Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to comment on and applaud the work being done by the community justice committees. There are about 38 community justice committees in the Northwest Territories. A majority of these are funded through contributions provided by the Department of Justice. These contributions are provided for community justice projects that promote and encourage the participation of communities in the justice system and the development and implementation of community-based alternatives to the formal justice system.

In this year's proposed main estimates, there are $918,000 allocated to this program. On a straight-line calculation, this would mean that each community justice committee would get about $24,000 each. But we all know that these contributions are not doled out that way. I also understand that a good portion of this money is used to administer the fine options program.

Mr. Speaker, there is an active community justice committee in Inuvik. In this current fiscal year, Inuvik has been allocated about $18,000 for its community justice committee and I believe another $24,000 for the fine options program. These funds are administered through an arrangement with Ingamo Hall Friendship Centre.

Mr. Speaker, it's my understanding that the committee members for most of the community justice systems in the north are volunteers. This is the case in Inuvik. There's a good cross-section of community people on the Inuvik committee. I wish to add that the only person who gets paid is the coordinator, who gets a nominal fee for work on a case-by-case basis.

Mr. Speaker, there are many things that these justice committees do and don't get public recognition for. I'll save some of these comments for another Member's statement, possibly tomorrow.

Today I want to thank all of the people, not only in Inuvik but across the Northwest Territories, who volunteer their services to serve on the community justice committees. You are the real public servants. Mahsi.

---Applause.