R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't have that information on hand. What I will say is that we do have a significant number of RCMP officers. The RCMP budget has increased faster than really most other budgets in the government, and that's because we put a lot of emphasis on it. And so at some point we do have to, you know, stop the expansion and look at other priorities. That being said, there's always conversations going on. And when opportunities arise where we -- it looks like we can get a good deal from the federal government, we like to explore those and so there could be some of those talks...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So we have a contract with the RCMP and that lays out the resourcing, and it's clear of the cost share breakdown. We pay 70 percent, the federal government pays 30 percent. We have advocated for more resources, and we were successful in that advocacy by receiving more funding through the First Nation and Inuit policing program which has closer to a 50/50 cost share, and so we have been successful in that regard. But that being said, we do have a contract, we do have a requirement to pay a certain amount, and so we can't get more resources from the federal government but...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the federal government, on March 10th, released a paper about the future of the RCMP or, at least, this existing administration's take on the future of the RCMP understanding there is a change of government happening tomorrow, so we'll see what happens. And that paper said that the federal government should be committed to working closely with the provinces to support a transition away from contract policing. Of course, here in the Northwest Territories we contract the RCMP to do our policing. But in that same paper, it said that Canada should also collaborate with...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What it sounded like to me is the Member was imputing motives stating that, you know, this is an attempt at party politics and we're working as a party. I will let you know that I will never in this Assembly work as -- in a party system or strive to work in a party system or support a party system. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to take a minute to recognize some people who have been here with us for the past six weeks while I've been in the House. All of the interpreters who do the good work of letting the people of the territory know what we're up to. We were lucky enough to be invited to a potluck that they put on today, and it was a wonderful experience. And, of course, I also want to recognize Troy Aikman of the Department of Infrastructure, Mr. Steve Loutitt, one of the -- you know, the hardest working people that I've ever met, one of the most positive. He's a great member of our...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Kam Lake, that Bill 23, An Act to Amend the Children's Law Act, be read for the second time.

This bill will bring the Northwest Territories Children's Law Act in line with changes to the federal Divorce Act that came into force in 2021. The bill will also allow for the collection, use, and disclosure of information for the purposes of the child support recalculation service and will make an amendment to provide greater flexibility for the judiciary to create broadly applicable rules of court. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And the way that the Minister of Justice influences policing in the Northwest Territories is through resourcing and through the policing priorities that are issued to the RCMP, and so it's probably a bit beyond my ability to increase the police presence in a particular community and a particular part of that community. And that being said, I've had conversations with the RCMP about Yellowknife and about downtown Yellowknife, and so I know they're well aware of the situation. And when the RCMP wants to bring forward requests for new resources, there's a process through...

So there were not nine positions rolled out in -- oh, I guess the Member was talking about last fiscal year, so that would have been 2023-2024. We're still in the 2024-2025 fiscal year.

So in the 2023-2024-fiscal year, the Member is correct, there were nine positions. Those were allocated to Aklavik, Dettah and N'dilo based in Yellowknife, Fort Good Hope, Fort McPherson, Fort Simpson, two to Fort Smith, one to the K'atlodeeche First Nation stationed in Hay River. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So our current agreement with the RCMP is for another seven years. So this is a long ways out. That being said, for a new model to be developed and, you know, fleshed out, it's going to take some time. And so this white paper came out three days ago. I don't -- no one that I know was expecting it. I don't believe the RCMP were part of the development of it. And so there hasn't been a lot of discussions on this. And so I don't really have any insight into what the model could look like because those conversations haven't started. That being said, it is an opportunity to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As this is a motion that is going to be directing standing committee to do work, it is essentially -- the committee could do this work without this motion so there's really not a purpose for Cabinet to vote on this. I don't want to begin meddling into the inner operations of standing committee. So Cabinet will be abstaining for those reasons. Thank you.