Mr. Speaker, this is obviously an urgent matter. We heard this afternoon how urgent it is that we deal with social problems, so I would like to ask the Minister, would he table that document today so that we can be aware of the nature of these social housing problems throughout the Northwest Territories?

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister responsible for Housing, if that document was taken with him to Ottawa to show Mr. MacKay the kinds of problems we have in the Northwest Territories?

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The 1992 housing survey is not completed yet, and I did not take this survey with me to Ottawa. In my meeting with Mr. MacKay, I was using figures from the 1991 housing survey which indicated a shortage of 3100 units. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Lewis.

Will the Minister confirm, Mr. Speaker, that when he went to Ottawa, he was not able to fully brief Mr. Elmer MacKay on the nature of the problem that we have in the Northwest Territories?

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was able to brief him fully on the problems we have in the Territories.

Oral questions. Mr. Gargan.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will direct my question to the Minister of Justice. The Minister and all honourable Members will be very familiar with the shameful fashion in which an aboriginal Northerner was treated by the Canadian justice system. I am speaking about Kitty Nowdluk-Reynolds of lqaluit, who was victimized once by a sexual assault and victimized again by the Crown and RCMP officials, who arrested her and dragged her across the country in handcuffs to testify against her assailant. I would like to ask a question with regard to the RCMP complaints commission last May. Will the Minister advise this House whether he has yet been shown the findings of the commission's review?

Mr. Patterson.

Not yet, Mr. Speaker, no.

Supplementary, Mr. Gargan.

I would like to ask the Minister whether or not the RCMP has advised the Minister when he may be able to expect the results of the commission's review.

Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, I should make it clear that this Public Complaints Commission review is quite independent from the RCMP, and I have every expectation that their report on the Nowdluk case will be made public. I will undertake to find out the latest information on when that report could be expected, Mr. Speaker, and I will take the question as notice.

The question has been taken as notice. Oral questions. Ms. Mike.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have an oral question for the Minister of Justice. I would like to thank my honourable colleague from Deh Cho for raising, on several occasions, matters surrounding the treatment of Kitty Nowdluk- Reynolds by RCMP officers. I understand that Ms. Nowdluk's case was reviewed by the RCMP Public Complaints

Commission in March of this year. My question is for the Minister of Justice and it deals with the procedures used by the commission in general, not the specific complaint filed by Ms. Nowdluk.

The hearings that were held involved a courtroom filled with different lawyers and wore a very adversarial and emotional process. In many ways, such hearings are as traumatic as a court trial. Has the Minister of Justice, or his officials, had an opportunity to assess whether this is the best way to treat a victim of crime who has a complaint about the conduct of the RCMP?

Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, I am as anxious as anyone to see the result of the Public Complaints Commission review. I think that the recommendations, what they find and what they say about the conduct of persons involved in that case, will be a very critical element of review of the effectiveness of that process. If people went through some pain in the hearing, but they got a good, strong result that they are happy with, and justice was seen to be done, then maybe the assessment of the effectiveness of that process will be different than if the recommendations are less than satisfactory.

To answer the Member's question, I have not yet undertaken a review of that kind because I think the most important element of the equation, namely the final recommendations of that commission, is not in place. Until they are in place, I think it would be premature to judge the process without the end result. I cannot answer that question definitively at this point. I think it is premature to review the matter without the conclusion of the end product of that process in hand. Thank you.

Supplementary, Ms. Mike.

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the Minister has forgotten his own courtroom days when he must have noticed the manner in which some witnesses are badgered and intimidated by lawyers who are only trying to discredit their testimony. Would he be willing to direct his department to evaluate whether such an adversarial process actually discourages people from bringing forward complaints against the RCMP?