Jane Groenewegen

Thank you. Bill 18 is now ready for third reading. I would like to thank Minister Dent and Mr. Aitken for their attendance on this matter.

I will ask Minister Roland, who is responsible for the Financial Management Board Secretariat, if he would please provide his opening comments on the departmental estimates.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, because of some of the uncertainty with respect to the future of Dene K’onia over the past few years, at least 10 of the staff who worked there were casual employees and at least half of those had been working as casuals for at least four years or longer. What does the government have in mind to do to assist the casual and term employees affected by this closure? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Roland.

Bill as a whole?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions again are for the Minister of Justice with response to the staff that I referred to in my Member’s statement about the many dedicated and long-serving, in some cases, staff who have worked with the Dene K’onia Young Offenders Facility in Hay River. I would like to talk to the Minister about the next steps. I think the Minister would concur with me that these folks are a very valuable resource and we certainly have a lot of need within the youth community in the Northwest Territories. I would like to know what the Minister plans to do to...

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Roland.

Clause 3.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister has indicated previously that the number of young people who are sentenced to open custody facilities has been reduced by new legislation that has come into place with respect to youth justice. At this time, the populations and the numbers are lower; the census is lower than it has been in the past. Does the Minister not see this as a temporary situation and, if he did see this as a temporary situation, what’s the contingency plan for when those numbers come up again after you’ve dismantled this key piece of infrastructure? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Roland.

Agreed. Thank you. Bill 18, An Act to Amend the Territorial Court Act, clause 1.