Okay, thank you. I will go to the Member from Yellowknife North.
I have no further questions on this. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Is there any further questions?
I am going to go to the Member from Great Slave.
Oh sorry, I was just scratching my head, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. I am going to continue on.
Justice, policing, $66,773,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you. Moving on to services to government on page 321, with information items found on page 323 and 324. Are there any questions?
I will go to the Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and sorry about earlier. I think I am in -- so when it comes to the access and privacy office in Justice, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner has noted that he doesn't believe that that office is appropriately resourced so that it can reliably assist public bodies in meeting their legally required deadlines. Closure rates for ATIP requests improved from 65 -- or sorry, closure rates have improved -- sorry, have not improved. They've sort of decreased in terms of legislative timelines. And I am curious, does the department have plans to improve the ATIP request response time and how they anticipate to do that with no increasing resources to budget or staff as identified in the mains? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I will go to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We're currently going through a review, and that review is being evaluated in accordance with the government renewal initiative, and those results will be available in March and that will inform our decisions going forward. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I will go to the Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Legal division has a not insignificant decrease from last year's mains to this year's mains. Can the Minister please provide substantiation as to why? Thank you.
Okay, thank you. I will go to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. That's a reduction of one lawyer position. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I will go to the Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Was that lawyer position vacant or hard to hire? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I will go to the Minister.
I will pass to the deputy minister, Mr. Chair. Thank you.
Thank you. I will go to the deputy minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. That was a lawyer supporting the approach to unauthorized and rights-based occupancy, and it sunset. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I will go to a Member from Great Slave.
Thank you. I will note that there is an increase in a little over $300,000 in corporate services. Can the Minister provide substantiation for that, please?
Okay, thank you. I will go to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, that's for TSC chargebacks. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I will go to the Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yuck. That's all for me.
Thank you. Is there any further questions? Members from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I wanted to ask about timing for the review of the Residential Tenancies Act from the legislation division.
So in the business plan update, it says that this review has been delayed given other urgent priorities but that the review is supposed to be complete in early 2026. So I am not clear there. Given the fact that the legislation that we're hoping will come forward in a few months, the SCAN act, the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act, is sort of built so closely on the Residential Tenancies Act, I think this review is absolutely critical.
Can the Minister tell us when -- well, I guess first whether the review has been started and when it should be complete. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. I will go to the Minister.
Thank you Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, we are currently working on a report that will outline the results of the review, and we hope to have that by the end of the 2025-2026 fiscal year. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I will go to the Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you Mr. Chair. And so was there a public consultation process that went into the review of the Residential Tenancies Act or a consultation with specific stakeholder groups? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I will go to the Minister.
Thank you Mr. Chair. No, there was not. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. I will go to the Member from Yellowknife North.
Okay, well that's disappointing to hear. Is there still any opportunities to consult either with the public or with standing committees about the review of the Residential Tenancies Act before the report is finished? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. I will go to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will just maybe rephrase my previous answer. There was engagement with targeted stakeholders and there was a review of the reports of the rental officer, and there will be an opportunity as the amendments to the Act are brought forward for more engagement. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I will go to the Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you Mr. Chair. Will that report of the Residential Tenancies Act review be made public? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I will go to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, that will be public. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I will go to the Member from Yellowknife North.
Okay, that's all for now, Mr. Chair. I look forward to many future conversations on that topic.
Thank you. Is there any Members that want to add to this line item? Okay. I am going to continue on. No further question, please turn to page 322.
Justice, services to government, $15,948,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you. Moving on to services to the public on page 325, with information item at 327. Are there any questions? No further questions, please turn to page 326.
Justice, services to the public, $5,600,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you. There are additional information items on page 328 to 330. Are there any questions? Okay, thank you Members. Please return now to the department summary found on page 297 and information items on page 298 to 301. Are there any questions? Seeing no further questions, committee, I will now call the department summary.
Justice, operations expenditures, total department, 2026-2027 Main Estimates, $161,453,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
