Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, on court day in small communities, the one that I've seen -- and I'm sure it's the same in other communities as well -- you know, we see a lot of young people, and it's mostly young boys, they are lining up to see legal counsel to seek legal advice. And this is on court day, okay? So it's not just happening in my region; it's happening in all the small communities. And it's a very busy day at that time. So with that in mind, Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the Minister how many designated outreach lawyers does legal aid currently employ? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Monfwi. Minister of Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the outreach office currently has one lawyer and one court worker on staff. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
That's good; that's good to know. We do need more than that; we know that, so.
Do outreach lawyers travel to small communities, or is advice provided over the phone? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Legal Aid Commission also has other lawyers that provide legal services and advice for folks that, you know, don't have resources or that need support. So this is also part of the outreach and with the intent, you know, is in January of 2025, we made some changes to the schedule to allow the lawyers that are travelling to communities to be available in those communities for longer periods of time, and also went in the direction of trying to make sure that, when possible, we were getting consistent representation, so the same lawyer was going back to the same community whenever possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Justice. Final supplementary. Member from Monfwi.
Thank you. That's not what I heard from others, so it's good. But does legal aid track the effectiveness of the outreach program by noting how many inquiries lead to files being opened or matters being resolved for residents? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't have that specific information available with me today. But happy to report that the 2023-2024 annual audit of the Legal Aid Commission will be tabled later in this session, and it will have, you know, a lot of the information that the Member's interested in and will provide further details on the work at the Legal Aid Commission. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Justice. Oral questions. Member from Frame Lake.
