Mr. Chairman, I know there are many things that go on in the Northwest Territories which raise questions in people's minds, particularly of aboriginal people. The way the justice system operates has always has raised questions about why the system works the way it does. In a nutshell, the system is foreign and is not one that northern or aboriginal people readily identify with. I know there are sentences made which often raise questions. I know there is no answer to it and I will not try to explain it. It is not my place to explain the goings on of the courts and the way in which sentences are passed. The increasing involvement of community leaders and people in the administration of justice, in the passing of sentences in the courts, has been increasingly encouraged and welcomed. It is not only welcomed by the Department of Justice but also by the Crown prosecutors across the territories, by the judges and by the RCMP. People know the way the system works, the system where a law is used, interpreted and administered by a judge, defence lawyers, prosecutors, with and without juries, is not something which is working. The corrections system needs massive work done in order to make it something which is relevant and useful for the majority of people who get into the system.

I am of the view that until we begin this work and there is some substantive movement to get people involved in the sentencing, to provide adequate resources to communities so that they can take increasing responsibility for the incarceration of young and adult offenders, both in open and closed custody, these types of questions will continue to be in the minds of many people in the north.