Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report to the House upon a community justice workshop hosted by the community of Fort McPherson on the weekend of March 7th and 8th. Some 60 people participated in the intensive two-day workshop, which included representatives from Tuktoyaktuk, Inuvik, Aklavik, Arctic Red River and Fort Good Hope. The community also invited Chief Judge Robert Halifax and Judge Brian Bruser of Inuvik, along with senior officials from my department and the corrections division of the Department of Social Services.
A news release issued by the conference outlines the participation of elders from Fort McPherson who described eloquently the changes in social order and social controls among the Gwich'in people in this century.
Last year, Fort McPherson initiated a community justice committee to give advice and recommendations to Judge Bruser, the regional judge of the territorial court, on meaningful and relevant sentences for offenders before the court. For example, their advice has already resulted in successful land-based programs under the supervision of Gwich'in elders. The conference identified a broad range of additional functions the committees can perform as a networking, communication and referral agency throughout the justice system.
Mr. Speaker, I am very encouraged by these community initiatives, which have been strongly supported by the territorial court. A community justice committee has formed in Tuktoyaktuk, and interest has been expressed by Aklavik and Fort Good Hope, to name just a few of the communities in the West which are beginning to join in efforts to make the administration of justice more culturally-relevant, community based and locally accountable. Similar initiatives are forthcoming in the East, again with strong support from Judge Beverley Browne, the regional judge of the territorial court in lqaluit.
To date, the committees have performed largely unfunded volunteer efforts. My department and the corrections division of the Department of Social Services are undertaking consultations with communities on how best to support their efforts, along with other related initiatives such as the justices of the peace program. In the long term, I believe that such community programs will play a key role in reducing the incredible pressures on our policing, courts, legal aid and prison systems. It may allow us to redirect funds toward local institutions with both the responsibility and the ability to change the behaviour which has put our people so frequently in conflict with the law, and restore the social controls which
were a traditional strength.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank Chief James Ross and the local organizers of the conference for their enthusiasm and for the hospitality extended to community and government participants in the conference. Thank you.