Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last week, on February 15th, in light of longstanding concerns that have recently gained mainstream notoriety, the honourable Member for Kam Lake asked the Minister of Justice if he has taken any steps to review procedural fairness in our justice system. In his response, the Minister acknowledged that there has been a good deal of commentary about the justice system as of late and, according to unedited Hansard, stated, "I'm a little concerned that radical changes to the jury system would be ill-advised. This system has served us well for a thousand years."
Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister who he meant when he said "us"?
Masi. Minister of Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. By "us," I meant that it had served the system well for a thousand years. Thank you.
So the Minister is part of the system, it sounds like. Given that half of the residents of this territory are Indigenous and that this justice system hasn't been here for a thousand years, I'd like to ask the Minister: considering that about 90 per cent of the people incarcerated in the territory are also Indigenous, would the Minister consider that this system has served our Indigenous population well?
Dealing first with the question specifically with respect to the jury system itself, yes, I think it has served the North well. The jurors are selected at random from the health card list, those who are eligible for health insurance. In my experiences, juries that I've dealt with, probably 20 or 30 jury trials, they do fairly represent the communities. I didn't always like the verdicts they delivered, but I always thought they were fair and that they represented the community.
I recognize that the North is different. I never want to import a southern solution to a northern issue, and this is a case where it may be what they are saying in the South doesn't apply. If the issue with the over-representation of Aboriginals in the justice system isn't with the jury system, what is the problem?
Yes, the Department of Justice and the government as a whole are concerned about the over-representation of Aboriginal people in the justice system. We are doing things to ameliorate that situation, including restorative justice, specialized courts, corrections programming, court workers, and legal aid, to just list a few areas. As I say, there are problems in society and in the judicial system, but I do not think the jury system is part of the problem.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is a problem when we incarcerate as many people per capita as the Americans do. We are the worst in Canada. My concern is that, as MLAs, we are only here for a limited amount of time and, if we do nothing but maintain the status quo, our time here is essentially a waste. I know the Minister's plate is quite full with cannabis legalization and other initiatives, but Justice seems a little light on strategies and frameworks when compared to the other departments, so I want to know: does the department have any strategies or frameworks in the pipeline to finally begin addressing this issue that has gone unaddressed for too long? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, as mentioned earlier, we do have various courts, DVTO court and wellness court, that are new to the system and are exciting and hopefully initiatives that will result in a change. We realize that there is an over-representation of Aboriginal people in the system and in the jail system, but particularly, as I mentioned, there are the specialized courts, there is corrections programming, court workers including legal aid and outreach, so we are making improvements. Hopefully, these many initiatives will lead to success. Thank you.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
