Thank you. Courts, operations expenditure summary, $8551 million.

Thank you. Page 7-32, 7-33, courts, active positions, information item, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Tracking my previous line of questioning here, under court registries and operations, Madam Chair, we see that last year, or in this current fiscal year, 2005-2006, we budgeted $4.3 million for court registries and operations. This page shows a revised amount there at 4.8, almost $4.9 million. So we have about a half a million dollars extra booked in this area. The projection for the coming fiscal year is also at 4.8. So we've jumped a half a million from last year's forecast and we are staying there. Can the department provide some explanation to that? Is it forecasting that the trend for increased crime and potentially longer court sitting requirements, is that with us to stay with us, Madam Chair? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I can reconcile that for Members. There are some increases here obviously through supplementary appropriations. We had collective bargaining increases, we had job evaluation changes related to courts. We had an increase in what we pay for psych assessments in Alberta. There was a court registries increase related to registry training and there was a court case with the Franco-TeNOise that was also involved in there that brings us up to the revised total. If Members are interested, I can provide that information and those specifics of that breakdown in terms of dollars.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Madam Chair. From the sounds of at least a few of those areas, those are costs that have escalated and they are going to stay at a higher rate on a go-forward basis. That's all. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Bell.

The Member is correct. Again, if that detail is of interest to Members, I can provide that, but it is those things that I have indicated. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Information item, courts, active positions. Any questions?

Thank you. Page 7-35, activity summary, community justice and corrections, operations expenditure summary, $34.005 million. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I wanted to ask a little bit about the report into human resources and the corrections service. The last information we've gotten from the Department of Justice was back in October when they tabled a status report and in that status report it talks about the comprehensive human resource plan that was supposed to have been completed back in March of 2005, but has been pushed back to March of '06. I am just wondering the status of that comprehensive plan. Will it be completed by March 31st?

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I do have an update, a status report as of February '06 related to the Member's question around human resources and corrections service. We can talk about exactly where we are, how we are doing in terms of meeting our goals and I am prepared to provide that to Members. It is my intention to provide that to Members. We follow up on the recommendations. There were some that we still had to deal with. We have laid out the proposed actions and we provide a status report or progress report. So I have that for Members and will transmit that right away. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I thank the Minister for that. The proposed actions in the status report, the last status report that came before the House, many of the proposed actions dealt with the comprehensive HR plan that was supposed to be completed by March 31st of last year. The last I heard was slated to be done by March 31st of this year. I would just like to ask the Minister, is that going to be the case? Is it going to be completed by the end of March or is it not? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Bell.

Madam Chair, it is ongoing. To suggest that we will truly be finished and that will be it and we will be passed this, I don't think is accurate. What we need to do is pay a lot of attention in this area. There are a number of ongoing training initiatives, communication initiatives. I think the Member is referring to much of the proposed hiring that we were looking at. I can certainly provide an update on that. As Members know, in this budget, there are additional resources in that regard, so we are moving toward that. I can indicate to the Members that staffing at the North Slave Correctional Centre has really made some drastic improvement. It is moving ahead dramatically. There were a number of offers made to candidates in December of '05; 13 correctional officer positions, four case managers, one nurse. In addition to that, we have four additional competitions underway and we are continuing to meet with corporate human resources to talk about recruiting, staffing, retention responsibilities and training. So the strategy is well underway now. There were some delays and I think part of it was our change in how we deal with human resources outside the department, but I think largely that's been dealt with now and we are moving forward. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I believe the Minister is right; I think things have gotten much better at North Slave Correctional Centre and it's in large part due to the review of human resources, not just there but in corrections across the territory. Things have been progressing towards some type of resolution. I think the deputy minister and the department should be commended for making the necessary changes there to see this forward. I just wanted the Minister to know that I think it is necessary that we follow up on the recommendations that were contained in that report and do so as soon as we can. He's got that point.

The one other area that I wanted to speak to was safety that's contained in there. Looking at the recommendations, it's hard to believe that the government could spend that kind of money. It's $50 million was the total price tag on the new facilities on Kam Lake Road. There would be areas of that building that wouldn't be covered by cameras. Have those been immediately addressed, the issues regarding safety and security at the facility?

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Bell.

Madam Chair, I have to admit the Member has gone beyond my immediate knowledge of some of those specific operational details at that facility, but I will speak to our departmental staff. We will talk to the warden about those issues and provide an update on that, as well. If there are outstanding issues that we need to deal with and address, we will do that. I will provide some update to the Member. Thank you.