Thank you, Mr. Chairman. If you have a situation where an RCMP does not want to act on a complaint or a charge, what are the options an individual has? I know the RCMP are supposed to be equal, but with the ethnic groupings, they certainly are more forceful against certain groups as opposed to other groups. I see that all the time, even in my own community. I had a situation where individuals do make a complaint on certain individuals but, depending on who the individual is, there seems to be a reluctance on their part to act against certain groups in the community. If a concern is ignored, what is the option?

Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Chairman, my department and my predecessors have been cultivating what is quite a good working relationship with the senior management of the RCMP, and I would simply say to the Member that if a situation like that is drawn to my attention as Minister of Justice and as someone who, with the support of the Legislature, is paying a sizeable part of the bill for RCMP operations, we certainly can and do demand accountability for situations of the kind the Member refers to. So one alternative is to approach myself and have the matter dealt with at the senior level.

There are also procedures for dealing with complaints against the RCMP that individual citizens can take. A letter of complaint about the conduct of a particular Member regarding a particular incident can trigger an internal investigation, and of course there are some complaints that can lead to a fullblown review, such as the one that is going on in lqaluit at this very moment, in special circumstances.

But I would suggest to MLAs that it is my responsibility to deal with complaints of that kind, and we have a relationship where we can take them to the RCMP at the highest level and have them dealt with and get back to the Member on a case-by-case basis.

Mr. Gargan.

Would the other option be for the individual to phone to Crown attorney?

Mr. Patterson.

I think the Member is quite correct. I hesitated to make that offer because the Crown Attorney does report to the federal Minister of Justice. But with concerns about the laying of charges, which really can be overruled by the Crown prosecutor, I would agree with the Member; if that is the concern, it would be quite appropriate for a Member to contact the chief Crown prosecutor's office, as well.

Mr. Gargan.

Problems Of People On Probation In Communities

Like Jeannie, we do have a situation where we have three members in Fort Providence, and you could phone the detachment day-to-day and still get Yellowknife. In the evenings, you always get Yellowknife, One of the problems I find is that we have in the communities people that are on probation, and as part of their parole is that they have to report to the RCMP every time they go out of town, whether it is for hunting or go shopping in a different community. It is really difficult for some of those individuals. They do not have vehicles; they do not have the luxury of popping in to the RCMP every time there is a need for them to go out on the land. If the RCMP are not there, then they are put in a situation where they have to delay; and I think it is really an inconvenience to pursue a traditional way of life when you are on probation or parole. I think this should be addressed by the Minister. Maybe just a note to say they are going out on the land would be sufficient, as opposed to having to be there physically to say they are going to visit the nets. If you have nets on the river, you are away from the community. If you go there every day, you have to go to the RCMP and say you are going to visit your nets or snares or trapline or whatever. It is ridiculous.

Mr. Minister.

I agree with the Member's concern, and I will discuss with the RCMP if there is a way of dealing with those reporting requirements that does not interfere, especially with traditional activities as the Member described, especially where we have detachments that are not always open to the public. I think he makes a good point there.

The reality is that there are pressures on the police budget. Some communities do not even have policemen at the moment, and some are not staffed so they can be open at all times. So we should look at alternative reporting requirements in those kinds of situations. I will check into that specifically with reference to Fort Providence, and I will let the Member know what might be worked out.

Mr. Gargan.

I do not think the problem is only confined to the community of Providence. I assume there are a lot of communities that are experiencing that same difficulty.

Mr. Zoe.

Mr. Minister.

Mr. Chairman, the Member is quite correct that Wrigley, Lac la Martre and Pelly Bay have been left with no members in their communities at the moment because of, what I consider, the temporary closure of these detachments. The Member is raising an issue that cannot be permanently resolved until the forthcoming year's budget is finalized. I am not in a position today to say what can be done about those detachments. It is going to be dependent on the funds available. But I am well aware of the concern. I have received representations from hamlet and band councils about these matters in Lac la Martre and Wrigley and of course the situation in Pelly Bay has received wide publicity. So I am treating it as a priority to deal with those problems but it has to be dealt with in the context of the fiscal planning for the coming year.

Mr. Zoe.

Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Chairman, the moneys that are before the Assembly today include cost of living increases approved by the federal Treasury Board and salary increases. They include the inflationary costs of volume growth in court cases and member's costs in attending court cases and they include inflation for a fixed cost like leases, utilities, fuel, vehicle maintenance, vacation travel, etcetera.

So in part, 30 per cent of this budget is really out of our hands and that is the part on which there has been a shortfall which has resulted in these particular vacancies. I am hoping that it can be resolved. I want to assure the Member. But until the coming fiscal year is clear, and the budget is finalized, it would be premature to restaff those positions on an interim basis.

Mr. Zoe.

Mr. Minister.