Glen Abernethy

Madam Chair, I’ve had a lot of conversations with the Member, especially when we are travelling through the Sahtu, and we know the challenges that they’re facing with alcohol in the small communities and we are looking to work with the communities.

Once again, I go back to the community policing strategies or the community policing plans that are done between the RCMP and the community. It’s a great opportunity for the communities to make sure that their voice is being heard with respect to policing. It’s going to continue to happen and we look forward to the partnerships. The Member is right...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to present the main estimates for the fiscal year 2012-2013 for the Department of Justice.

The department’s main estimates propose an operations expenditure budget of $113.674 million. This represents an increase of 6.6 percent over the 2011-2012 Main Estimates, with just over $6.7 million for net forced growth to ensure core programs and services have sufficient resources to operate. These main estimates also propose $613,000 for strategic initiatives to enhance and expand service delivery to the residents of the Northwest Territories.

The bulk of our...

I did speak to this in the House the other day and gave some of the deadlines that we’re now faced with. This is a cooperative project between the Department of Health and Social Services, Education, Culture and Employment, Housing Corporation and Justice. It’s been taking a little longer than I think any of us would have liked, but it is continuing to move forward. Right now we hope to have a work plan in place by August 2012, like I said the other day.

Obviously, we’d like to be moving faster, but there is a significant amount of research that needs to be done, and the original project has...

It is a strategic initiative-type position. It is new this year. It is brand new. It hadn’t been utilized in previous years.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I don’t know. It was before my time. I’m happy to pull some information together and provide it to the Member.

I don’t know how much money was spent in the last government, I don’t have that data, but I will certainly get that for the Member. The Member is absolutely right. Since the election of this Assembly, they haven’t had an opportunity to get to meet because they actually fell apart because a number of the members changed their professions. We’ve got that committee back together and they will be meeting soon. They will be pulling together some recommendations and I will be sharing those with my colleagues once I have them.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I didn’t mean to suggest anything. I wouldn’t believe that. I know it’s not true. Absolutely, we will keep the Members posted on the types of individuals who are coming and providing these types of services and the types of skills they bring.

Madam Chair, the position is currently vacant, from what I understand. From my understanding, the RCMP is hoping to utilize that position to help them with other industrial initiative-type things that are happening, like the play in the Sahtu. There is going to be a significant amount of challenges in the Sahtu with all the additional work coming in there. The position is going to be utilized to help address some of the social impacts on the RCMP of major developments.

Sorry. I misunderstood. I thought he was questioning the Department of Justice experiencing a greater workload as a result of having the PUB ultimately report there. This is going to be busy here for the Public Utilities Board. General rate applications have been done before. This isn’t anything new. The budget is set. We are confident that they are professionals and will get the work done like any other general rate application that has occurred.

Once the research is done and we take it to committee to have a discussion, if that is the wish of committee, I would be happy to take it forward. Thank you.