Thanks, Mr. Chair. So is it going to happen in 201718? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Minister Sebert.
That is our hope, Mr. Chair, but no guarantees can be given.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I am not sure I have a lot of confidence, but maybe I can ask, then: has this been communicated to and how is it going with the Law Society and the Law Foundation? Are they involved in these discussions? Do they know about this resource centre? Are they being asked to contribute? What is going on? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Mr. Goldney.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I can report that there have been discussions with the Law Society and the Law Foundation. In fact, the report that the Member referenced was shared with both the Law Society and the Law Foundation with the intent of getting feedback. The report really was meant to not just describe what resources we are disposing of, but it was really meant to inform what resources need to continue to be held in a resource centre and would best serve the needs of the profession.
We do recognize and value the engagement of the Law Society and the Law Foundation in those discussions. We have also, of course, signalled an openness to have contributions from the Law Society and the Law Foundation as they have in the past supported the law library's collection. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Goldney. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I am glad. Thank you for the answer from the deputy minister. So, since the massive disposition report, if I can call it that, has been sent to the Law Society and the Law Foundation, has there actually been a facetoface meeting with these organizations to talk about how to move forward with the disposition of the materials and this new resource centre? So, a facetoface meeting, has that actually happened? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Mr. Goldney.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I can report that I have had a facetoface meeting with members of the relevant committee of the Law Society, looking at this issue, and have had discussions and was pleased that they were very appreciative and thankful for the work that went into that report to inform decisions of what would be retained. We certainly welcome those discussions, and we have been sharing with them the plans for the resource centre. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Goldney. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I am glad to hear that there has been a facetoface meeting. Can the Minister make a commitment to share that kind of information with the standing committee so that we know what is going on? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Minister Sebert.
Yes, we can make that commitment.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I am glad to get that cooperative answer from the Minister. I don't have anything further. Thanks.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I notice that contract services has decreased from a high of $1 million in 201516 down to $365,000. Could the Minister explain that variance? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister Sebert.
I am told that this is merely a budgeting change, but perhaps Ms. Bolstad could expand on that not-terribly-helpful answer.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Ms. Bolstad.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We have had some accounting adjustments to more accurately reflect our expenditures, which the budget line item may not as accurately reflect.
Thank you, Ms. Bolstad. Mr. Testart.
Thank you. I will chalk that up to an accounting practice, Mr. Chairman. Under court reporters, there has been a slight decrease. My understanding of this program is that the court reporters' function heavily relies on contract services with court reporters from Alberta, I believe, is where they are based, from Edmonton. Does this budget line item reflect the cost of hiring the contract services for those reporters, or is it in-house staff? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister Sebert.
There is a contract with a provider in Edmonton. Our delivery of this service really is dependent both on staff and the contractors from Edmonton.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Mr. Testart.
How much of the $726,000 under the line item court reporters is used for contracts and how much is used for our own staff? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister Sebert.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I understand that about $400,000 of that goes to the contractor.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Mr. Testart.
Is it the department's opinion that using the contract service is a more efficient use of resources than having our own in-house reporters? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister Sebert.
Due to the demands and requirements of the position, we wouldn't have the staff to provide court reporters who are often needed in the outlying communities. I think there has been a reliance on court reporters as long as I have been here. We do not have sufficient staff in-house, and therefore are relying for providers from, I think they are from Alberta. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I guess what I am getting at is I think what I see from these numbers and my own knowledge of this service is that the contract services are a more efficient way to deliver the program for less. In the wake of reductions across the board to find efficiencies, why have we not considered axing this staff component part of this in favour of a more efficient way to deliver the service?
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister Sebert.
Yes, of course, we are always looking at ways to make the system more efficient. One of the advantages of using the contractors from Edmonton, it is as-and-when-needed. They have a large pool of people, I think, who work for them so that they can provide court reporters on a timely basis when required. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Mr. Testart.
I am going to move off this, Mr. Chair. That is a suggestion I will make for future reductions if we are looking at finding efficiencies. Cabinet colleagues, there you go. There is an idea.
I would like to ask about Wellness Court now. Are we still providing the same level of Wellness Court service as we were in 2017? Going forward, I notice a small reduction. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Mr. Goldney.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We are providing the same level of service with the Wellness Court. We are very happy with how that program has been operating. I should be clear that that small reduction only relates to work that was required to develop an evaluation framework for the program. Now that that evaluation framework has been done, you see that slight reduction there. The ongoing operation of the Wellness Court isn't compromised in any way. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Goldney. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that response. I think it is a great program, and I encourage the department to continue to support it and find ways to expand upon the program. On to sheriff services. I welcome the increase and the new staff positions and also the Minister's response to oral questions I previously have had in this House. That indicated the department was favourable towards expanding the role of sheriffs to fully cover court security and prisoner escort. Where are we at with that? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Mr. Goldney.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. That is something that the department continues to look at and is looking forward to reflecting changes as we move forward. Right now, we are still discussing how some of that could work. We look forward to future changes, Mr. Chair. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Goldney. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Has the department spoken to Nunavut and seen how they have accommodated the shift in their court services function? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Mr. Goldney.
