Thanks, Mr. Chair. If it came to oil and gas, and I didn't say anything, I wouldn't be doing my job. I'm glad there are physical allowances in the budget for this department to maintain, keep the interest there, keep the doors open. It can be the same concept as what our neighbour in the south said on the activities going on in Alberta, so they turned towards orphan wells as job creation and cleaning up old leases, so, having had some discussion with the department, they're concentrating on that, as well. I think the orphan well program they have, Well Watch, is well underway and in consultation with the communities. I look forward to having further dialogue to see how we can emerge a new possible industry on cleaning up somebody else's mess. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McNeely. Would the Minister like to respond?
Thank you to the Member for his comments. Certainly, perhaps some of the responses that we've given could be fleshed out, if the executive director does appear in front of committee. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Anything further from Mr. McNeely?
It could be viewed, Mr. Chair, as a dormant industry, but, given some of the previous statements and efforts I made here, we can look at the pipeline oil industry program repair for Enbridge Line 21 in Fort Simpson. Now, I feel that we're probably going to see, after the permitting process is done and the procurement, an injection of $53 million into that region, which I think is a significant amount and should be implemented towards further leakage of the lines so we can create some commerce. So it's certainly an industry that is kind of tabled at the moment, but beyond our means. I think something might happen down the road. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McNeely. Hopefully, the joking manner on some of those comments comes across in Hansard. Would the Minister like to respond?
I have no further comment. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Justice, Office the Regulator of Oil and Gas Operations, operations expenditure summary, activity total, $1,869,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Moving on. Policing services, which begins on page 293, $45 million activity. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, just before Christmas, the RCMP announced at the national level that they were going to expand their review of closed sexual assault cases and increase training to address gaps in police knowledge of consent. I'm wondering if the Minister can tell us what the local implications, NWT implications, are of these initiatives? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Of course, the RCMP does provide annual training to all Members, training to Members to improve their interviewing skills in complex cases such as sexual assault complaints. That is going on generally. I understand that, as of last year, April, 119 members of G division had completed a specialized investigative interview course, and, in addition to that, 24 have completed additional training in investigating child sexual assaults. This is in addition to the RCMP's training program for cadets in Regina, which includes 36 classes dedicated to investigating sexual assault and four classes related to child sexual abuse. Thank you.
Thank you. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the training I'm referencing is training in understanding the evidence provided by witnesses, for example statements that are inconsistent or incomplete, that may be the result of the trauma that the victim has experienced, so it's more about the practice of understanding the evidence and, particularly, understanding consent case law. Does the Minister know whether this training which the RCMP said would be offered across the country has been offered here, yet? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
Obviously, that would be an important part of the training. I am not sure whether that specific training has been offered here, yet. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would appreciate hearing from the Minister about this, whether the training has been scheduled or has already been delivered in the NWT on consent case law. Further, I'd be interested to know whether the expanded review of closed sexual assault cases will be implemented here in the NWT as well. Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think I should discuss these matters with the commanding officer and get back to committee. Thank you.
Thank you. Ms. Green.
Thank you. I appreciate the Minister following up on these questions and getting back to committee. Those are all my questions. Thank you.
Thank you. Justice, policing services, operations expenditure summary, $44,916,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Moving on to services to government, beginning on page 295. Comments or questions from committee? I know that committee has a lot of material in front of them. I'm giving them a minute to get oriented. Seeing nothing from committee -- oh, Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think this is the right place to discuss the legislative backlog that we talked about quite a bit in the fall. Could the Minister tell us how the department is getting on top of rolling out the legislation that we're all so anxious to see? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you. I don't think the backlog really has been caused by the lack of drafters of the legislation, but I'll turn it over to Mr. Goldney, perhaps, to expand on that.
Thank you. Mr. Goldney.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We are very mindful of the need to move legislation forward as quickly as it needs to. The role that the Department of Justice plays is of course in the development of that and is by providing the drafting services. Often, there is a requirement for not only our department but all departments to develop the legislative proposal and to consider some fairly significant policy questions. That is where we tend to see more time often required than might be preferred, but we are very mindful of the need. Once a legislative proposal is developed, then drafting instructions can be provided to ensure that we have departments adequately supported to move that along as quickly as possible. There are times when we might feel that compression, but we do have the ability to look for contracted services if the need arises. Right now, we recognize that there is a lot of work coming, and we are preparing for it. We don't anticipate there being a delay as a result of a lack of horsepower in our legislative division. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Ms. Green.
Those are all my questions. Thank you.
Thank you. Justice, services to government, operations expenditure summary, $12,847,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Moving on to services to the public, being on page 299. Comments or questions from committee? Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the Minister may have heard me ask questions about the public guardian. I realize the public trustee is a different position, but I do wonder about the kind of backlog, if any, the public trustee office has on applications for its services. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don't think we are aware of any particular concerns about a backlog. Thank you.
Thank you. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. What is the service time between an application being submitted and the file being -- it has to work its way through the court process, but, the file being readied for court, what's the length of time that takes typically? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
Of course, that would vary considerably with the complexity of the estate matter that is being reviewed. We can perhaps provide committee with or attempt to get some averages, but there's probably a pretty wide variety in times that these things might take. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Sure, I would appreciate having an idea of how long it takes from the time there is an application made until the time it goes to court, which would be the only part that this office would have responsibility for. Other than that, I have no further questions. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. The Minister will provide that information. Am I correct in that, Minister?
Yes. We'll attempt to put that information together. As I say, it might be somewhat difficult, but I believe we can do it. Thanks.
Thank you, Minister. I'm just looking for something solid. You will attempt to, and you believe you can. Will you put together some information for the committee? Thank you. Minister.
Yes, we can provide the timelines. I don't know how useful they will be because of the very different types of cases and very different lengths of time it takes to resolve them, but yes, we will obtain those timelines.
Thank you, Minister. Anything further? Nothing further from Ms. Green. Justice, services to the public, operations expenditure summary, $4,340,000. Does committee agree?
