Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am all for brevity, but I was hoping the Minister could give a bit more detail than just it is increasingly complex. Kam Lakers need better answers than that, so I will turn it back to the Minister, if you do not mind, and get a bit more detail on these complexities. How much are they going to cost, and if the department is in a position to make these necessary improvements to keep my constituents safe? Thank you.

Does the Minister believe that there is a sufficient number of court workers to handle the Legal Aid client caseloads that are currently facing the Commission? Thank you

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to thank my colleague, the honourable Member for Nahendeh, for summarizing the shared concerns of the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning. I always appreciate the opportunity to talk about my public service alma mater, the Department of Justice. They do some incredible work. In many ways, the department has a unique role in the integrated case management and other restorative justice programs like that, and community justice-based programs where they can take the work of the other social envelope committees and bring them together. I think the...

Nothing further. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I'll just put it a bit more plainly. If there was no reduction exercise asked of the department, would this funding have been cut? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Has the department spoken to Nunavut and seen how they have accommodated the shift in their court services function? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think perhaps that speaks to the state of our economy right now, which is regrettable, but I think we need to ensure we have robust inspections even at a time of economic decline so we can maintain a high level of public certainty that we are ensuring our environment is protected and the people who use that environment are equally protected.

Snap Lake went to care and maintenance before this cut, so is that part of the reason the budget has been decreased, because one of our diamond mines has ceased full operations? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I appreciate the Minister's clear and, again, decisive answer. So, in six months I look forward to the new program and voting in favour of it if it meets the expectations that we have set out for it.

Finally, just a comment. I appreciate that the corporation and the Minister responsible have not eliminated a program completely that they recognize still meets a need but needs finetuning. Perhaps the Minister can share that wisdom with the Minister responsible for Education visàvis the Aurora College cuts and a number of the other programs that we have addressed that...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate where the Minister is coming from on this. Before this role, as an everybody member of the middle class, I made use of the transitional rent supplement program, and I think I was given something like $10 a month for my needs as a single parent in a very expensive apartment.

We have heard that this program isn't really working. At least, it is not working to meet the objectives that have been set out for it, so why are we retaining it? I think we have been looking at finding efficiencies throughout this budget. That has been a sticking point and an issue of...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I know it's already been discussed in this review, but I just wanted to follow up on one of the Minister's points on the Transitional Rent Supplement Program. The Minister indicated that she would like to see these resources reallocated towards a rent supplement program. Is that a direction the department will be taking, or is that just an aspirational statement the Minister wants to give us as food for thought? Thank you.