Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, I am sure the honourable Member does appreciate that the judiciary is a separate branch of the government in our political system. Any Minister of Justice, even one concerned about costs, must be cautious about giving directions to judges about how they should do their work. So I want to make it clear that any

savings on the cost associated with courts and court charters, in my opinion, must be reached through the co-operation of the judiciary and not by any directions coming from the government.

Mr. Speaker, I know that my officials have been discussing this matter of the increasing costs of administration of justice in the NWT with the judiciary, with the RCMP and with the Law Society. I do believe that all of those key elements of the system are aware of the escalating costs and are prepared to take the necessary steps to bring those costs down wherever possible, even in the face of increasing crime rates and in increasing demand for their services.

So all I can tell the honourable Member is that I have yet to meet with all the actors in the system, including the chief judges of the territorial and Supreme Court, but I am aware of those concerns and I am aware that the judges are. The briefings I have had have led me to believe that scheduled services have been used, wherever possible and economic, by court parties in the past year and, in fact, charter costs have been reduced. There are times when it is more economical to use a charter, so the rule cannot be a blanket one. But I believe steps are being taken to bring those costs under control as much as possible.

That was a bit of a long answer to a simple question. Mr. Todd, supplementary.

I hope that the honourable Minister is not suggesting for one minute that judges are immune from this House when it relates to financial aspects of the budget.

Mr. Patterson.

I am not suggesting that, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Arvaluk.