Charles Dent

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’m not sure that any response to the pipeline construction process would be included in the next business plan we look at, because we know the timing is such that it wouldn’t be the right time to necessarily have it there. I’ve started the discussion with the RCMP and we will continue to monitor it and we’ll look for when the right opportunity is to respond. The RCMP are aware that we have the concern and have agreed that they will start to examine what would be an appropriate response and discuss that with us in the not-too-distant future.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I guess I hope we don’t have to invest a significant amount of money in new correctional facilities in the Territories. I would prefer to see increased use of camps and other community-type facilities where possible. Those don’t tend to be as capital intensive. We’re hoping that the level of facilities we’re talking about here, that by 2010 we’re basically done with any big investments for quite some time.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have, as I’ve indicated to the Member, already written to the federal Minister. I will, if an opportunity presents itself…Perhaps since we will be in Ottawa in April, we may have an opportunity to put the case face to face to the federal government. I have also communicated with the MP for the Northwest Territories, Mrs. Ethel Blondin-Andrew, to express concern about this issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don’t have the numbers in that form. But I could tell the Member that our records show that the average occupancy for the unit has been 5.5. It is a six-bed unit, so that indicates that, on clearly most days, the unit has all of the beds occupied.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don’t believe that I told Mrs. Groenewegen that I wanted all-day kindergarten funded. I think if you want to check the record though, the Standing Committee on Social Programs brought forward a recommendation to this House, which was voted on and passed by this House, that the government funds all-day kindergarten. So there has been a motion passed. It was presented by the Standing Committee on Social Programs. At this point, there hasn’t been a motion passed on this recommendation on remand, so I'm in a position where the Member is asking me to accept that all 11...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The on-the-land program that the Member asks about, a judge can’t sentence an offender to go to this kind of program. It has to be a situation where the offender chooses. They can only go if they are already ready for a temporary absence. They have to be approved for temporary absence from a secure facility to be sent to one of these facilities. Basically, they have to have concluded one-sixth of their sentence and be judged to be a good security risk before they can be sent out to them, because they’re not prisons. There are no fences and inmates are using firearms...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As I have told this House, I think it would be nice if we could have detachments in every community. Certainly it’s something that I would like to see, but, to this point, the government hasn’t been able to afford to proceed that way.

For instance, in Sachs, as I said this afternoon, I think there’s a strong argument to be made for sovereignty as well, making sure that Canada has some way of flying the flag. I think it’s important to have RCMP in communities, not only for community safety but for a range of reasons. We would certainly like to be able to do it, but I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m not aware of any tie-in to the federal program. I’ll have to look into that. The Member asked if I would look into it. The answer is yes, I will.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. There isn’t a simple, quick answer to the question when it is put that way. As Mr. Hawkins pointed out, there is a spin-off effect when you cut jobs in a community, so there is that side of it that does have an impact on employment and the overall economy of the town when you reduce jobs.

In terms of the direct impact on prisoners who are in remand, we have, typically, in the range of, over the last three years, about 66 people who have been placed in that facility from the South Slave per year. So there are about 66 on average that have gone in over the past little...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’m aware of the recommendation that’s been made by the Standing Committee on Social Programs and I have no doubt that FMBS will consider that recommendation. I can’t say anything else besides that, Mr. Chairman.