Louis Sebert

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I know it has been a long day. I don't want to repeat the arguments I have previously made. Just going back to say that we are constantly trying to enhance the lives of people in our community. Sometimes, that costs money. There are many programs that are funded by the monies we raise. Again, I feel this modest increase is justifiable. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can advise that, in the 2017 calendar year, the RCMP conducted 22 overnight patrols and 67 day patrols, and in 2018, the RCMP conducted 19 overnight patrols and 76 day patrols in the community. I don't have a seasonal breakdown or a breakdown by month, but I know also that, in December of 2018, there were 14 day patrols through Tsiigehtchic. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. I think that, in 2014, there were concerns expressed about disruption of the private practitioners south of the lake. The Member is quite correct; there are fewer practising lawyers south of the lake now than there were then. There is nobody who is actively practising in Fort Smith, and the situation also in Hay River is in transition. I think we can put it that way.

This was looked at before, as I understand it, in 2014, and apart from issues of disruption, there were concerns about conflicts. It seems to me that it is worth examining this again. I don't know whether we should be...

Yes. We do understand that there have been issues in the past in the rental office, and I understand now that there has been hired, on a contract, a second rental officer, and hopefully delays will be reduced.

The office has taken some other steps to reduce wait times, increasing the number of hearings via three-way teleconference and scheduling face-to-face hearings outside of Yellowknife more promptly. As I mentioned, the new deputy rental officer began training in December and, as of mid-January, is now presiding at hearings. This is in addition to the existing deputy rental officer, so...

Yes, I understand that a study was done several years ago. The conclusion was that we needed a bigger and better place. I think that it is probably better, and this is true not only of this correctional facility, but virtually all infrastructure, that it is better to build a bit bigger than you might expect than too small, because if it was too small, then we would have to expand, which would be incredibly expensive. Certainly, it is larger. It may be larger than what we need right now, but it does have, as I say, the initial capacity of 23 beds and provision for a possible expansion. I think...

Yes, of course. Trafficking in cannabis outside of the part that is allowed by the stores and so on is still illegal. There still will be prosecutions. When I talked about the police's time, I was thinking more of those caught with minor amounts who used to have to go to court for possession of small amounts. Clearly that won't be an issue anymore, but my understanding is that those who are dealing in cannabis outside the regulated system, that will still be an offence and subject to prosecution. Thank you.

Certainly. I mean, I don't think it is terribly complicated what we are proposing to do here or we are going to do here. I would be quite happy to provide these numbers in writing.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am not sure whether we have that information available. I don't think that we do. I mean, that would be important. I do understand the importance of the question, because it does take considerable effort to get through the program, and there are, over the years, not that many completions. It would certainly be discouraging to know if there had been recidivism amongst those that complete it. That would be very disappointing. I don't know whether we would have the ability to access that information. Anyway, I get the point. We do not have that information. Thank you.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. This is important work, and it is shared by several departments. Mr. Goldney could perhaps give more detail, but we do realize the importance of this. It's just not our department.