I move that the committee defer further consideration of the capital estimates for the Department of Finance at this time. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the Inuvik Boot Lake Member. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried. Consideration of the Department of Finance 2025-2026 Capital Estimates, total department is deferred.
---Carried
Thank you, committee. And thank you to the Minister. Sergeant-at-arms, please escort the witnesses from the chamber.
Committee, you have agreed to consider Tabled Document 193-20(1), Capital Estimates 2025-2026, Department of Justice. Does the Minister of Justice wish to bring in witnesses to the chamber?
Yes, Mr. Chair, I do. Thank you.
Does committee agree? Thank you. Sergeant-at-arms, please escort the witnesses into the chamber. Would the Minister please introduce the witnesses.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. With me on my left is Charlene Doolittle, the deputy minister of the Department of Justice. And on my right is James Bancroft, the director of corporate services with the Department of Justice. Thank you.
Thank you. The committee has agreed to forego general comments. Is the committee agreed to proceed to the details contained in the table document?
Agreed.
Committee, the Department of Justice begins on page 62. We will defer the department totals and review the estimates by activity summary, beginning on page 63. Are there any questions? Okay, seeing none.
The Department of Justice, corrections, infrastructure investments, $880,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Next we will -- we have court services on page 65 with the information item on 66. Are there any questions? We have the Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I note that the project here listed is a washroom accessibility upgrade for the Yellowknife courthouse. Could the Minister, please, provide a substantiation for this project. Thank you.
Thanks to the Member from Great Slave. Minister of Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Yellowknife courthouse was built in 1977 and 1978, and the existing washrooms on floors 2 to 6 are original to the building. These washrooms have a 90-degree enclosed vestibule entry with doors on each side of the vestibule. Obviously, this is not an accessible washroom, and upgrades are required to ensure that all residents are able to use these facilities. Thank you.
Thank you to the Minister of Justice. The Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. And thank you to the Minister for that. And it's always good to hear that we are increasing accessibility to our public-facing offices. I'm curious, and I apologize if it's not the right Minister that I should be asking but as it is his project I will ask him. The way that we weigh capital projects and how we choose certain buildings for upgrades, I understand it's a bit of a sliding scale of this is falling apart or this is very, very important. Could the Minister speak as to why this upgrade is occurring over maybe other buildings in the GNWT? Thank you.
Thank you to the Member Great Slave. Minister of Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I'll speak a bit to my experience in my previous role. You know, I was generally given a slate of options for capital projects and some of those include accessibility options, and so as Minister I would move forward with those that I personally prioritized those. In this instance here, these repairs -- or sorry, these renovations are resulting from a human rights adjudication panel decision about the accessibilities of the washrooms. And, you know, that's why we have the human rights adjudication panel so that when there are issues like this identified, they can be rectified. And so I'm thankful that this is one that we are rectifying. Thank you.
Thank you to the Minister of Justice. The Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. And thank you to the Minister for that clarification; I greatly appreciate it. I don't have any further questions.
Thank you to the Member Great Slave. Any further questions from committee? Seeing none.
Department of Justice, court services, infrastructure investment, $600,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Members, please return now to the Department of Justice summary found on page 62. Department of Justice, 2025-2026 Capital Estimates, $1,480,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake.
