Julie Green

I am not sure if I'm encouraged or dismayed by the fact that there is now a working group working on another report and another deadline. Maybe the Minister could tell us whether there is money in place to implement a solution when one is identified?

I think that was an invitation to join Cabinet. I will take it.

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, the Standing Committee on Social Development was briefed on this RFP in January, and we flagged some problems at that time, which the department then ignored. They put out a completely unpalatable RFP, patently unpalatable. Nobody has bid on it. Is the Minister prepared to work with the Coalition Against Family Violence to revamp the revamp so that this program has someone who wants to offer it?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Justice. The department has advertised for a service provider for the revamped A New Day program, and, despite holding a bidders' conference and then revising the RFP, none of the non-profits have submitted a proposal. At least one that was approached directly declined to take the program on. What is the Minister's understanding of what the problem is here? Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My final question is whether the Minister will advocate at the FPT table for the RCMP to adopt this civilian oversight at the national level so it can be implemented everywhere that they serve. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that commitment from the Minister. We don't have the opportunity to question the RCMP ourselves, of course, and so we are appreciative of his efforts to do that on our behalf. I am wondering, after the Minister read the response to the unfounded cases, what he thinks may need to change in terms of best practices in dealing with these sexual assault complaints.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister reported yesterday in his long response that, of those cases that were re-examined, 42 per cent were found to be third-party complaints and were unacceptable. What about the other 58 per cent? What was the reason that they were dismissed? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, what I'm asking is whether, in addition to establishing that there were classification errors, the RCMP, in their new number of unfounded cases, are going to re-investigate, review, follow up to determine whether in fact those cases were unfounded.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker, which brings me to my last point. We stand to lose the knowledge and skills of the current course providers if there is an interruption of service, and, inevitably, this process will not be ready for the 1st of July, so will the Minister extend the current program funding? All that is required is to sign the contract. The money is already in place. Will the Minister do that to help victims of family violence? Thank you.

I did not hear an answer to my question in that response, so I am going to ask it again. I would like the Minister to tell us why he thinks nobody wants to run this program.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the mandate for this Assembly calls for action on the crisis of family violence and creating opportunities for healthy lifestyles. The program that provides healing for men who use violence in intimate relationships ticks both of these boxes. A comprehensive evaluation of the program revealed it is working, yet the Department of Justice has decided to dismantle A New Day. The current contractor didn't bid on the RFP for the program and nor did any non-profit service provider that might have both the skills and interest. That's not a surprise.

During a...