Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman there are a number of points that I want to bring to the Members' attention which I believe will be of interest as we review the budget for the Department of Justice.
Reorganization
Following the integration of corrections into the Department of Justice and the addition of an assistant deputy minister, Solicitor General branch, additional components of the department have been reorganized.
The firearms and the coroner's offices, which were originally part of court services, and then recently became part of the directorate, became part of the new division.
Community justice, which was previously a section of the corrections division, is now a division with a director reporting to the assistant deputy minister, Solicitor General branch. Community justice issues are, of course, much broader than institutional corrections. So this change demonstrates the importance of community justice issues in the overall mandate of Justice.
Victims of crime services which was previously part of the policy and planning division, directorate, has been moved to the community justice division, Solicitor General, thereby allowing for a closer coordination of victims services with other community justice initiatives.
The public trustee administers the criminal injuries compensation program, so the budget for that program has been moved from policy and planning to the public trustees office, which is part of legal services.
Legal interpreter training, which was part of the court services division is now part of the legislation division, which is responsible for the administration of official languages in the department, including French language legislative drafting and, now, interpreter training. The reorganization I have mentioned to date was achieved using existing resources.
Legal Aid
Following upon the recommendations of the Auditor General and the Public Accounts committee, a number of changes are being implemented. Notably, a new automated system for information management is being developed and will be in place for implementation during the first quarter of 1994-95. The Legal Services Board will be funding this internally.
Two staff lawyers have been hired to work out of the Yellowknife office, pursuant to the recommendation of the Strength at Two Levels report. Based on financial estimates provided within the Strength at Two Levels report, cost-savings to the legal aid program are estimated at $500,000 a year. This, together with staff lawyers in the regions, should assist in controlling fees paid to lawyers, which is the largest expenditure in the legal aid budget.
Registries And Court Services
The budget for court services shows an increase of two PYs, one for the sheriff's office and the other for administration of the Supreme Court. This increase is due to forced growth as the demand on court services to provide timely case management continues to grow. Last year, the volume grew by 20 per cent.
Following upon the successful completion of the land titles transfer from the federal government, a new fee structure has been implemented. Other fees in legal registries will be amended, effective April 1, 1994, and together these will generate additional revenues from commercial transactions, estimated at $300,000. Similarly, a new rate structure for court fees was introduced on January 1, 1994, which will generate an additional $350,000 a year. These new fees will bring the rate structure for registries and court services more in line with those in the south.
Regarding justices of the peace, another change was introduced in 1993-94. Consistent with the recommendation of the justice of the peace task force, fees for justices of the peace were increased to a level that reflects their increasing community justice responsibility. It will provide an appropriate level of compensation to ensure judicial independence and community respect for the position. Under the direction of Sam Stevens, new and experienced JPs continue to train and upgrade their skills through the continuing JP training program.
Corrections And Community Justice
The grants and contributions policy of the Department of Justice has been amended effective April 1, 1994. Notably, policies have been introduced to cover contributions to community groups for projects and programs in the areas of community justice and victims services. This was done in the interests of rationalizing and streamlining the approval process by which the department supports community groups in their work on behalf of victims and in the promotion and development of community justice.
Many projects were previously funded by way of complex contracts. Now many more will be funded through simplified grants and contributions. Consequently, the budgets for victims services and community justice show significant shifts from other O and M to grants and contributions.
The department will continue to emphasize the development of community justice as its contribution to the transfer of power and authority to communities, in line with the government's community transfer initiative. Community justice, in the long run, will be the principal vehicle for addressing the escalating costs in the justice system occurring as a result of the population increase and the increasing crime rate. In the area of corrections, this represents a crisis in our institutions, because the buildings are aging and are inadequate to meet the demand. Even if the introduction of community justice is enormously successful in bringing down crime rates and incarceration rates, we are going to need additional facilities in the corrections system. We hope to address this in the capital budget process over the coming years.
Firearms
In the area of firearms, the Department of Justice is in the process of negotiating a new firearms agreement with the federal government. The recent amendments to the Criminal Code have increased the costs of administering firearms acquisition certificates and especially the requirements for firearms safety training.
The Department of Justice is trying to negotiate the new cost-sharing agreement with the federal government, but at this time there is still disagreement about the content and design of the firearms safety training program and about whether the federal government will pay for the costs of delivering this program. The firearms safety course is to be approved province by province and territory by territory, but the federal government has established a national standard which stresses the use of handguns. We would like to have a course that will be recognized by all provinces, but at the same time, we don't like the idea of requiring hunters to learn about handguns before they can obtain a firearms acquisition certificate.
The federal government feels that the course can be delivered on a user-pay basis, but the high costs of delivery in the NWT makes this impossible. Until all this is settled, the true costs of delivering the service and the offsetting revenue can not be reflected in the budget.
I have set the arrangements in place to meet with the Minister later this month, when we will discuss especially the matter of firearms and the new requirements placed on us by the recent amendments to the Criminal Code.
Law Enforcement
There is another significant development in the area of law enforcement, which is not reflected in the estimates because negotiations are not finalized. The department is in the process of negotiating with federal officials, participation of the Northwest Territories in the federal First Nations community policing initiative. This would allow for the negotiation of tripartite agreements on a community by community basis, which could range from policing continuing much as it is now, to greater community control, and eventually to an independent police force accountable to a community or region, if that is the wish of the community.
We have also finalized an agreement which will allow for community policing projects commencing in Fort Good Hope and Coral Harbour. These will allow for the training of community residents to participate in community law enforcement. The evaluation of these projects will be useful in setting the direction for community policing.
Conclusion
Mr. Chairman, the delivery of justice programs in the Northwest Territories is becoming increasingly difficult. Resources are becoming scarce and, at the same time, the demand on the existing resources are growing. The volume of criminal charges is increasing, more people are requesting legal aid and the number of inmates is increasing. Like everyone else, the justice system is being asked to do more with less. As the Minister, I accept this reality and so does the department, but the department does not and cannot control the demand, and if the demand continues to grow as it has, we will not be able to continue without additional resources. The upcoming year will no doubt be a challenge to the department, the government and the Legislative Assembly as we wrestle with this reality.
I invite the Members to provide comments and review our budget projections. Thank you.