Louis Sebert

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am not certain of all of the consideration that went into the manner in which the two functions were divided, but I am very pleased to hear that Members are interested in us having the department act more efficiently. As I say, it certainly could be a matter for consideration in the future, that these two functions be combined. Further to that, I have really nothing to add except, as I say, I am very glad to see the Members are interested in efficiencies. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Chair, this is not a new industry for the government. Under the prior system I don't think we were even meeting our costs. I don't think a yearly 10 per cent of the appraised value of a property is extraordinary or out of line with normal commercial practice. Perhaps Mr. Hagen would like to add something to this. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We're expecting the RFP will go out in March so that there will not be any gaps in service. Thank you.

Thank you. I understand that this is really an issue of accounting. That money was transferred to another location. Perhaps I should have Ms. Bolstad respond, because I think she has a better answer.

It would be a conversation with myself. I can't really see any particular advantage to that. I mean, it would still be reporting to a Minister of Cabinet. Of course it was previously in ITI, and I think there were some concerns about that because of the promotional aspect of ITI; now it's in Justice. That would seem to me reasonable. I wouldn't see much difference in it being in Lands. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

All applicants are treated equally, whether landlord or tenant, and there is no special preference given to the government in its applications before the rental officer.

The decision to make this reduction was, of course, evidence-based, as are all our decisions. Again, we look at the matrix to ensure that we will give the coverage that residents of the Northwest Territories expect and we simply felt that this was an area that could be reduced still meeting all of our obligations. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Certainly. I thank the Members for their comments. We share many of the concerns that have been expressed. Naturally, because of some of the logistics of things, often pilot projects do start off in Yellowknife; however, if they are successful here, they can be expanded. For example, DVTO court has been expanded to Hay River, and hopefully, depending on resources, some of the excellent programs that we do have in the capital, assuming that they are living up to expectations can be expanded to some of the smaller jurisdictions; however, staffing and resources always tends to be an issue.

With...

The determination, Mr. Chair, as to where an inmate will serve his time is dependent on a series of factors: obviously, where they are from; the length of their sentence; access, also, to programs. Sometimes there are specialized programs that can only be delivered in the South. Certainly, all those things would be factors in making that determination. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I wish I could give a date. It is contingent on plans for renovations of the courthouse building. Thank you, Mr. Chair.