Tom Beaulieu

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I’m going to have the deputy minister provide a response to that.

Thank you, Madam Chair. In the 33 communities we have 73 locations using it but we could expand the use of this technology. There is room to expand the use of this technology, for sure.

That is not likely. We have evaluated the program and the success rate is low. Only three individuals that had attended the treatment were still sober after 12 months.

Madam Chair, it is the same item. Residential care children southern placement is the majority of this increase.

We are trying to plan. We don’t think that this is something… We recognize there are some technical aspects, legislative aspects to what the Member is asking. What we need to do is we need to plan for it. We want to make sure that we are doing this right. Our responsibility is fairly clear, that if we have individuals that are prepared to divert from… If the court is going to divert an individual to some counselling, to take him out on the land, to deal with him in a different manner, keep him with the family, do the various things that are needed, then we do have the programs in place.

As the...

Thank you. Much like the supplementary appropriations that go forward for firefighting, the Department of Finance would prefer to not put these types of costs in the base. So only when it’s verified that the money has been used, then we get it through a supplementary appropriation as a standard process.

The department is willing and prepared to provide our response to the report, and I’m not talking about the initial response, but any actions that we have taken in relation to the 73 recommendations made by the committee to the committee.

Madam Chair, I will have the assistant deputy minister respond to that question.

After our discussions with the authorities on these forced growth areas, submissions from the authorities, we will take them forward to the Financial Management Board and we will put them as part of the budget process.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Last year a lot of this cost was driven by two babies that required blood services, expensive blood services. So it’s quite possible that this coming year that cost may not be there, but we don’t know that at this time.