Mr. Speaker, a second return to an oral question asked by Mr. Erasmus on May 3, 1996, with respect to the inquiry into the electronic monitoring program for NWT offenders.
Research by corrections staff on the possible use of electronic monitoring in the NWT has been ongoing since 1991.
Information about new projects in other jurisdictions was circulated to the heads of corrections meeting in October 1995. Two different articles were taken from the Internet dated March 7, 1996.
The most recent cross-Canada survey to determine how many jurisdictions use electronic monitoring was completed by RCMP officers working in aboriginal policing. This was shared with NWT corrections staff on March 29, 1996. Corrections staff discussed the issue with NorthwesTel in early April 1996, in order to determine if electronic monitoring was technically feasible.
The correctional services division in the Department of Justice in Alberta and the Department of Justice in the Yukon were also contacted at that time to discuss their progress in implementing this technology. Reports were received from Alberta and a status report was given over the phone from the Yukon. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.