Thank you. In communities wanting to take some responsibility for adult or young
offenders and try to give some support to these people and to try to intervene at an early stage, these committees are initially set up on a volunteer basis. We recognize that, in many cases, in all communities, there is always a group of people who want to volunteer to do something. After some time and commitment to the job, we come in to provide some money to help them. These groups provide a mechanism for the community to make a statement to the courts about these offenders.
For instance, after charges are laid, before a sentencing, a committee could go to the courts and make a presentation about the individuals involved and some overtures about how they feel the court should deal with the offenders. In some cases, they ask to take responsibility for these offenders. In other cases, they intervene even before charges are laid and try to come up with some acceptable arrangement where they would take responsibility. Sometimes charges are laid and then stayed depending on the arrangements made with the RCMP and the courts.
There is intervention sometimes so that in sentencing the courts take that into account. For instance, a justice committee might offer to take custody of a young or adult offender. So, instead of being sent to the Yellowknife Correctional Centre, the offender might be placed in the custody of a youth justice committee, a community justice committee, the chief and council, or an Inuit community that is willing to accept them, and where it is acceptable to everybody involved. That is the way, in very general terms, these committees work.
I don't know if that is sufficient for the Member but, in general terms, that is how these committees operate. Mahsi.