Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, public safety in our downtown core is always of great concern to the people of Yellowknife. I'm wondering if the Minister of Justice can answer some questions today. Recently, Nunavut has made a decision to allow their sheriff's officers to provide for escorts from the courthouse to the correctional facility. Here, in Yellowknife, the RCMP are responsible for that function, and it keeps the RCMP off patrol duty at peak times in the downtown, which puts additional pressure on the RCMP to provide public safety.
Can the Minister make a commitment to review the situation here, in the North, and commit to empowering our sheriff's office to do that job and get the police on the streets, where they belong? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Justice.
Mr. Speaker, I can commit to reviewing the situation. I don't know whether I could really commit to having the sheriff's officers conduct the duties suggested by the Member opposite as I believe that would require a significant change of legislation. So I am prepared, certainly, to look at the overall issue, but I don't think I can make any commitment as to any certainty as to whether we would be increasing the duties that the sheriff's officers already have. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
When was the last time the Minister reviewed that legislation? Because my understanding of it is that sheriffs are able to do this function; it is allowed by legislation; it's just not being done.
It is some time since I've reviewed the legislation, and, in fact, I may have never reviewed the legislation. I will, however, undertake to the Member opposite that I will review the legislation. I was under the impression that we would either have to enact new legislation in the form of a police act or something along those lines to allow the sheriffs to take on these additional duties, but I will certainly undertake to look into the matter.
Thank you to the Minister for agreeing to look into it. If not the sheriffs, then can G Division officers be used for court duty rather than Yellowknife RCMP officers?
Mr. Speaker, I don't know if I entirely understand the question. The question is whether G Division officers, who are in the RCMP, could replace other officers within the RCMP? Either way, it's still RCMP officers, Mr. Speaker. I may have misunderstood the question. Thank you.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and perhaps I'll clarify. Instead of using the local detachment resources, which would be the Yellowknife detachment, the territorial level resources for this function, so pulling officers who are not involved in patrol duty in our downtown core. That's really the crux of the issue, and that's what I'd like the Minister to consider. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, certainly, we are always looking at new ways of being more efficient. I'm rather concerned that moving officers around in the manner suggested by the Member opposite might actually involve a greater loss. RCMP budgets or, rather, our portion of it, which is 70 per cent, has been growing exponentially over the last five or six years, but I certainly will, as I mentioned earlier, undertake to the Member opposite to look at this whole issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
