Thank you. Any further comments? Questions? Okay, thank you. I'm going to continue on.
Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 4, 20232024, Department of Infrastructure, programs and services, not previously authorized $22,527,000. Does the committee agree?
Agreed.
Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 4, 20232024, Department of Infrastructure, total department, not previously authorized $28,655,000. Is there any questions? Seeing none. Does the committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you. Committee, we will now consider the Department of Justice on page 12.
Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 4, 20232024, Department of Justice, community justice, not previously authorized $524,000. Is there any questions? I don't see no questions. Does the committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you. Moving on. Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 4, 20232024, Department of Justice, policing services, not previously authorized $841,000. Is there any questions? I'll go to the Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, can the Minister explain what this funding is for. Is it for staff positions, training programs? Thank you.
Thank you. I'm going to go to Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So the First NationsInuit Policing Program Framework Agreement is a titles by the federal government and somewhat doesn't necessarily relate clearly. It provides funding for RCMP officer positions. In this case, it funds five RCMP officer positions. The agreement provides a different ratio of funding as between the GNWT and the federal government where under this agreement it is at a better ratio. It comes in at 52 percent to 48 percent Public Safety Canada and then GNWT. Thank you.
I'm going to go to the Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. And is this part of the police services contract or a separate program? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So it's a separate agreement but it will then be otherwise subject to, you know, the other provisions. I mean, for instance, of when the RCMP negotiated their collective agreement, these RCMP officers are subject to that but this is separate a separate agreement from the usual or from the other funding agreement that we have for RCMP positions. Thank you.
Thank you. I'm going to go to the Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. And where are these do we know where these officers are located, or is that a Gdivision question? Thank you.
Thank you. I'm going to go to Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So the I believe the new positions that we are going to have coming in sorry, let me just take actually, let hand it to Mr. Courtoreille, please.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So in 20232024, there will be nine positions added as part of this program. Those positions would be located in Aklavik, Dettah, Fort Good Hope, Fort McPherson, Fort Simpson, two in Fort Smith, and one at the K'atlodeeche First Nation, and one in Whati. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Courtoreille. I'll go to the Member from Range Lake.
Thank you. That's more than I expected. I doubt you'll be able to answer this, but the Dettah I don't think there's a Dettah detachment. So that's probably a Yellowknifebased position that's there to service Dettah? Thank you.
Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think so.
Thank you. I'm going to go back to Member of Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Is this kind of a onetime funding program, or is this something we can make further application to or expand upon given our I know we're overpoliced per capita but it still seems like well, the residents that I speak to still have public safety concerns, significant ones. So this is an additional way to bolster our police services contract without expending our limited resources. It would be preferable to just paying more money. So is there more opportunity to expand this funding source so we can further expand our range of or our police presence in the community? Thank you.
Thank you. I'm going to go to Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I do have some hopefully anticipated hopefully good news that in 20242025, we are expecting we will see in the main estimates an additional four positions coming under this program. Thank you.
Thank you. I'm going to go the Member from Range Lake.
Thank you. That's good news. I look forward to that and will have more to say then. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Nothing further.
Thank you. I'm going to go to the Member from the Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We all know there's an increasing drug crisis out in our communities and therefore requires more and more policing services and collaboration with concerned citizens and leaders. Is there further funding coming as you had mentioned there's four positions. Is there more funding in the area of joint Indigenous governments collaboration for policing strategy developments? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. I'm going to go to the Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So under the First Nations Policing Framework Agreement, there's not there's a desire, if possible, to recruit Indigenous police officers. But aside from that, this particular funding agreement doesn't necessarily speak to alternative forms of policing or alternative community supports. It's outside the scope of the supplementary appropriation but I'd suggest the Member might be interested in looking at what's happening in Fort Liard right now where I think there is a community policing initiative underway. Thank you.
Thank you. I'm going to go to the Sahtu Member.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. My other question is there is there a Gdivision agreement outside of this policing servicing? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. I'm going to go to the Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, there is another agreement that provides for RCMP services in the Northwest Territories. The single biggest difference is the cost ratio is 70/30 in favour of GNWT paying 70 percent and Public Service Canada 30. Thank you.
Thank you. I'm going to go back to the Member from the Sahtu.
Mr. Chair, I have no further questions. Thank you.
Thank you. I'm going to go to Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I'll be quick. I appreciate we're just about there.
Just for my colleague from Mackenzie Delta who is not here, and I know he'd probably have this question, would selection of where these officers go, and I assume that's done through Gdivision. I'm not sure if GNWT has any input into that, but there is no policing services in Tsiigehtchic and I'm sure he would bring that up as my colleague across the way reminded me. Thank you.
Thank you. I'm going to go to Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, it is my understanding that the RCMP do the analysis and make the final determination on where officers should be located and what the operational needs are for those officers in those communities. For example, the example earlier of there being an officer based nominally in Yellowknife but assigned technically to Dettah or N'dilo. That said, Mr. Chair, I would note that there are community policing, again outside the scope of the supplementary appropriation, but there are community policing priorities that are issued every year that are prepared with the community and RCMP and the Department of Justice, and that may be somewhere that the Member or his colleague may want to start on that topic. Thank you.
Thank you. I'm going to go to the Member from Inuvik Boot Lake. No further Member from YK Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just wanted to follow up ever so briefly on that. It looks like we're missing a the Minister may have said it, but we got Aklavik, Dettah, Fort Good Hope, two in Fort Smith, one KDFN, one for Whati, and one for Fort McPherson. That gives us eight. Did we miss one, or is it actually eight members? That's the first question.
Thank you. We'll go to Minister of Finance.
I just quickly counted, Mr. Chair. I've got two in Smith, one in Simpson, one in McPherson, one in Fort Good Hope, one in Dettah/N'dilo, one in Aklavik, and I think I missed one in Whati. And I came to nine. Okay. Thank you.
Thank you. I'm going to go to YK Centre.
Our scribbles on the House, Mr. Chairman, that didn't have the one with Fort Simpson. Now we all reconcile is nine on this and we're all on the same page.
If the Minister could just elaborate a little clearly further that is, the $841,000 is for the 20232024 budget, if that represents five, and just to reaffirm the ratio of 52 to 48; I'm assuming we pay the 48? Thank you.
Thank you. I'm going to go to the Minister of Finance.
