Louis Sebert

Mr. Speaker, the average time between the filing of an application and the actual hearing in the Northwest Territories is two to three months, and that is consistent or about the same as you would find in other jurisdictions. We have been trying to make the system more efficient by, for example, using threeway teleconferencing and scheduling facetoface hearings outside Yellowknife. I know, in 201516, 61 per cent of the applications were heard within 60 days and, the prior year to that, only 55 per cent were herd within 60 days. If the load continues to increase, certainly, I think an option we...

Inform Members that inspectors use a risk management program to determine the frequency of inspections required each year on projects, so it's not as though this reduction was arrived at willy-nilly. As always, it was evidence-based. Perhaps Mr. Hagen would like to add something to that answer. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Martin Goldney, deputy minister, is to my right. Mandi Bolstad, director of corporate services, to my left. Thank you.

Federal inmates are those who receive a sentence more than two years. I understand that Corrections Canada is the ultimate determinant of where they will be placed, although they do consult with the prison authorities here. Judges, for example, can recommend but cannot actually determine the placement. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Chair, the old library is still open. We are not ordering new texts, I don't believe, and it is not staffed anymore. It is still available to the lawyers and the public at large on request, although I don't think there have actually been any requests. We are hoping to develop a resource centre that will meet the current needs. Thank you.

Perhaps Mr. Hagen could answer that question. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Well, Mr. Chair, I understand that the Mackenzie Land and Water Board sets the security and they've determined that the amount should be $17,070,000.

Sure. There will be no gap in service, so to that extent there will be an overlap. We want to ensure as we did when extended the contract that nobody will fall in between the cracks. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I understand that it is a casual hire. This person is a very experienced warden. I am quite sure he is not intending to spend the rest of his career, or what might be left of it, in the Northwest Territories. It is a question of bringing in someone to mentor people who might be considered for that position. Also, I believe he will be assisting with the Fort Smith jail. Thank you.

I'd like to point out that we do now have an outreach program, which has been developed over the last month or years so that this is somebody who is often going out to the community not at the same time as the court. She tends to deal with many non-criminal matters but that is a way in which we are bringing justice to the communities. Thank you, Mr. Chair.