R.J. Simpson

Deputy Minister, I think, or Ms. Bolstad. Ms. Bolstad can answer that. Thanks.

Yes, I can share that. Thank you.

Thank you. This is federal money, and there really is a federal push for this. Perhaps it is not as relevant as it might be in some other jurisdictions, but the Member makes some good points about how, perhaps, it is becoming more relevant. My deputy minister can provide some more detail on this. Thank you.

Thank you. I'd like to ask the deputy minister to respond.

Thank you. Yes, I believe so. A lot of the issues aren't ones that take money to solve. A lot of them are culture changes and things like that, and that kind of work can be done with no additional cost. Costs associated with things like uniforms aren't exceptionally high, and so things like that can be dealt with, as well. There may have been some savings over the past year in corrections, I'm not sure, what we may be able to use for that, as well. Maybe the deputy minister can respond. Thanks.

Thank you. For those details, I'll go to Ms. Bolstad.

Thank you. Yes, that is correct. This is the section where it is. I believe it is community justice projects. Sorry. You know what? How about I hand it over for the budget particulars to Ms. Bolstad.

Thank you. I think that we can always do a better job with public interaction and customer service, but I think that, right now, we are in a good place with the rental office. I know that, a few years back, there were some staffing issues, and there were delays that were months long. It was really not fair to landlords or to tenants. There have been some changes made. There is some stability in that office. The timelines that are being met are as good as they have been in quite a while. According to the last report that came out of the rental office, the timelines really couldn't be shortened...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Of course, there have been a number of capital expenditures to bring NSCC up to the point where it can accommodate the therapeutic model. Those are expenditures into the millions, so a lot of money has been spent on that. The transition to the new Corrections Act will require additional training, and perhaps I can ask Ms. Bolstad for some details on how we expect to pay for that. Thank you.

I appreciate the comment. It is difficult to staff lawyers. We, I think, have more lawyers per capita in the Northwest Territories than any other jurisdiction in Canada, four times as many as some jurisdictions, I think, per capita, so there is a real demand here for lawyers. What often happens is we get young lawyers coming up and staying a few years and then moving on, and so it does create some turnover. Part of the issue is that, as I understand it, the lawyers who work with the Government of the Northwest Territories are actually paid less than counterparts in other jurisdictions, which...