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Address the root causes of gender-based violence

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SUSAN LEBLANC: New Leaf is a program that addresses the root causes of gender-based violence. It provides group counselling and support for abusive men who want to stop hurting their loved ones. When we talk about gender-based violence prevention, these are the programs we need, but New Leaf is struggling to keep up with demand, and they need more funding to provide this vital service - and I can table an article about that. When will this government commit to providing stable core funding for groups like New Leaf to prevent gender-based violence?

HON. SCOTT ARMSTRONG: We know that any incident of intimate partner violence is one too many, and across government we are investing and making great strides in supporting groups across this province to intervene before incidents happen. New Leaf is a great example of that. Our department supports New Leaf. Over several years, our funding has been increased. They have a proposal in. We're reviewing that proposal, and there will be more to say on this later.

SUSAN LEBLANC: I am glad to hear that a proposal is under way, but what is needed is what was recommended by the Mass Casualty Commission - stable core funding for organizations that address and prevent gender-based violence. This type of funding would mean that groups like New Leaf don't have to keep putting proposals in. They don't have to keep wondering if they will be able to continue next year or the year after. Supporting groups like New Leaf - which focus on interventions for men - will help address the root causes of gender-based violence. My question is: Why won't this government commit to a funding model that will ensure important programs like New Leaf can continue year after year after year?

THE SPEAKER: The honourable Minister of Justice.

HON. BECKY DRUHAN: My colleagues and I are eagerly wanting to answer this question because we are working cross-department. I do want to say that we recognize the need for core funding, and we have, in fact, started increasing core funding. That took place last year with respect to the transition houses - the largest increase in core funding in decades - and that was a significant investment. We're continuing to assess that. I wanted to draw the member's attention to the work that we are doing around supporting men, because this is an incredibly important issue, and we heard from Tod Augusta Scott - who is a leader in this field - in an article from the Halifax Examiner, and he said: ". . . while more money is always welcome for programs, including those for men, Nova Scotia is a leader nationally on this issue."

Sarah Rose Denny and Healthcare in Prisons Question to Minister

Susan Leblanc: My question is for the Minister of Health and Wellness. Mi'kmaw mother of two Sarah Rose Denny recently died of pneumonia after becoming sick while in custody at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility. Family and friends say Sarah Rose Denny was full of life - that not only was she charismatic, she was naturally beautiful and so strong. She overcame so many obstacles. This should not have been her end.

The Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland Nova Scotia has explained again and again that it is difficult to access proper health care inside correctional facilities, where inmates are the responsibility of the government.

Mr. Speaker, these are ongoing issues. Why has the government tabled a budget with no new funding for health care in prisons?

Hon. Brad Johns: It's very sad news and my thoughts certainly go out to the family of Ms. Denny. I will say that this is currently under review by the Medical Examiner Service and we're hoping to have a report soon.

Susan Leblanc: Mr. Speaker, Indigenous people are overrepresented in Nova Scotia's justice system. In order to be certain that this will never happen again, we need to understand what happened to Sarah. A review is one thing, but her family is calling for a public inquiry into her death.

Emma Halpern, the executive director of the Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland Nova Scotia, explains that many other provinces do have mandatory reviews. We do not and, as a result, we don't know exactly what happened. The family doesn't know exactly what happened and if we don't know what happened, how can we learn from it? I will table those comments.

Will the Minister of Justice conduct a public review of Sarah Rose Denny's death, as her family has called for?

Hon. Brad Johns: The DOJ is very committed to ensuring that we have a fair justice system and a system that meets the needs of Indigenous persons across this province.

We know that Indigenous and African Nova Scotians are overly represented in the system, and we are reviewing that. I will not commit at this time, but I am waiting to see what comes back from the review of the medical examiner's initial review and then we'll see from there.

Speaking to Bill No. 28 - Land Titles Initiative Acceleration Act.

SUSAN LEBLANC: Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise to speak in favour of this bill and to see this process moving forward. I just want to say, before I begin my prepared notes, that I am especially pleased that this bill has been put forward by a number of different government departments, which hopefully signals and signifies this government’s commitment to tearing down the silos of departments and having departments work together on issues that are important to Nova Scotians. This bill was essentially sponsored by the Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage; the Office of African Nova Scotian Affairs; the Department of Lands and Forestry; and the Department of Justice - and it is really great to see.

The situation with land titles in historically Black communities in Nova Scotia is one of the clearest examples of systemic racism in our province’s history. I am glad that this bill will address some of the barriers to access, but I am sorry that they were not dealt with years ago ‑ hundreds of years ago, or even four years ago, or three years ago. Systemic, structural, anti‑Black racism means that African Nova Scotians face challenges to accessing employment, education, justice, housing, health care, and other social services.

Property ownership and inheritance is a significant side of power and privilege in our society, but Black Nova Scotians in many parts of the province may not be able to sell or bequeath or mortgage their land for historical reasons that have to do with racism. The land titles process has been excruciatingly slow for too many people and there are still families and communities that won’t be helped under this legislation.

Our caucus office has tried but has not been able to get evaluation information from the department as to how quickly the land titles process is moving or whether the government has set and met benchmarks for the program. Listening to the Minister of Justice’s comments, I would suggest that the government does recognize that the process has been too slow and there’s so much more to do, but we were endeavoring to find out about benchmarks. I’m not sure whether the fact that we couldn’t get the information is because the information simply does not exist or whether this government is not willing to share it.

Mr. Speaker, the Land Titles Initiative has been a striking example of structural racism and how it operates in insidious ways. Despite the apparently good and public intentions of the former Premier and minister, who is now the current Premier, applicants have met with hurdle after hurdle. There was even a case, as my colleague for Dartmouth South referenced, at the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia that struck down an arbitrary criterion that the department was applying to applications in their lengthy deliberations. All the while, the former minister - the current Premier - claimed to be looking for ways to be removing barriers and streamlining processes. I hope it is true that this bill will enable progress on this front.

Again, particularly encouraging is the appointment of Angela Simmonds as the executive director of the program. She has been a tireless champion for Black families in this realm and many others. I believe that the intention is very good with this bill and I am glad that these changes are coming forward. I look forward to hearing from stakeholders at the Law Amendments committee.

May I just say, before I close, that the Law Amendments committee is another example of a place we need to make sure people have access to - especially, in this case, people from the African Nova Scotian communities who may want to contribute to the Law Amendments committee. May I just put it out there that we should make sure that stakeholders in the African Nova Scotian community are made aware that a Law Amendments committee meeting is happening on this bill - I believe it is Monday, but whenever it is happening - and make sure that information is broadly communicated out to the far reaches of the province so we can have as much participation in the very important Law Amendments committee process as possible.