Thank you. Ms. Bolstad.
Thank you, Madam Chair. We are very confident in our funding allocation from the federal government, so we really do expect an agreement to be finalized here within the next few months. We are confident within that funding allocation that we will be able to implement some good changes on the program and move forward from there. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I really appreciate that, and I look forward to good news down the road. My next question is in regard to the integrated case management program. I am a hundred percent a supporter of this program. I believe it does very good things here in Yellowknife. That being said, it is located here in Yellowknife, and the good work that they do and the way that they serve clients would be wonderful if that could work its way throughout the Northwest Territories. I have had multiple conversations on the floor of the House about the integrated service delivery model or just the way of working for public servants within the Northwest Territories, and I understand from the Minister that there is a working group working on implementing some changes to the government. I am wondering if that is going to cost money, and if so, will that also come out of this page of the budget? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you. This is where the integrated case management program is found, and what the Member is referring to, I believe, is the integrated service delivery approach, which is an approach to not just delivering services but delivering services, developing policies, developing legislation, and working together as a government as a whole for the benefit of the recipient of those services. Ideally, it should not take more money to do things in a different way if it's just a culture shift, so we do not anticipate increased costs. However, government finds a way sometimes, and so perhaps, there could be. The work that we are doing in the coming year on that does not necessitate an increase right now. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Member.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Another program that I am wondering about with my couple of minutes here is the men's A New Day program. The Minister and I recently had a conversation on the floor in regard to kind of the new look of the men's A New Day program. I am wondering if the men's A New Day program funding currently sits under community justice and, if possible, what the budget line item is for that program. Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Minister of Justice.
Thank you. Yes, that is correct. This is the section where it is. I believe it is community justice projects. Sorry. You know what? How about I hand it over for the budget particulars to Ms. Bolstad.
Thank you. Ms. Bolstad.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The line above, under program detail, that says "protection against family violence" has a budget of $543,000 for 2021-2022; $292,000 of that is for the men's healing program. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. One of the conversations that I had with the Minister on the floor was that the Department of Justice was looking at making this an application-based program where communities would be able to design a program that works for them. Given that this really is a prevention program and that Justice deals largely with corrections, kind of downstream, I am wondering if the Minister is having conversations with the Minister of Health and Social Services to move this program upstream to Health and Social Services. Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Minister of Justice.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The Member brings up a good point. This, the A New Day program, has been in Justice for, I believe, it's about seven years now, and we have had a couple of reviews of the two different iterations of the program, and neither of them showed that we are doing exceptionally well. I think that part of that is due to the fact that it's not really a program that Justice traditionally delivers. It is more of a community wellness program, and that is not necessarily Justice's forte. They do many things very well, but these types of programs, they require some sort of clinical oversight. There are counselling aspects to it, and so perhaps Justice is not the place for it to be. I have started to have those conversations to determine if there is a better location, perhaps with more expertise. I think the takeaway is that this government is committed to delivering men's healing, and we want to make sure we do it in the best way possible and the most effective way possible. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Are there any further comments or questions under community justice and policing? Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I am looking at the line item on 276, the gun and gang strategy, and noting that it is a new program that has started. I'm assuming that's why there are no actuals for 2019-2020. Given the conditions in our jail, we have been hearing over the last while that this is leading to increased gang activity in the Northwest Territories, as southerners are in our jails with northern people and are using that almost as a recruitment location. Could the Minister speak a bit to whether this is enough money? I notice we do have a $150,000 increase this year. Do we see this as needing to be increased over the coming years, or will we see results from allowing it to almost work itself out? Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. Minister of Justice.
Thank you. This is federal money, and there really is a federal push for this. Perhaps it is not as relevant as it might be in some other jurisdictions, but the Member makes some good points about how, perhaps, it is becoming more relevant. My deputy minister can provide some more detail on this. Thank you.
Thank you. Deputy Minister Doolittle.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The University of Alberta has been contracted to research and develop this guns and gangs strategy with the support from this fund. The research completed to date has and will inform how we target community-based interventions for youth, so this is prevention activities. We have had over 14 school-based presentations completed. These include presentations from Michael Bull Roberts, a former gang member who shares his story of turning his life around. At the end of January 2021, a request was sent to all communities calling for proposals to fund projects prior to the end of this fiscal year. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Deputy Minister. Member for Great Slave.
I think that's great. I am really glad to hear it's more of a prevention issue versus a reaction to things that are happening. Just through corrections, people have heard about that recruitment and the increase of southern gangs. Why I know is just that they are coming from the region in which I grew up. I just maybe have been more alive to it. I would just like to speak to the contribution to the YWCA of Yellowknife, the $105,000. Could the Minister confirm that that is the money that is used for the EPOs, or is that another line item? Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. Minister of Justice.
Thank you. The Member is correct.
Thank you. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Madam Chair. As I am listening to the national dialogue and the Status of Women, there seems to be an increase or we are expecting an increase in family violence, intimate partner violence, domestic violence as COVID continues. Knowing that the YWCA is the provider of the EPO function for the RCMP, do we anticipate that we are going to have to increase funding here to ensure that the YWCA can continue to provide that service? As well, how do we then ensure that the EPOs can be done in communities where the YWCA does not have staff? Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you. EPOs can be done over the phone, so someone doesn't have to be physically present. I can ask, perhaps, Ms. Bolstad for some details on the monetary aspects of this. Thank you.
Ms. Bolstad.
Thank you, Madam Chair. We currently aren't aware of a funding increase need there that has been identified, but if there was one, they would be communicating with the community justice and policing division and would be raising that as part of the business planning process. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Maybe the Minister can comment, then, on outreach to the YWCA to sort of feel this one out. I feel like this could potentially be an area where it won't be noticed until it's already being incurred by them. I'm not sure how far ahead they are at times in being able to come and say, "We see this as an uptick." They have a new ED; she's great. No comment there. Just curious to know what the department is doing to be proactive to reach out to all of their NGOs and the groups that they liaise with regarding the potential increase for domestic violence and intimate violence situations. Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Perhaps I can ask the deputy minister to respond.
Deputy Minister Doolittle.
Thank you, Madam Chair. We are in regular contact with our partners and our stakeholders on a regular basis, and particularly, in this case, the community justice and policing division would be with the YWCA. There is also a Department of Justice family violence working group that meets regularly and is actually going to take a look at the recent report that came out, study that, analyze it, and consider recommendations going forward. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Just a comment that, yes, I think that's great. Perhaps it's just my own ignorance of how the Department of Justice works, but I think, in this area, when I was with the YWCA as a director, it just felt like this was one area where we could always be communicating more and more and really -- again, I am going to use my geology analogy -- mine them for their data and maybe being proactive to look at where trends are going. I think that they would be a good source for that. More of a comment. I'm done. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I was looking at page 276, community justice committees and projects. I used to deal with community justice committees way back in the day. My first question for the Minister is: how many community justice committees do we have in the NWT? Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you. I will ask the deputy minister for an exact figure. Thank you.
Thank you. Deputy Minister Doolittle.
Thank you, Madam Chair. So far, in 2021, we have 30 communities that access funding for community justice programs. We have three that have not, but we are in regular communication with them, encouraging discussion of tapping into this funding. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for that answer. I kind of was going in this direction. I know that a lot of community justice committees and boards are really tough to staff. I would just ask the Minister: are there a lot of vacancies in the communities that we just mentioned? Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you. For that detail, I will ask the deputy minister, as well.
