Thank you, Mr. Chairman. A few comments to the Minister and officials. Mr. Chairman, the issue of justice in the communities and the regions has always been an interest of mine and I'm encouraged to hear the Minister has taken some initiatives and some new ideas, I think, to promote the wilderness camps. I think it's a good move. I told the Minister, Mr. Chairman, that I'd be happy to work on those initiatives and get them closely into the region as much as possible for the inmates. I also understand, Mr. Chairman, the difficulties of having the inmates going to these bush camps and any way that they could go into these bush camps to do their time and do some other work besides doing their time in terms of healing and making some contribution to the community, I support that. I'd like to commend the Minister on that move there to initiative some of the promotion in terms of these wilderness camps.
The difficulty I have with this budget, Mr. Chairman, is with the timing of the new courthouse into the process here. I understand the courthouse is almost 30 years old and there is lack of space and it's been determined that the existing courthouse is inadequate and that in the past years, extensive and expensive renovations have been done. To do some more just doesn't make sense. So we're told today that it would make more sense to build a new one, that it would be more beneficial to our government and to the court systems. I'm not arguing the point. I already told the Minister, pay ourselves rather than pay somebody else. The difficulty I have is the timing when we're making cuts in the system and our community justice programs have been inadequate for a long time. I know we're making some improvements, but I've been in the communities and the communities are struggling with proper facilities to hold any type of community justice hearings. I've been in there, where there's no thought to, I
guess, the courts coming for a day or a couple hours and doing their court.
The Minister has talked about security risks. There are lots of security risks in the small communities. I guess I'm looking for some things in terms of when is it that this department is going to have any plans in terms of looking at some decent facilities where they can have some good court hearings in the communities. Right now they're renting community halls, they're renting band offices, band halls, municipal buildings. People are waiting outside. There are no private areas where they can interview clients. Witnesses are being interviewed outside. Anywhere. You have the accused and complainant almost in the same room. There are lots of deficiencies in our small communities in terms of court.
So I think that this government here has to really look at properly funded communities and regions in terms of justice. There are lots of deficiencies in the report I saw that could easily apply to the communities in the regions.
Where is the money going into the aboriginal justice system? We say we promote aboriginal justice, but it's a small fraction that goes into it. I'm not yet quite convinced this is the way to go. There is some justification in terms of the courts that are happening in Yellowknife that needs to be reviewed or looked at and that's where they get their numbers to warrant a new courthouse.
Mr. Chairman, for the record, I do not support this now. Maybe next year. Right now, for the record, I can't see having something like this in the community while the facilities in the regions like Hay River where you're closing the facility down, you plan to open one up here. I'm having a hard time here with this. The timing is bad on this one, for me. You're eliminating some regional justice coordinators. Are we confident that these justice coordinators can do the work in the region?
Again, I think we're spinning our wheels. Over the years you look at an adult facility here in Yellowknife, you look at a young offenders facility here, and now you're looking at a courthouse. That's a few bucks going into Yellowknife for the Northwest Territories. We just barely scraped by with the court registry not being moved here. I say that in due time the court registry will possibly move here. It will continue with the courthouse process.
You have to justify. You have to use that money. Look at the money they spent on the adult facility here. That money could have been used in the communities for setting up bush camps. That's where my struggle is. I have to go back to the region and not defend, but tell them that's where the government's money is. That's where their priority is. It's about timing, Mr. Chairman. I think the timing of this courthouse facility being proposed right now before the Territories is not right.
For myself, Mr. Chairman, I just want to make those comments to the Minister. I'm not looking for a response from the Minister. If he chooses not to, that's okay. Mahsi.