Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in keeping with the spirit of cooperation and working together, and knowing that the Cabinet Ministers are messengers for the Members to take our messages to Cabinet, could I get the commitment from Minister Roland that he would do his job to convince the FMBS or the board that he is going to be meeting with that the just thing, and the right thing is to follow these arbitrations and to pay these correctional officers the retroactive pay they have been without and the arbitrator has ruled to be in their favour? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The honourable Minister for the Financial Management Board Secretariat, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, the Member is correct in the decision. As I stated, I will be bringing forward the decision paper to FMB and will be making a decision around that issue. We have had a chance to look at a preliminary and, following that, will be bringing it forward. My intention is to do the right thing for all of government and we need to look at the whole decision and its impacts for government, but my intention again, is to bring it forward and to have the decision made in the very near future around this issue. Thank you.

Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the answer from the Minister. Could I have a commitment from the Minister that he will do everything in his power and exercise good will in doing everything he can to avoid a situation like the pay equity dispute that we had that was long and protracted and very expensive, and that he would do everything he can to shorten this process and get to the conclusion as soon as possible? Thank you.

The honourable Minister for the Financial Management Board Secretariat, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, it is my intention to ensure that we as a government are doing the right thing for the benefit of all people in the Northwest Territories. In this case it has gone to arbitration, a decision has been rendered and we will be bringing that forward for a decision by FMB. I will ensure, from my part, that we will be doing the best for those affected as well as for the Government of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Your final supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I must say, for the first day he is very good at rounding out his answers because he keeps saying that he will do what is good for the government and the workers. We know that this arbitration has to do with the grievance that the employees have against the government as an employer, and they have now a fair and just arbitration decision. So could I get the commitment from the Minister to do all he can to commit with Cabinet Ministers that we cannot afford any more pay equity disputes that cost us millions and have for years? Would he give me a commitment that he will do everything he can to avoid that? Thank you.

The honourable Minister for the Financial Management Board Secretariat, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will do everything in my power to ensure under my watch that we do not get into another scenario of pay equity that has cost the Government of the Northwest Territories millions over the years. Thank you.

---Applause

Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I made reference to certain points in my Member's statement regarding the Youth Criminal Justice Act, I want to ask the Minister if he would advise this Assembly upon request to his department, that they would work more closely with RCMP under the policing agreement as well as in accordance with subsection 3.2.1 to provide greater clarity for the police officers who arrest or detain young offenders under the act, and if he could kindly explain how he plans to do that. Thank you.

The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I hope to have an opportunity to meet fairly soon with the chief superintendent of the RCMP and will certainly offer to work in collaboration with the RCMP to ensure that we are moving issues of justice and law enforcement forward.

I would like to make clear though, that the RCMP's ability to arrest youth has not changed under this act. The Youth Criminal Justice Act hasn't changed the circumstances under which a young person could be arrested, but the RCMP must consider extrajudicial measures now before proceeding with charges. I think that may be the issue that the Member would like us to address. I can commit that we will move to address that quickly.

Supplementary, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are a number of contentious issues under the new act, but it's important that the Minister conveys to the public on an official basis that they need to be aware of the process used to deter any youth criminal activity, as it is certainly becoming a territory-wide problem. Would he kindly address that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of Justice, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think that it's important that people become more aware throughout the Territories of the options that are available now for dealing with youth who have run afoul of the law. Alternative measures, such as youth justice committees, are certainly an important aspect to deal with those circumstances. I think it's important that we try to make sure more and more people are aware of these options, and that we do what we can to support the committees in their operations throughout the Territories. So we'll certainly work towards further emphasizing the use of youth justice committees. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again I refer to the point that this whole issue speaks mainly for provision of counsel. It doesn't speak to the provisions under the act of how they're going to eradicate youth crime in the communities, and that's a contentious issue across the Northwest Territories. So I'm asking the Minister again, is he willing and prepared to work more closely with the community-vested interest groups who deal with youth crime, and how he intends to deal with it through his portfolio? Thank you.

Minister of Justice, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories currently funds one position with the RCMP to work with communities across the North in trying to address community concerns about crime, and particularly youth crime. It certainly is an issue that is of concern to the department and this government. If the Member has any suggestions for how we can better work in the communities to address issues around youth crime, I'm prepared to commit to work with him to do that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Braden.