Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this day I refer to an issue I have been working on since my days in the 13th Assembly. It is regarding the justice facility that has been planned to be constructed in Inuvik, Female Young Offenders Facility, to be specific.
Mr. Speaker, it has been a growing concern in the community of wondering when this will proceed and there have been a number of times that the Minister has committed that this project is still moving ahead. There are continuing concerns where the Department of Justice has raised issues of cost expenditures and the first time it came forward was the cost of the utilidor to the proposed building. The Town of Inuvik, along with the Housing Corporation, worked together to get the proposed utilidor to the property line at no cost to the department.
Now, Mr. Speaker, an issue that has come up is the area that is selected and the cost overruns that it would probably receive. I have a concern with this because the community has once come forward and come to the table and offered what it can. In fact, on the utilidor extension alone, the community of Inuvik, the Town Council of Inuvik, is ready to put forward up to $350,000 to ensure that this project proceeds. Now I know there are concerns when this decision was made back in the 13th Assembly that this was a project that was picked out of somebody else's back yard. I think there has been work going on to try and bring this back to where some people feel it should go.
The facts are very clear, Mr. Speaker. Over 40 percent of the young offenders in that facility are from the Beaufort Delta area. We need the opportunity to deal with our own people with families to have a solid impact in turning some of these young people around before they become a permanent fixture in the justice system. With that, Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister responsible for Justice at the appropriate time. Thank you.