Glen Abernethy

This reduction is across Canada. It’s affecting all jurisdictions. For the specific impact on our programming and what we’re doing here in the Government of the Northwest Territories, I’ll go to Ms. Schofield.

It’s been done with the committee internally. It’s several different departments led by the Department of Justice. We have had an opportunity to look at models in different jurisdictions, learn about those models, get as much information as we can, look at what capacity may exist in the Northwest Territories, where we might have some complications, where we will need to do additional work to make this a reality in-house.

Thank you, Madam Chair. On my right I have Sylvia Haener, deputy minister of the Department of Justice; and Kim Schofield, who is the director of finance with the Department of Justice.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Noted, and we look forward to working with the Member, with committee, with communities and with the RCMP to find solutions to these issues as we move forward.

Today I am presenting the main estimates for the Department of Justice for fiscal year 2013-2014.

The department’s main estimates propose an operations expenditure budget of $116.8 million. This represents an increase of 2.7 percent over the 2012-13 Main Estimates. There is just over two million additional dollars to ensure core programs and services have sufficient resources to operate, with the majority of these funds targeted at policing and collective bargaining increases. These main estimates also propose $837,000 to fund initiatives that will enhance and expand service delivery to the...

Madam Chair, the Aboriginal community constable like the one we have in Hay River, they are still RCMP members with a particular focus. We would have the same difficulty putting an Aboriginal community constable in that community without backup. There are requirements to have legal backup in case of a complicated situation or when dangerous situations arise.

We are open to creative solutions for the community. I think the meeting that is going to happen on April 9th can be productive. We and the RCMP are very interested in working with the community to find some real solutions. We as a...

Mr. Speaker, through their ability to motivate and serve as role models, many staff in the Department of Justice make a significant difference in the lives of people in the Northwest Territories.

In our 10-year strategic plan we made a commitment to our staff – and ultimately the public they serve – to build and maintain a strong foundation at the Department of Justice. The first step towards this goal is to create an effective human resources plan.

Our plan will build and support a northern workforce. To do this, we will make ongoing investments in our over 500 employees, many of whom work in...

Family violence continues to be an issue in the Northwest Territories. It’s recognized by the RCMP, it’s recognized by departments, it’s recognized by the health care system, and I think it’s recognized, clearly, by Members of this House. But it continues to be a challenge and is something that needs additional work. Alcohol abuse, I’ve talked to RCMP detachment commanders that talk to the commanding officer. They all say, not all, but a significant amount of crime that is happening in the small communities is alcohol related.

Thank you, Madam Chair. There are a number of different programs currently provided by the RCMP. There’s the Aboriginal Community Constable Program. In the Northwest Territories we have one person who has successfully completed that program. There’s an intake, I believe it just ended actually, for two more positions here in the Northwest Territories. We had a large number of candidates, which I think is fantastic. I’ve made statements in the House about that program, and I’ve encouraged Members to work with their communities to identify people. I know that we’ve got lots of candidates and we...

It added to the cost significantly, but also since that time there’s been a collective bargaining increase for the RCMP, and there are additional costs. We are also now on the hook for 70 percent of the maintenance and 70 percent of the operation of these buildings, where that wasn’t quite the way it was before, so that was an area of increase in the previous budget and it’s managed to carry through.