Yes. I will hand it off, but I'll just first say that there is federal money. I've been on calls with other federal, provincial, and territorial Ministers, and everyone always asks for more money. There is that lobbying going on, with an understanding that it is expensive. Access to Justice is expensive. In the Northwest Territories, we have probably the most generous legal aid system in Canada, which means it's even more expensive up here. We spend much more proportionately to what we receive from the federal government compared to other jurisdictions. I'd like to hand it to Ms. Bolstad. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Ms. Bolstad.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, the legal aid federal funding agreement is called Access to Justice, and it is $2,808,000 for 2021-2022. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I wish that was higher. I think the area of priority here is not just on the typical legal aid, but that outreach clinic. I can't even imagine how difficult it is to get someone to give you family law advice in the Beau-Del. It can be difficult getting hold of a lawyer in Yellowknife for that. I would encourage the Minister and the department to put together some sort of proposal for that outreach clinic because I do believe the federal money exists and there are different funding pools. It just really needs a champion to write the proposals and put together a vision of what an outreach clinic can actually look like. Other than the Access to Justice services agreement, is there any other federal money flowing in in this area? Because I do believe there are a number of pools. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you. For those details, I'll go to Ms. Bolstad.
Ms. Bolstad.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I know our executive director of the Legal Aid Commission is an active participant in FPT groups, and she would be live to any federal funding opportunities. Currently, our main stream is through the Access to Justice services agreement. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Are there any further questions under legal aid services? Seeing none, please turn to page 286. Legal aid services, operations expenditure summary, 2021-2022 Main Estimates, $7,130,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. We will take a short recess and resume with the next activity.
---SHORT RECESS
Committee, we are moving on to the Office of the Regulator of Oil and Gas Operations, beginning on page 288, with information items on page 290. Member for Frame Lake.
Thanks, Madam Chair. I know how much the Minister of Justice likes my questions on this area. I had understood that OROGO had retained a third party to do an assessment of their resourcing needs, recognizing that there hasn't been any oil and gas activity here now in years, or very little, shall we say. Has that consultant or the contractor been hired, and when is a report expected? Thanks, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you. The report is expected at the end of this month, I believe. It's a third party, and it is doing everything the Member has asked in the past, looking at not just whether the budget is adequate to operate as is, but considering what's going on in the territory and what a future budget should look like. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Frame Lake.
Thanks, Madam Chair. Thanks to the Minister. Is the Minister going to share that report with the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment? Thanks, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Yes, I can share that. Thank you.
Thank you. Are there any further questions on the Office of the Regulator of Oil and Gas Operations? Seeing none, please turn to page 289. Office of the Regulator of Oil and Gas Operations, operations expenditure summary, 2021-2022 Main Estimates, $1,928,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. We will now start on policing services, beginning on page 291 and information item on page 292. Questions? Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Looking at page 292, Territorial Police Services Agreement, can the Minister just describe what this line item is and how much of this line item is contributions from the federal government? Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you. I can ask Ms. Bolstad for a breakdown because I believe it is 70-30. Thank you.
Thank you. Ms. Bolstad.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes. This line represents the GNWT's 70 percent share of the Territorial Police Services Agreement for the provision of policing services in the territory. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you for that. That's good to know. Like any other agreement, it sounds like there is a contract involved, probably a tripartite. What is the commitment from the GNWT and the other parties? Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you. I will go to Ms. Doolittle for some accurate information on this. It's a long contract. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Ms. Doolittle.
Thank you, Madam Chair. It is a 20-year agreement, and it's actually posted on the website, available for the public to see. It is up for renewal March 31, 2032. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Deputy Minister. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you. That's good to know. 2032, hopefully, by then, some of our land claims agreements are settled upon. It would be nice to see down the road where we could see some of our own police forces come down the road, and we actually could start having those discussions. I thought I would just leave it at that. I have no further questions. Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Under the same line item of Territorial Police Services Agreement, I notice that there is about a $400,000 increase between last year and this year. I am wondering what the people of the Northwest Territories get for that. Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. That is a variance due to the drug-impaired driving funding initiative sunsetting the forced-growth submission for three RCMP constables. It's a combination of those two things. Essentially, it's three new RCMP officers. I think it's the first increase in RCMP officers since 2005 in Yellowknife. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much. Can the Minister confirm if all three new RCMP officers will be stationed in Yellowknife, or will they also be stationed in the communities? Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you. These three are in Yellowknife. There were a couple of new positions in the Tlicho as of last year, I believe, and in the South Slave, there were a couple of new positions a few years ago. Justice and the RCMP work together to identify needs, put together business cases, and submit those. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I just have one more question. The Minister did just say that the RCMP and the GNWT work together to establish a business case. I am wondering if the Minister can briefly speak to, given that we contribute 70 percent, what are the boundaries within the RCMP and the GNWT that the GNWT is able to kind of reach into the operations of the RCMP? I am wondering if the Minister can speak to that a little bit. Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you. The GNWT is not able to reach too far into the operations, nor do I know if we want to. We contract that out for a reason. They know what to do, but I can ask the deputy minister for some more nuanced detail on that. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Deputy Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The Minister sets the high-level policing priorities, which are shared and posted, and were going to go out recently. He is engaging with Indigenous governments on that. He gives the high-level direction, and the commanding officer of "G" Division manages the operations. There is an independence there with the operations. Thank you, Madam Chair.
