Thank you, Madam Chair. The Standing Committee, upon re-examination of the information presented during the business planning process, and in examining information provided to committee as a result of the public uproar over the planned closures, recommended that both registries remain open.
The major reason that committee decided to recommend the Inuvik and Hay River registries remain open has to do with administration of justice in the regions.
In the case of Hay River, it makes no sense to have a resident Territorial Court judge without the necessary support staff to make sure she can function effectively.
In the case of Inuvik, the closure of the court registry would eliminate the chance of a resident Territorial Court judge ever being appointed there. The committee strongly recommends that the judicial vacancy on the Territorial Court be filled with the understanding and contractual requirement that the new judge will reside in Inuvik.
Members could not accept the argument that it was difficult to staff the positions in Inuvik as a reason to close the registry and delete the positions. We do not delete nurse or social worker positions we cannot fill, so why would we delete court registry positions?
The committee cannot argue that it would be cheaper to consolidate all justice activities in Yellowknife. Members are prepared to accept that, in some cases, there is a cost to getting justice closer to the people.
Members of the committee worked to ensure that the court registries in Hay River and Inuvik were not closed. There is a concern that the construction of a new courts facility in Yellowknife, one that would be overbuilt to meet future requirements, would mean that the department would consider proposing consolidating court registries in Yellowknife again. The Standing Committee on Social Programs would oppose any such move.
RCMP Staffing And Resource Development
The committee remains concerned the Department of Justice has not prioritized the need for forward planning to meet the resource requirements of the RCMP to deal with the impact of resource development and the construction of the pipeline in the Mackenzie Valley.
Members of the committee who attended the December 2004 community preparedness workshop in Inuvik noted that even the proponents of the Mackenzie gas pipeline acknowledged the need for greater policing in the affected communities.
Committee members will be looking for evidence of forward planning in cooperation with the RCMP in the 2006-2009 Business Plan review next fall.
Human Resource Practices And Morale - North Slave Correctional Centre
From all feedback to date, Madam Chair, the Members note that the situation at the North Slave Correctional Centre appears to be improving.
The report on the human resource practices at the centre clearly showed there was disconnect between senior
management and staff. The recommendations and actions to date are steps in the right direction, and the department is to be commended for accepting and acting on the report.
Committee looks forward to a further briefing on the implementation of the recommendations contained in the report this spring, Madam Chair. Now I would like to turn it over to Mr. Braden, Madam Chair. Thank you.