Louis Sebert

Mr. Speaker, when I initially took over this portfolio, I was almost immediately advised of this issue, initially by Members opposite, but also by members of the legal profession and individuals as I travelled around the community. I had thought that this was not a particularly large issue, thinking that there might not be very many of these equity leases; however, after some investigation, we found that there were, in fact, a great number. We have heard the concerns from Members opposite and members of the legal profession, and I have directed the Department of Lands to take a comprehensive...

Mr. Speaker, I will be working with other members of Cabinet with respect to this matter, and I'm sure that, once this matter reaches the status of the bill, we will have a lively discussion in this House. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, when the federal government made its announcement on April 13th, it caught all of the other jurisdictions by surprise. Admittedly, it was a commitment of the Liberal government to proceed with changes; however, the nature of these changes, there was very little discussion between Ministers or Departments of Justice.

We do realize that it is going to be very difficult to get through this and have proper legislation in place. We are expecting that there will be very many comments and concerns raised in the public engagement portion and as the bill, the ultimate bill, works its way...

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, I am optimistic that we will be able to enter into a contract with an NGO. There are always costs involved in these types of programs. The money, as the Member opposite has pointed out, is there. As I mentioned earlier, we have spent well over a million dollars on this. I may have overstated the number of graduates; there are only 21, actually. But, as I say, I am optimistic that we will have an NGO that will accept the terms and conditions of the RFP. Again, the changes made to the program were evidence-based on the A New Day healing program evaluation report...

Mr. Speaker, I have no idea why the expected bidders did not bid. Perhaps the Member opposite should speak to them.

I have, of course, heard of the Philadelphia model, which was developed some time ago so that it would be more civilian oversight. I think that kind of decision would have to be made by the RCMP, not just in this jurisdiction, but throughout Canada. I am not certain whether such a major change is being contemplated. If they did decide to follow that model, which has been used in the United States, hence the name "Philadelphia," and some jurisdictions, I think, in Canada, that decision would have to be made at the national level by the RCMP. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, this government is very interested in continuing this program. I can advise that we are dealing with some NGOs, and hopefully I will have good news in the next few weeks. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

From the information that has been provided to me, Mr. Speaker, I am not certain as to whether that was done. I can ask the RCMP to respond.

Mr. Speaker, in designing the RFP, of course we did listen to concerns of all stakeholders, but we mainly relied on the report, the very expensive report, which was tabled in November. As I say, I don't think there are significant changes in the program. What is changing is the administration. There was an indication in the report and from what we have heard that this was a problem. We are going to make that portion of the program easier. I am hoping to make, therefore, the overall program more effective.

The RCMP, Mr. Speaker, are, of course, independent of the Department of Justice. I will ask for an expansion of the information that I have been given so that I can supply that to the Members of this House.