Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In keeping with the Olympic sentiment here in the room today and celebrating our athletes, Members are rightfully concerned about the state of the physical activity, sport and recreation Fund. I spoke about it in the main estimates review. It's been dangerously close to its $3 million deficit. Many years ago, in the 18th Assembly, decisions were made that have imperilled the fund's future success and now it's even more complicated by the rise in costs of travel and low lottery sales. So the Minister said that he would commit to building a plan. It seems like the only...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, obviously funding for community justice programs would be a part of this. If it goes down to the municipal level, if it's something that can be done by bylaw. So can the Minister develop programming through his community justice division to ensure that communities have the resources they need, whether it's expertise in surveillance systems, bylaw officers, training equipment, whatever it takes. Clearly, we need to resource these if we're going to ensure public safety in our communities. Thank you.

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.

So that's a little different than -- thank you, Mr. Chair. That's a little different than what was being recommended by the committee and what happens in other jurisdictions. When it comes to landlords -- and I am talking about the larger and mid-sized landlords who have lawyers on retainer -- they are represented in these hearings by lawyers, and tenants are not, because most of them are not in a position to pay for a lawyer to represent them in these matters. So that's what I am talking about here. And I just want to confirm that that's not going to be happening in this budget or potentially...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the Standing Committee on Social Development has recommended that legal aid be provided -- or be expanded to provide services for matters in rental court. And this is already a service that does exist in Nunavut's legal aid structure as well. I note that with the current level of resourcing, it seems doubtful that this budget is prepared to offer those services. So can the Minister confirm if we can expect the rental office to be covered by legal aid anytime soon, because it is an important consideration for our residents. Thank you.