Thank you, Minister Sebert. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. When we talked about legalizing cannabis, it was actually to stop the drug trade with cannabis and that there. What I am hearing right now is that we are not going to worry about that now. Is that correct? Is the RCMP able to actually prosecute individuals that are selling cannabis? Right now, it is supposed to be just for our retailers. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Sebert.
Yes, of course. Trafficking in cannabis outside of the part that is allowed by the stores and so on is still illegal. There still will be prosecutions. When I talked about the police's time, I was thinking more of those caught with minor amounts who used to have to go to court for possession of small amounts. Clearly that won't be an issue anymore, but my understanding is that those who are dealing in cannabis outside the regulated system, that will still be an offence and subject to prosecution. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Your time has expired, Mr. Thompson. Did you want to go again? Okay. We'll reset. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. My question is: does the department track how many people have been charged and convicted of cannabis sales since the introduction of this new law? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Sebert.
We don't have that information before us, and I am not aware of any charges or convictions since October 17th. There may be some. Certainly we could track that kind of information. As I said, the whole point of the change was to remove this product from organized crime, but I do appreciate that there will still be those who break the law and presumably will be prosecuted, even if the drug that they are selling is marijuana or cannabis. There are still laws that presumably will be effective and used against those that are selling illegally. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you. I am just asking: do we have a system in place to track it? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Sebert.
I don't think the Department of Justice has a system of tracking these things. I suppose we could. I suppose the police do track these things. Most of these statistics, I believe, we get from the RCMP, whether it is this type of offence or another kind. I believe the police would provide us with information with respect to charges or perhaps convictions. I'm not certain. We do get statistics from the RCMP about various offences, but I don't think the Department of Justice itself is tracking this. We may be able to obtain information. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the department may not be doing it, but the RCMP should be tracking this, because we are supposed to be seeing a decline in the sale of cannabis, the illegal part of it. I guess I am looking forward to maybe you asking the RCMP to add that as part of their report to you. Can you get at least that done through that way? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Sebert.
Yes. I suppose I can ask. I mean, one of the points of the legalization was to remove this from the black market. We will know what sales are in the Northwest Territories, and I would like to think that is money that is taken out of the hands of criminals. That was one of the major points of the legislation.
As I said, this was long in coming. I mean, if you are asking me how much the market for marijuana has been diminished by the change of law, that is rather hard to determine because it was a black market before. I would hope that the fact that now it is being sold legally in some of the stores in the Northwest Territories that that has reduced the illegal trade, and logic would tell me that is true, but I don't know if there is any way to mathematically verify that. Logic tells me that is true. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I guess my concern is I am still hearing of people selling cannabis. What I am asking, though, was if the RCMP is able to confirm with you if they have been able to convict or charge people with this, for selling it, trafficking it. That is what I am asking. I will hope that they are able to give that to you and you are able to report to the House and the committee on that. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Did you want to provide a reply to that comment there, Minister Sebert?
Yes. I thank the Member for his comments. I mean, for example, in the liquor trade, we do have people charged for selling illegally. I will bring this concern that has been mentioned to the RCMP. Yes, it is probably true that there are still people selling marijuana, but I would hope that the majority of those who wish to acquire marijuana are going to the store and buying it, just as they do with liquor. Yes, there is still liquor that is being sold illegally, and, yes, there is still marijuana that is probably being sold illegally. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Any further questions on this activity? Seeing none, I will call out on page 289, Department of Justice, policing services, operations expenditure summary, $46,257,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
For the record, I will call that total again here. $46,257,000. Agreed?
Agreed.
Okay. We will move on to page 291, Department of Justice, services to government, operations expenditure summary, $11,908,000. The details are from 293. Any questions to this activity? Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, could I ask a question of clarification to start with, that the Victims Assistance Fund information on page 297 is a part of this segment of the budget? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Sebert.
Yes, I understand that it falls under community justice and policing, but we can certainly take the questions if there are questions.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Ms. Green.
Thank you. Okay. It wasn't clear to me exactly which segment that is in, because it is right after "services to the public." My question is about the Victims Assistance Fund. I see here that it is running a deficit of $359,000, and that is up another $50,000 over last year. Can the Minister explain to us why this fund is growing and whether there are any plans to disperse more information according to the current criteria? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Sebert.
I understand that, actually, this is a surplus, but perhaps I could have Ms. Bolstad expand on my answer.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Ms. Bolstad.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, that is correct. That is it is a $359,000 anticipated surplus in 2019-2020. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Bolstad. Ms. Green.
Yes, I misspoke. I realize it is a surplus. I am asking why there is such a large surplus in this fund and whether there are plans to spend it down. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Sebert.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I understand that this is managed by the Victims Assistance Committee and that they determine the allocation of funds. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Ms. Green, I would like to point out that your line of questions is on the next activity, and we will bring that out when we go through the detail. Right now, we are discussing the operations expenditure for services to government activity. Any further questions to this activity and the detail? Seeing none, I will call this page. On 291, Department of Justice, services to government, operations expenditure summary, $11,908,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Agreed. Okay. We will move on to the next activity, starting on page 295. I will read this activity page out, and we will discuss the detail. Department of Justice, services to the public, operations expenditure summary, $4,249,000. We can now proceed on with the detail following that. Ms. Green, did you want to speak to this activity? Okay, Ms. Green, you've got the floor.
Thank you. Who is the Victims Assistance Committee accountable to? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Sebert.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Apparently, they are appointed by me.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Ms. Green.
It is fantastic that every day has an opportunity for learning. My question, then, is what kind of guidance the Minister is providing to this committee about the size of its surplus, in terms of whether it should keep growing, whether it should be spent, whether it should be diverted to the SPCA? What is the guidance being given here? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Sebert.
Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair. The committee that is appointed recommends disbursements from the fund to support community-based projects and activities. I understand that there is an annual report tabled. It is strange, I agree, to see a surplus, but I do see a list of worthy projects that they have proceeded with. Yes. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I am wondering, where this is used for victims of crime, whether the Minister can guide the committee to spend down more of this surplus on the victims of crime? Thank you.
