Unescorted. To talk to the communities on what type of programs they can assist with in terms of having some community police services for them. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I'd be happy to go to communities with Members from their constituency to talk to the communities about policing services.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I rise today with questions for the Minister of Justice. I just want to say that I did, on January 26th, go to Hay River and I did have an opportunity to tour the remand centre there. I do have some questions that perhaps the Minister can answer for me. Of course the House and the public are well aware of the operations ceasing there, but is the intent really to cease operations as of April 1st or is there going to be some kind of transition? The Minister did talk about attrition of the staff members there. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The proposal in the budget is that the operation would cease as of April 1st. It has to cease at a certain date because it is now staffed 24/7 and if we're going to start the reductions that we're proposing, they have to start as of a certain date. So the operation is proposed, right now, to end as of April 1st for that facility. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My next question is if we're going to do the reductions by attrition, are we as of April 1st going to scuttle the facilities whereby we won't be using it? Would we not still be using it as a transfer point from the southern communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just because we're stopping the use of the remand unit in the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre doesn't mean there won't still be remand prisoners in the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre. Those cells in that area will still be used, but they won't be used for the same classification of person. What's going to happen is, and the warden has confirmed, that based on what he's seen in the past few years, 40 to 50 percent of the inmates on remand in that facility could be kept in general population. So that means they would be mixed in with the regular population in SMCC. They could even be housed in those cells. But it means the post itself won't be staffed 24/7, so we wouldn't keep the inmates there who are judged to be a serious risk. So people who are more at risk will be transferred to the North Slave Correctional Centre and that part of the facility will be used for isolation or for other prisoners who don't require us to have 24/7 staffing on that one post.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Perhaps if I can switch gears. Since they're not really going to scuttle the facilities, there must be some long-term plans for use of that area, that section of the SMCC in Hay River, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The plan is to incorporate it into the regular day-to-day operations of the facility. There's no intention to make any physical changes or to remove that part of the facility. In fact, if we needed the space in the future to be remand, we could fairly easily re-open it. But it would still be used for a number of different purposes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Final supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I guess what I was getting at with "long-term" was long-term plans, Mr. Speaker. Because we spoke about it here today and incessantly in the House that development is coming, there are people coming and there are transients already here. There are workforces, huge work camps are coming and a lot of people will be making a move to the North, Mr. Speaker. So is it in the long-term plans, Mr. Speaker, for the Department of Justice to eventually return the remand centre to the SMCC? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well the space would be there so that it could be used if necessary or brought back into use if necessary, but in our long-term plans right now that is not something that is seen as likely. The facility itself is a good facility and has room to take more inmates. But this part of the facility will be used as part of the regular programming. So it can be patrolled by the corrections officers as they do their regular routines. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise again today during question period to shed some light on my concern about lawyers. It's not the ability of the Law Society to self-regulate themselves that's in question, Mr. Speaker, it's the fact that it's a complaint-driven system that causes the review only. Mr. Speaker, to further cast light on that point, a person convicted of a crime, a lawyer that is, can practice law in the Northwest Territories unless someone goes and tattles on them to initiate a review of their ability to practice law in good standing in the Northwest Territories. My question to the Minister of Justice is, Mr. Speaker, is the Minister aware of how many discipline proceedings have been conducted by the Law Society of the NWT and what the process of those proceedings might be? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Dent.

Mr. Speaker, to the Member's second question, yes, I am aware of the process. To the first question, I am not aware of how many proceedings have been undertaken in the past little while.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.