Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this change in operations results in a loss of 5.5 positions in Hay River. Mr. Speaker, with the recent review of the North Slave Correctional Centre, is it not true that there is a human resource plan to look at adding more positions for corrections officers in Yellowknife while taking 5.5 out of the South Slave? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just for clarity, the Minister is not talking about one or two from Hay River. He’s talking about one or two from the entire South Slave region and going back, again, you can’t just use one day as a snapshot, he’s saying that going back historically there has only been one or two young offenders in that facility from the South Slave region. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Justice. Mr. Speaker, with respect to the placement of remand inmates in cells here in Yellowknife as opposed to Hay River, I would like to ask the Minister if the reason for that is because the Yellowknife correctional centre has empty beds and empty cells that need to be filled here in Yellowknife. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t know exactly how the Minister thinks he can make these projections, except based on historic data. I am saying that I will be quiet and I will go away on this issue, Mr. Speaker, if the Minister would agree to have an independent person look at this projected savings, which I say is a supposed savings. I don’t believe it’s there. If he will agree to that today in the House, I will await the answer of an independent assessment of these projected savings. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Good statement.

---Applause

Mr. Speaker, I do not believe the department can save $400,000. It is not free to look after remand inmates in Yellowknife versus Hay River. You have to include the human resource costs too. It’s not just the cost of transportation. Before we were talking about a 10 percent variance on $18,000, now we are talking about maybe it’s $300,000, or maybe it’s $400,000. You know, this decision to restructure Justice has been premised on a certain amount of cost savings and if that is not the cost savings, then the decision should be reconsidered. Does the Minister agree? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to extend question period.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So based on historical information of the number of remand clients that are now located in Hay River, the Minister is telling me that 70 percent of the cost of transportation does not exceed $18,000, based on historical use of that service. Thank you. Mr. Speaker.

The Standing Committee on Governance and Economic Development met with the Minister of Transportation and his staff on January 17, 2005, to review the Department of Transportation’s draft main estimates for 2005-2006.

The Department of Transportation’s mandate is to provide for the safe, accessible and reliable movement of people and goods throughout the Northwest Territories.

The Deh Cho Bridge is being built through a public/private partnership arrangement between the GNWT and the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation. The Deh Cho Bridge Corporation will raise the capital, design, build, operate and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister is absolutely right. He cannot predict, but I think it is very interesting that information that came from his department indicates that the Department of Justice does not anticipate any increase in crime as a result of the pipeline or any major resource development.

Mr. Speaker, I don’t know which newspaper the Minister reads or which news broadcast he listens to, and I would like to suggest to you that he may not have a crystal ball, but I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out there is going to be a greater demand on our...