Ever wonder what the heck is going on in the NWT with all of the drug dealing and people dying from overdoses or killing each other while stoned and drunk?
And now drug dealers are getting charged for killing people. People are wondering, 鈥淲hy is this happening?鈥� Others are saying, 鈥淲hy don鈥檛 the police stop them? Everybody knows who they are.鈥�
Use of violence
Well, drug dealers use violence when someone owes them money or tries to rob them. They do this openly because their bosses want people to hear of it and be too scared to cross them.
Drug dealers from down south are often gang members and are told to use violence in dealing with things, including shooting and killing people. Their bosses are commonly gang members who don鈥檛 care what happens to the drug dealers, because there are hundreds more young guys to take their place.
Until recently they brought drugs to places on the highway, like Hay River, Yellowknife, Fort Providence and Fort Smith. Now they鈥檙e also sending people into the communities.
Why don鈥檛 the police arrest drug dealers? It鈥檚 because if the police don鈥檛 follow the rules, the court finds the person not guilty. The police need to act on a complaint or have a good reason to stop and search a vehicle or go to a house. They will need evidence in court that they had information or that someone complained about an incident.
Help is on the way
The new minister of Justice, Jay Macdonald, says the GNWT is working on three different laws to help police deal with drug problems: the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) Act, The Forfeiture Act, and the Trespass Act.
Macdonald lives in Fort Smith and knows first-hand about drug-related issues. Through his back window, he sees a house that was fire-bombed due to a drug-related dispute.
Macdonald says that passing the legislation is 鈥渁 high priority for this government,鈥� and he wants to see these bills passed during the life of this assembly.
SCAN was originally proposed in the NWT in 2007, but it was not passed because concerns were raised that people could make false accusations to cause trouble for others. It was later raised by MLA Robert Hawkins and by MLA Rocky Simpson a few years ago, but nothing was done.
An email from the Justice Department said, 鈥淪CAN legislation works to allow residents to make confidential complaints to investigators where possible illegal activity is taking place. Investigators work to determine if the complaint is founded, and may issue warnings, or work with property owners to evict persons involved in illegal activity.鈥�
I could not get much information on the Forfeiture Act, but the Alberta government has the Civil Forfeiture Act. Its website states: 鈥淭he Alberta government applies for court orders to freeze and forfeit property where there is evidence the property was gained from, or used to carry out, a crime that is profit-motivated or likely to result in bodily injury. Property can include cash, vehicles, real estate, jewelry, bank accounts and other valuables.鈥�
The government sells the property and uses the money to help victims of crime, police training and so on.
Trespass laws are used to protect landowners from trespassers, including by discouraging criminal acts or damages that trespassers may cause. Taken together, the SCAN Act will allow people to complain about houses where drug dealing is going on. The Forfeiture Act will allow the police to seize and sell property used in drug dealing. The Trespass Act will empower police to remove and charge people who are not wanted in someone鈥檚 home. Sounds pretty good to me.
Recent drug-related violence
Fort Smith: On Oct. 11, 2023, Fort Smith RCMP responded to a complaint of people unlawfully inside a home. They arrested two men and found a loaded handgun, two loaded magazines and drugs. Two residents told me that three houses were recently shot at and one of the houses was set on fire. The house is totally ruined. One of the houses shot at was on the Smith鈥檚 Landing Reserve.
Fort Good Hope: RCMP said a 29-year-old man was recently shot to death and an 18-year-old accused was arrested in Quebec related to the crime.
In another incident, RCMP arrested two people who were 鈥渁cting strangely in a luxury vehicle on the winter road鈥� between Norman Wells and Fort Good Hope. The police confiscated drugs and a gun. A luxury vehicle on the winter road to Fort Good Hope? Eschia (take it easy, eh!)
Fort Providence: RCMP charged a 22-year-old B.C. resident after a shooting on March 15. One man is dead and two other men were left with serious injuries. The accused faces separate charges related to drug trafficking.
Yellowknife: Multiple people have been shot and killed, with people arrested for murder, assault and drugs. For instance, a year ago, RCMP were called to Bigelow Crescent, where they found one person dead. Another was injured and died in hospital. RCMP suggested that the deaths were connected to drug trafficking.
Fort Resolution: RCMP responded to reports of shots fired. They arrested three people who were not tenants and found illegal drugs and two loaded sawed-off shotguns. Two young southern men were charged. Both had pending drug and weapons charges in their home provinces. Two other houses were shot at and set on fire.
I鈥檒l leave you with the thoughts of a Fort Smith resident who said the drug problem 鈥渋s like a virus, like an epidemic. It鈥檚 getting worse. It鈥檚 awful seeing your friends like that. You have to stay away from them because they steal. Seems the only people here that are suffering are Indigenous.鈥�
The Department of Justice wants to start consulting with the public on the proposed legislation in October and November 2025. I don鈥檛 know about you, but I can鈥檛 wait for it to be enacted and put into force.
