Thank you Mr. Chairman. As I was saying. As with community wellness, Members believe that while the government should not tell communities how to do community justice, there must be a concrete and practical framework for communities to use as a starting point.
The Committee was pleased to hear about the success of two programs which increased the participation of Northerners in local policing. There was a very successful community constable project with the RCMP where more than 20 by-law officers from across the North received training at RCMP Training Headquarters in Regina. These officers will now provide back-up to the RCMP in their communities. In Yellowknife, civilians were sworn in as auxiliary police to assist the police in specific areas. This again seems to be very successful and hopefully can be implemented in some of the other large communities.
One of the reduction options presented by the department during the business plan was eliminating inmate pay. After it was approved by a Standing Committee, the Minister decided to place this reduction on hold. During the Mid Year Review, the Minister indicated first, that there was 50% reduction to inmate pay, then later that there was no change to inmate pay. The Committee would like clarification of what is happening with inmate pay.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes the Report of the Standing Committee on Social Programs.