Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, my concern in this area is that the unfounded series that kicked off the debate about third-party review of sexual assault complaints that are considered unfounded, this started two years ago, and the third-party reporting of sexual assaults has been requested since before that. My question for the Minister is: at what point are we going to see a justification for increasing the grants and contributions in this portion of the budget indicating that action is actually being taken on these two issues? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We are working with our partners in the RCMP with respect to this important matter and, of course, once we determine the path forward, we likely would require further funding, if such funding is required, which would seem likely. Thank you.
Thank you. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Minister has said a number of times how important this issue is, and yet I have to say that there is no progress on this issue. There is an examination of approaches, and a refinement of approaches, and consultation about approaches, but we're still no further toward implementing any approaches or training staff to use them. At what point is the Minister going to pick up some speed on this file and provide some solutions? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
Yes. As I have mentioned numerous times, this is an important issue, and we do continue to work with our partners in the RCMP. Clearly the RCMP internally have made what I would suggest are significant advances arising out of the report that I referenced earlier called "The Way Forward: The RCMP's sexual assault review and victim support action plan." Now, we are working with the RCMP with respect to third-party reporting. That is an important issue, so progress has been made. Further progress is clearly needed. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Ms. Green.
Thank you. Yes, further progress is needed, and I would suggest it needs to happen in a quicker way. During our consideration of the business plan, the Minister told us that regular members of the “G” Division will be required to have completed the course called "Consent Law and Common Sexual Assault Myths" by the end of this fiscal year. Could the Minister update us with how many of the “G” Division staff have actually completed this training? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. All regular members will be required, as I understand it, to complete the Consent Law and Common Sexual Assault Myths course, which was specifically created to address the issues identified in the RCMP's sexual assault review and victim support action plan. As of January 21, 2019, 139 members, or 71.2 percent, have completed the course. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the Minister for that information. So what are the chances that the remaining 29 percent of the members will have completed the training by the end of this fiscal year? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Of course, that is the objective, as I mentioned previously, to have all regular members complete this course. I don't have a date, but hopefully, as I say, all will be able to complete the course. I will check on that to see and inform committee, should they wish, as to progress. As I say, 139 members, I'm told, or 71.2 percent have completed the course. Clearly there is another 28.8 who need to. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. So at this point, Minister, you are not able to confirm whether or not all members will complete the course by the end of this fiscal year. Is that correct?
No, I can't confirm that that would be done. Thank you.
Thank you. Ms. Green.
Thank you. Well, that is the commitment that was made, and so I'm looking for an understanding about why that commitment can't be met. What's the problem? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
My understanding, Mr. Chair, is that that was the RCMP's commitment, and I certainly will keep committee and Members apprised as to progress, but, again, it's the commitment of the RCMP. There may be operational reasons why they could not get that done sooner rather than later. Clearly, it's an important issue, and most members have completed the course, most regular members. Thank you.
Thank you. Ms. Green.
Thank you. Unfortunately, the overall message here is that, while the Minister says that this issue is important, the walk is not equivalent to the talk. I feel there is really room for improvement in this, and I encourage him to make those improvements as soon as possible. That's all for me, thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Next, I have Mr. McNeely.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Looking at the expenditures that are going to kick in here in a few months, or a few weeks, it still allows time for scheduling and planning. My first question related to that is on the funding provided by the federal government for cannabis education. Is the department going to be developing, or has it developed, a community-by-community education plan and schedule? If the Minister recalls, take the Sahtu, for example, only one of five communities was visited by our committee to discuss the legalization of cannabis. Now that we have some money to provide some education about cannabis, is there a schedule to do that for all 33 communities? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. McNeely. I believe this is the right section for that question. Perhaps we can just get some clarification, and an answer from the department if it is. Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don't think we've quite reached that level of detail yet, but Mr. Goldney might be able to expand on my answer. Thank you.
Thank you. Mr. Goldney.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. When it comes to the cannabis implementation work of the Department of Justice and the federal funding that has been directed through the Department of Justice, our role really is limited to RCMP training. I can't speak to other departments, but I do know that work is under way through the Department of Health utilizing federal funding for education. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Goldney. Mr. McNeely.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, maybe if the department could work with the Department of Health in providing some consultation education sessions, either at the public level or at the school level, in the coming fiscal year. I put that out as a suggestion to the department. There is still time before this budget kicks in. You have got $308,000 there for that, and I imagine it could be shared on a 50/50 basis with the Health Department. Increasing the resources there would address targeting all 33 communities.
My next question is on the RCMP participation. You have $1.3 million to allow forced growth there in providing the RCMP with increased capacity, and in your opening remarks, you mentioned supporting the RCMP and communities to strengthen partnerships. That is kind of a broad statement, but I like that, and I would just like a little bit of explanation of how you intend to strengthen these partnerships. I know that we have a lot of problems in some of these communities more so than others, but building the social fabric of these communities through education and partnerships with the front-line workers is very healthy and one remedy of the solution of stability. I am just wondering how you plan to do that. Is there any preliminary information that you can share? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Yes, that certainly is an important question, but I wonder if we might defer that until we get to policing services.
Thank you, Minister. The Minister has advised that this would be better left until policing services, which is one of the later activities. It is found on page 288. Do you have any other questions related to community justice and policing, Mr. McNeely, and we will get back to you when we get to policing services? Mr. McNeely.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. We will move that to the appropriate page there, as you mentioned. The overall Justice Department, when you look at the pie, expenditures are good. I am in support of the department moving further once the budget is passed, if it is passed, and implementing the expenditures to improve some of the areas that we are going to be suggesting here today.
One of the areas that I think we really need improvement in is rehabilitation and reconciliation program delivery in our North Slave Correctional Centre. At any given time, if we went there with a taxi later on, I think you can find out on hand how many programs are actually being delivered. I think we can improve in that area. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. McNeely. The next section is corrections, so we will delve more into that. Do we have anything further from committee? I see Mr. Thompson is on the list.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I guess my first question is about the integrated case management pilot. Has the department improved coordination between the program and NGOs presently? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Yes, this is an important initiative, and we are always, of course, attempting to improve our delivery of services to our citizens. I think Mr. Goldney might be able to expand a bit on my response, if I may, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Goldney.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The focus, really, for the work of ICM right now has been on continuing the good work and learning lessons, recognizing that it is currently still in the pilot project phase until 2020. One of the things that we certainly are learning is that there is a huge appetite for broadening these services and making those connections. The focus, frankly, however, has been on running the program as designed currently and learning the lessons that we are learning.
As we are doing this, we are very mindful that we do have a bit of a countdown clock here, and we do need to come up with a model that makes sense for expanding and further delivery, not just for Yellowknife, but for all of the residents of the Northwest Territories. We do expect to be able to come forward with a new model that has some new features that will include some of the things that we are hearing from all of our community partners. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Thompson.
Sorry, Mr. Chair, I think the Minister asked to follow up on that information. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister, would you like to add something?
Yes, of course. It has been mentioned by the deputy minister that this is a pilot project. In my view, it has been a pretty successful project, so we are looking at it moving forward, and as I say, looking at the numbers of referrals, it appears to be a well-used program, but it is, of course, a pilot at this stage. Thank you.
Thank you. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Again, I know it is a pilot project, and I have heard from the deputy minister and the Minister about potential expansion plans. Can the Minister share whether we are starting to do the planning now, or are we waiting until when this pilot project is completed? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. We do realize the importance of this, and my deputy minister, along with others, is working on the whole idea of integration and case management. Yes, we are working on this, and we are not waiting until the last minute, if that is the question. Thank you.
Thank you. Mr. Thompson.
