Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask why the Minister has chosen to look at different communities and the delivery of aboriginal justice. Why are we taking that direction as opposed to looking at it from a collective point of view? I do not believe the intention is to have little justice systems all over with communities delivering justice as they see fit. I would hope that the scope is to look at a Dene criminal code, for example. The Navajo have their own volumes of criminal codes which deal with Navajo laws. I wonder if we are looking in that direction or are we looking at "make peace" kinds of initiatives just to keep the communities quiet? As long as they are doing their own little thing and not causing any disturbance to the existing justice system, they will be content. Are we looking at a broader picture?
The Minister mentioned a new vision. One of the things which came out of the report on aboriginal justice is with regard to alternatives to jailing. I refer specifically to that because last week I met with the Dene cultural institute and they are very interested in looking at alternatives to jailing. They have been offered through the federal initiatives, to look at that. I wonder whether the Minister is aware of that and whether he supports that kind of initiative being carried out by the Dene cultural institute. We have to go beyond just what we see in that area. Quite a few elders go to the reserve every month to discuss the entire cultural issue. I believe they are just as knowledgeable with regard to aboriginal law or aboriginal practices as opposed to individual communities doing it themselves. All regions are represented on the Dene cultural board. I am wondering if the Minister is looking at that possibility.