Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the Northwest Territories, we have one of the highest rates of imprisonment in the country. At any given time, we have about 300 inmates in our territorial corrections system for a total annual cost of over $12 million.

More than any other jurisdiction, we need to find innovative ways to make our justice system more effective and more efficient. One solution other jurisdictions have found to be effective is electronic monitoring; using an ankle bracelet equipped with a transmitter, people can be sentenced to a form of house arrest. If the convicted person is not where they are supposed to be at home or at work, the police or other appropriate authorities can be notified.

In British Columbia, electronic monitoring is used for about 17 per cent of the 2,000 inmates in the provincial correction system at any one time. Even with extensive monitoring and supervision, electronic monitoring costs BC less than half of what it would cost to keep an inmate in a provincial correctional facility.

Of course, the program is not used for inmates who are violent, uncooperative, dangerous or for sexual offenders. If we were to implement such a program for inmates who do not pose a danger to society, we could reduce the costs associated with corrections. Even if only 15 per cent of our inmates used the program and even if our costs to implement the program were 20 to 30 per cent higher than BC's, due to our higher telephone costs, we could still save over $1 million every year.

Mr. Speaker, with the many cuts to government spending that are being introduced in this session, we have a duty to find and implement creative and innovative solutions wherever possible. I hope the Minister of Justice shares this view and I hope we can see electronic monitoring introduced as part of the Northwest Territories correctional system in the very near future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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