Patti McLeod, MLA, Watson Lake CABINET MINISTERS NAME CONSTITUENCY PORTFOLIO Hon. Darrell Pasloski Mountainview Premier Minister responsible for Finance; Executive Council Office Hon. Elaine Taylor Whitehorse West Deputy Premier Minister responsible for Education; Women’s Directorate; French Language Services Directorate Hon. Brad Cathers Lake Laberge Minister responsible for Community Services; Yukon Housing Corporation; Yukon Liquor Corporation; Yukon Lottery Commission Government House Leader Hon. Doug Graham Porter Creek North Minister responsible for Health and Social Services; Yukon Workers’ Compensation Health and Safety Board Hon. Scott Kent Riverdale North Minister responsible for Energy, Mines and Resources; Yukon Energy Corporation; Yukon Development Corporation Hon. Currie Dixon Copperbelt North Minister responsible for Economic Development; Environment; Public Service Commission Hon. Wade Istchenko Kluane Minister responsible for Highways and Public Works Hon. Mike Nixon Porter Creek South Minister responsible for Justice; Tourism and Culture GOVERNMENT PRIVATE MEMBERS Yukon Party Darius Elias Vuntut Gwitchin Stacey Hassard Pelly-Nisutlin Hon. David Laxton Porter Creek Centre Patti McLeod Watson Lake OPPOSITION MEMBERS New Democratic Party Elizabeth Hanson Leader of the Official Opposition Whitehorse Centre Jan Stick Official Opposition House Leader Riverdale South Kevin Barr Mount Lorne-Southern Lakes Lois Moorcroft Copperbelt South Jim Tredger Mayo-Tatchun Kate White Takhini-Kopper King Liberal Party Sandy Silver Leader of the Third Party Klondike LEGISLATIVE STAFF Clerk of the Assembly Floyd McCormick Deputy Clerk Linda Kolody Clerk of Committees Allison Lloyd Sergeant-at-Arms Rudy Couture Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms Doris McLean Hansard Administrator Deana Lemke Published under the authority of the Speaker of the Yukon Legislative Assembly May 1, 2014 HANSARD 4511 Yukon Legislative Assembly coordinate responses and services related to domestic violence Whitehorse, Yukon and sexual assault. Thursday, May 1, 2014 — 1:00 p.m. Government of Yukon has also been able to provide support for a four-person specialized response unit within the Speaker: I will now call the House to order. We will RCMP M Division to better respond to domestic and proceed at this time with prayers. sexualized violence and improve coordination among other agencies. Prayers The unit provides guidance, assistance and oversight to detachment police officers who are conducting domestic and Withdrawal of motions sexualized violence investigations, and they are the lead Speaker: To start with, the Chair wishes to inform the investigators in domestic and sexualized violence House of changes to be made to the Order Paper: Motion No. investigations where specialized services are required. This 663, standing in the name of the Member for Watson Lake, unit works with service providers and key stakeholders for will be removed from the Order Paper, at the request of the enhanced inter-agency collaboration and consistency in member. response across this territory. The RCMP have made changes to their domestic violence policy with the support and input DAILY ROUTINE from their community partners and have recently piloted new Speaker: We’ll proceed with the Order Paper. training for front-line officers. Tributes. Yukon government is also continuing its collaborative work with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection to deliver TRIBUTES educational materials and resources to youth, parents and In recognition of Sexual Assault Prevention Month educators in order to build awareness of dangerous off- Hon. Ms. Taylor: Mr. Speaker, May marks Sexual line/on-line behaviours and provide tools for those managing Assault Prevention Month. I rise today on behalf of the Yukon difficult cyber situations, such as cyber bullying and the government to pay tribute to the many individuals, sexual exploitation of youth. This year’s campaign promotes organizations, agencies and front-line workers who work http://www.needhelpnow.ca — a youth resource that throughout the year to eradicate sexualized violence. addresses issues surrounding the distribution of sexual images According to police, in reported crime statistics in Canada and videos on-line as a form of bullying. in 2011, there were over 15,500 victims of sexual offences The social marketing campaign, “Am I the Solution?” is nationally, aged 15 years and older, most of whom were also continuing its work building upon the Only You Are You women — 92 percent. According to police-reported trend children’s book. A play is being produced and will tour a data, the rate of sexual assaults against women increased from number of the childcare centres and schools this year 2009 to 2010 and remains unchanged in 2011. That same year, throughout the Yukon. A Facebook page which was launched women knew their sexual attacker in three-quarters of back in 2012 is also still going strong, with almost 950 fans incidents — 45 percent as a casual acquaintance or a friend, reaching 500 to 1,000 Yukoners on a weekly basis. 17 percent as an intimate partner and 13 percent as a non- In addition to social marketing and public awareness spousal family member. Exactly one-quarter of sexual assaults efforts, an interdepartmental committee has been established against women were committed by a stranger. to develop a government-wide approach to strengthening In nearly all incidents of sexual violence against women violence prevention through the integration of prevention — in fact 99 percent — the accused perpetrator was male. throughout programs and services. This work builds on This overrepresentation of males as accused was more successes in the areas of response which is the Victims of prevalent in sexual crimes than other violent crimes against Crime Strategy, the domestic and sexual assault framework women. The prevalence of sexual offences, like other violent and the work of the sexual assault response committee, and crimes, is substantially higher in the northern territories. momentum garnered through initiatives such as the “Am I the Figures for Northwest Territories and Nunavut indicate that Solution?” campaign. women’s risk was nine and 12 times greater in these territories In May of every year, women’s organizations and than the provincial average. communities across the country recognize Sexual Assault Yukon also had a rate of sexual offences against women Prevention Month as a means of enhancing public awareness that was over three and one-half times the provincial average. of the serious issue of sexual violence against women and In Yukon, a number of actions are being taken to improve the girls, and what all of us can do to address violence in our response to domestic and sexualized violence, as a result of communities. This year, activities are being coordinated by the good work underway with the review of Yukon’s police the Victoria Faulkner Women’s Centre and Les EssentiElles force. An inter-agency working group was established with with the support of other organizations and the Women’s representatives from Yukon First Nations, women’s Directorate. organizations, Yukon government, RCMP and the Public On behalf of the Yukon government, I would like to Prosecution Service of Canada to share information and thank each and every one of the many individuals involved in each of these efforts everyday throughout the year. I 4512 HANSARD May 1, 2014 encourage everyone to participate in a number of these events Bringing Youth Towards Equality, known as BYTE, is and to join the voices of men and women who already speak participating in a ConneX event to engage youth in the out against sexualized violence in our community. important conversation about preventing sexualized assault on May 15 at Baked Café. On May 8 at the Whitehorse Public Ms. Moorcroft: I rise on behalf of the Official Library, Sexual Assault Prevention Month is hosting a Opposition and the Third Party to acknowledge May as workshop by Marilyn Jensen. Sexual Assault Prevention Month. Today Victoria Faulkner I would like to thank all the women and men who are Women’s Centre and Les EssentiElles launched their annual working so hard to make women safe from sexualized campaign, which is funded by the Women’s Directorate. violence. I would ask all members and everyone listening to I believe that every member of the House wants to live in this tribute today to think about how they can act to end a society where no woman, no child and no man is raped, but sexualized violence. the fact is that sexualized violence is an epidemic in the north, as Barbara McInerney, Executive Director of the Yukon In recognition of Yukon/Stikine Territorial Heritage Women’s Transition Home, noted at the launch of this year’s Fair annual campaign. Hon. Ms. Taylor: Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House Previously in this Assembly, I have stated that we live in today to pay tribute to the Yukon/Stikine Territorial Heritage a rape culture. What does that mean? It means that people Fair happening today at the Kwanlin Dun Cultural Centre. minimize or dismiss harmful speech and actions that joke This annual heritage fair brings together students in about rape, that imply women want it and that blame women grades 4 to 9, teachers, parents and mentors from around the for being raped. territory to showcase quality research on a range of historical Yesterday the MLA for Mount Lorne-Southern Lakes and heritage topics. spoke about alcohol as the most commonly used date-rape Participants present their projects to judges and the public drug. That is a true statement and no laughing matter. Rape and take part in a variety of heritage-related programming culture protects men who rape, by blaming women. Women with other students from across the territory. It is indeed a and their advocates have had a substantial effect on reform to unique opportunity for students to explore the many aspects of rape law in the Criminal Code of Canada.