Kieron Testart

Mr. Speaker, the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics are in full swing. I am proud to join the millions of Canadians cheering on Team Canada as they showcase our nation's finest athletes. Each day brings out more of our athletes standing proudly on the podium and an exciting week still lies ahead. What makes the Winter Olympics truly special is what they mean for our athletes here in the North. Our territory may be small in population, but we punch well above our weight, sending skilled athletes to compete on the world stage because many of these games are made for our people.

Northerners have...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So when those changes are made to the facility, how many more inmates will they be able to take on? There's 14 people there. That was what we heard in the main estimates. So once the changes are made, how many more higher security classified inmates will be able to be housed at SMCC? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker -- there we go. Mr. Speaker, I am concerned about the number of inmates at NSCC with respect to its overall capacity. The correctional centre, at its peak in 2013-2014, of 196 inmates. Its current capacity is 173. When we reviewed the Department of Justice in the main estimates, their current numbers are 141. That's 81 percent capacity. We know the Prime Minister is pursuing bail reform. Do we have enough capacity and resources to ensure the successful operating of our correctional facilities in the Northwest Territories? Thank you. Safe. Safe.

Sounds like a good idea, Mr. Speaker; I wonder who raised it. But, Mr. Speaker, is this the plan to solve the gap with the fund? Because if it is, bringing a consultant in to do studying is a far cry from actually implementing legislation, building a compliance regime, and moving forward with tax and regulation of something that is harming our communities and we're losing revenue because it's not regulated. So can we get more than a committee to look at this? Is the Minister signaling now, today, that we are going to do this, bring the revenues in to our gaming fund, and keep Northerners and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister work with the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs to develop formula funding for community safety programs in communities. That way, they don't have to come and ask him; they're just going to get money and they can use it to support community safety across the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again stemming from our town hall on crime and public safety, many residents expressed concern around seeing crime in their neighbourhoods and how we can better address it. Surveillance systems came up, including personal camera systems. Many people have those. But there was a discussion on whether or not there could be CCTVs, like you see in other major cities, like the city of London in the UK. Is this something that the Minister has looked into? Thank you. Minister of Justice.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table a document titled, Planet Youth and the Icelandic Prevention Model. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. My concern is, again, about safety, Mr. Speaker, but it's also about resourcing. If correctional officers are forced to do overtime shifts and things like that, it can drive huge costs. The auditor general has already found this in our facilities, also in Nunavut's facilities, which have similar challenges.

Mr. Speaker, if we're changing SMCC -- that's a therapeutic campus. That's a big part of their operating -- how is that going to impact the therapeutic campus in Hay River -- or in that facility? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, and I believe the largest ever drug seizure, 4.7 kilograms of cocaine and over $360,000 of cash was seized. So just want to commend the crime reduction unit and the RCMP for doing that.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister just said it's a small dent. How can we enhance this unit and our efforts to combat drug traffickers? We need to do more than a small dent. We need to take the fight directly to them and make sure we make the biggest impact with our limited resources. So is the Minister working on that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like the Minister to commit to something more proactive than that. It's fine to wait for the communities to ask but he needs to get out there, he needs to show leadership. Will the Minister take a proactive approach and roll out community consultations on how we're doing as a government on public safety. Because how people are feeling about it -- it's not just about statistics, but it's about how people feel about safety in their communities. He needs to go out and hear those stories. Will he do it proactively? Thank you.