Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the NWT Territorial Police Service Agreement, there is no mention of the need for the RCMP to provide the Legislative Assembly the financial statements of its yearly expenditures. Can the Minister explain why there is no public financial statements from the RCMP submitted to the Assembly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister responsible for Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The RCMP as the service provider in our agreement with Public Safety Canada provides so the financial accountability is to the federal government essentially. The responsibility for RCMP financial statements rests with the RCMP and the Government of Canada and is submitted as part of the public accounts of Canada. The RCMP expenditures are reported to the Legislative Assembly through the public accounts of the GNWT. Costs related to the RCMP fall under the policing services activity of the Department of Justice. Accountability for the Territorial Police Service Agreement, or TPSA, and costs incurred as part of our contract are provided by the RCMP through the department as part of that contract and actuals reviewed monthly between the ADM of Justice and the commanding officer. Then a financial account is provided to the department within three months of the end of the fiscal year. The agreement between ourselves and the RCMP contained almost 20 different reporting requirements that the RCMP provide us. These requirements are varying levels of details and are all part of the negotiation of the 20year agreement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to sharing the RCMP's multiyear financial plan for territorial police services with the Legislative Assembly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the multiyear financial plan is a planning document used in the contract is a forecast of potential upcoming financial implications under the Territorial Police Service Agreement. The document is a highlevel first step to business planning to address the identified priorities. So after the multiyear financial planning process, business cases are prepared by the RCMP for the Department of Justice. Those business cases are reviewed to determine if an FMB submission is substantiated, then, if FMB approves the submission, the Members of this Assembly receive the estimates or receive the adjustments in the main estimates. And we've seen that a number of times so far during this Assembly.
But I'm all about transparency, Mr. Speaker. And I can commit to looking into whether or not we have the support of Public Safety Canada and the RCMP, and the other jurisdictions who contract with the RCMP, to provide those documents. The department's going to look into whether other jurisdictions do this, and I'd be happy to share whatever we can. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, under Article 19.0 of the Territorial Police Service Agreement, whatever the territorial Justice Minister requests a third party inter independent review of the RCMP or its police services, that review must be paid must be paid for a hundred percent by the Government of the Northwest Territories. However, if no independent third party review is requested, then by default, all reviews are conducted by the RCMP itself. Mr. Speaker, does the Minister consider this arrangement fair, or will he commit to amending this section of the agreement? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So article 19 also mentions several steps in determining the RCMPdirected reviews where contract partners, such as ourselves, have input into the work. So it would be a hundred percent funded review as sort of a last step if we don't get satisfaction through those other methods. So every fiscal year the contract management committee, made up of ADMs and policing from across the country, Public Safety Canada and some municipal representatives, may provide certain matters to be audited in the RCMP's operations, and there's a strategic advantage to this process as the reviews are nationally coordinated and we benefit from the influence of larger contract partners in the process.
The same process exists for directed reviews. The contract management committee is consulted and offer input into the planning process. Next, there is a process where the commanding officer and the GNWT can jointly agree on specific directed reviews to be conducted which would be covered in the agreement at a 70/30 cost share ratio. This is done as an ongoing part of the contract management. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Thebacha.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The contract management committee within the Territorial Police Service Agreement consists of three representatives from the Government of the Northwest Territories, the federal Department of Safety, and the RCMP along with one associate member representing NWT municipalities. Can the Minister identify the individuals on this committee and how the selection process is done for who sits on it? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The contract management committee is a national level group that supports information sharing and collaboration among provinces and territories, Public Safety Canada, and the RCMP. The contract management committee, or CMC, is also the formal forum for Public Safety Canada to consult with contract holders for anything that is upcoming that will impact governance, cost, quality or capacity of the policing service, or an RCMP program. Typically, ADMs responsible for policing in each jurisdiction represent their organization on the committee. In our case, it is the ADM, solicitor general branch, as the position is responsible for the management of the Territorial Police Service Agreement. There are also some members of the CMC who represent the municipalities who are funding RCMP at a 90/10 cost share as opposed to our 70/30 to provided policing in their communities, and that's outside of the Northwest Territories. And that's why there is a reference to municipalities in the agreement.
There are also several working groups across the country that address matters related to the contract that report to CMC. Some of these groups focus on financial implications, capital assets, national programs, and all of them to support accountability and transparency between Public Safety Canada, the RCMP, and contract partners like ourselves. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.
