Thank you, and I appreciate the Minister for his answer. Will there be a training plan in place or is it being looked at to be staffed within? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Sebert.
Mr. Chair, that is yet to be determined. We will be seeking the right kind of individual for the position, and we're not certain as to who will apply. Obviously, if it's a new person, there'll be training required. Should know, Mr. Chair, that there's always ongoing training for court workers, so that would clearly be part of -- whether it's somebody who's already in the system or somebody new. There will be training if it is someone new, but there's always ongoing training for all court workers in any case. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Any further questions, Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank the Minister for that answer. Would the Minister be willing to look at putting a 25-mile radius on the position so it is actually a local hire and not somebody outside the region, so they understand the local issues and have a relationship with the people? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Sebert.
Mr. Chair, I imagine we would hear from HR with respect to that. However, it's often difficult to staff these positions, so we may have to look further afield than a very narrow radius. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank the Minister for his answer. I struggle with this a bit. I would hope that the Minister and the department would actually look at trying to staff within the 25-mile radius first, whether it's Fort Simpson or Fort Liard, those are the two major centres that seem to have the impact. I'd hope the Minister could look at that first. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Sebert.
In the past there's been, Mr. Chair, some difficulty in filling these positions, so I don't think I could make that kind of commitment at this time. Clearly, a local resident, perhaps one speaking one of the local Aboriginal languages, would have some advantages. I don't think I can commit at this time to restricting the competition to a certain radius. I will hear from HR with respect to this matter I imagine. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Any further questions, Mr. Thompson?
Thank you, Mr. Chair. This will be my final one, I hope. I'm disappointed in hearing that, but will the Minister and the department be willing to get back with that information and what they're doing with that position to myself? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Sebert.
Mr, Chair, when the competition goes out, then it would be known as to whether we are restricting the radius or not. Clearly, there's considerations that will go into the nature of the ad that goes out that will be mainly driven by the people actually hiring the person. So it would be known at that point as to the radius, if any, if there's a restriction on the radius. However, I can't really commit to anything along those lines at this juncture. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Mr. Thompson.
I apologize, I guess I'm going to have to ask the question a little differently. I'm asking if the Minister and the department will tell me when the position is coming out. I didn't ask if it's the radius. I just want to know when it's coming out so that I'm aware and I can, you know, help promote this important position out there. So thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Sebert.
Yes, Mr. Chair, we will inform the Member when the position is coming out. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Sebert. Next we have Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, my question concerns page 275. What the active positions present is that there's a decrease of three positions in the Beaufort-Delta. Could the Minister provide some detail on that? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Sebert.
Yes, I can do that, Mr. Chair. The reduction in position is a result of the planned changes of the situation with respect the Legal Aid Clinic in Inuvik. One of the positions that will be removed to Yellowknife, and I think the person involved is already contemplating that move or has made that move, is the lawyer's position. The lawyer's assistant apparently has already found other employment in the Inuvik region. So this is a significant change in the Delta Legal Aid Clinic. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. What I took from that answer is one lawyer moved to Yellowknife and one assistant has found other work in Inuvik. So that does mean there are still four people in that office there? If so, what roles are they in? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Sebert.
Mr. Chair, one of the positions that has also been vacant is the Fort McPherson court worker position, which has not been filled for some time. Those are the three positions. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Could the Minister describe the services that remain in Inuvik for the Beaufort Delta in the legal aid clinic? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Sebert.
Mr. Chair, just some history on the clinic up there: At one point, 10 or 15 years ago, there was resident lawyers in private practice, the Federal Crown Attorney's Office was located there, and there was a resident judge, and there was a legal aid clinic with, I think, two or three lawyers. Things changed over time. There's no longer a resident judge. The federal Crown Attorney's Office closed, I think, five or six years ago, and we were left with the legal aid clinic, but we were only providing family law services.
Now, those services will still be provided out of Yellowknife. So these changes necessitated our changing, taking a realistic look at the clinic, finding that it was not an efficient way of provided services. As I said, some time ago there were criminal law lawyers there, several and who were very busy. And there will still be a court worker in Inuvik, so legal services will be provided by that court worker and, also, the clinics out of Yellowknife. There are four clinics: Somba K’e, Community Legal Aid Clinic, and the Yellowknife clinic so there will be three, three left then, as we're closing, planning on closing, the one in Inuvik. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can the Minister confirm, first of all, when the clinic there will be closed? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Sebert.
Mr. Chair, effectively, it's closed now. I don't think there's any staff there. As I mentioned, the lawyer has moved, as I understand it, to take a position in a clinic in Yellowknife, and the staff person has found other employment. So it's effectively closed now. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I appreciate that people can obtain services on the phone, but I'm wondering if there are any plans to travel, for the legal aid lawyers to travel, to Inuvik to provide services, not just in connection with the court circuit but services of other kinds and at other times. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Sebert.
Mr. Chair, of course the lawyers who are going up there, providing criminal law assistance, will generally travel there either the day before or the day of court. And also, too, we've enhanced, over the last few years, the outreach services. The lawyer that provides that service will often go up, well, does go up to communities. Individuals up there, in Inuvik and that area, will be able to avail themselves of that service. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you Minister Sebert. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. And then there's the question of the family law. How will that be provided, and can it be provided in person? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Sebert.
Mr. Chair, of course, since there was only one lawyer practising, either in a clinic or privately up there, there was just the one lawyer, it was always necessary to, in family law cases, to have a lawyer representing the other side to be from Yellowknife, so, now that that lawyer has moved to Yellowknife, people will have to avail themselves of the service by telephone, at least initially. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So the services will be available by phone. Are there any additional resources in the Yellowknifebased clinics to deal with the extra demand for services from the Beaufort Delta? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Sebert.
Mr. Chair, we're not really anticipating any changes, in the sense of overall demand increasing, because the number of lawyers providing assistance in family law cases will not be reduced. In any case, as I mentioned earlier, it was always necessary for the "other side," if I can put it that way, one of the two sides in matrimonial disputes, to obtain legal help, either through the clinic or from lawyers in Yellowknife. I don't think that, as far as getting hold of a lawyer, there should be any increased difficulty with this change we're contemplating. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm wondering if the Minister could commit to tracking calls from Inuvik through the remainder of this fiscal year so that he can determine exactly what the demand is and whether the wait times people face are reasonable. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Sebert.
