Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve made it clear that I do not support the cuts in the Justice programs in my home community of Tuktoyaktuk.
Mr. Speaker, I know what happens in my community. I know the amount of work the court worker does for the people of Tuktoyaktuk every day. Unlike the bureaucrats in the courthouse, I don’t need the government report that tracks the number of applications received and processed to tell me what goes on at the community level. I’m sure it’s easy when they establish a person’s worth to the Justice system by the number of transactions they’re involved in.
Access to justice and the legal aid programs for those people of Tuk should be right and not looked at as statistics to justify reducing programs and services.
Mr. Speaker, the Tuk Justice Committee has a difficult time hiring permanent employees because of the low wages they’re able to offer using available funding for the Community Justice committees from the Department of Justice. Without dedicated staff it’s virtually impossible for a Community Justice committee to properly prepare, administrate and report on any local justice initiative they apply the contribution funding for. Mind you, that doesn’t matter anyway, Mr. Speaker, because the department cut most of the contribution funding.
If we allow these cuts to proceed, I can tell you how justice will be administered in Tuktoyaktuk and in Nunakput. The court party will come into the communities and the court worker will be travelling with the court party. The court worker will take legal aid applications for the next time court comes into town. There will be an increase in the number of no-shows, because there’s no one to remind them to appear. Courts will be forced to make circuits into Tuk, meaning that more gas and more electricity will be wasted keeping the plane warm on the tarmac so they can get back to Inuvik to watch the latest episode of Lost.
If anything, Mr. Speaker, we should be increasing the amount of money spent on local justice and legal aid in the smaller communities. Sadly, this government has chosen the opposite approach in order to satisfy the financial bottom line.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
Unanimous consent granted.
A real government would be more concerned about the real bottom line: the health and the well-being of northern residents.
Later today I’ll have questions for the Minister of Justice about this.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
