Debates of May 30th, 2008

This is page numbers 725 to 756 of the Hansard for the 16th Assembly, 2nd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was justice.

Topics

Prayer

Minister’s Statement 41-16(2) Status Of Federal/provincial/territorial Housing Discussions

Minister’s Statement 42-16(2) “world No Tobacco Day” May 31, 2008, And Tobacco-Free Youth

Minister’s Statement 43-16(2) Aurora College Residence Opening

Dust Control In Small Communities

Privatization Of Fort Simpson Airport Maintenance Services

Comments From Constituents On Fiscal Reductions

Industrial Arts, Home Economics And Physical Education Teachers

Hr Process To Identify Potentially Affected Employees

Motor Vehicle Safety Restraints For Children

Yellowknife Association Of Concerned Citizens For Seniors

Careless Littering With Cigarette Butts

Traditional Hunting Activities In Nunakput

Dust Control On The Dempster Highway

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Question 15-16(2) Somba K’e Healing Lodge

Motion 10-16(2) Setting Of Sitting Hours By Speaker

Motion 11-16(2) National Housing Strategy

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Main Estimates 2008–2009 Department Of Justice

Committee Motion 16-16(2) To Reinstate Funding In The Amount Of $109,000 For Nursing Positions At Ycc And Smcc (Committee Motion Carried)

Committee Motion 17-16(2) To Reinstate Funding In The Amount Of $45,000 For Program Delivery Officers At Ycc (Committee Motion Carried)

Committee Motion 18-16(2) To Reinstate Funding In The Amount Of $83,000 For The Programs/projects Coordinator Position (Committee Motion Carried)

Committee Motion 19-16(2) To Reinstate Funding In The Amount Of $85,000 In Contributions To Community Justice Activities (Committee Motion Carried)

Committee Motion 20-16(2) To Reinstate Funding In The Amount Of $265,000 In Contributions To Special Projects For Community Justice Activities (Committee Motion Carried)

Committee Motion 21-16(2) To Defer Consideration Of The Department Summary (Committee Motion Carried)

Committee Motion 22-16(2) To Delete $320,000 From Community Justice And Corrections Capital Investment Expenditures Territorial Women’s Correctional Centre — Replacement (Committee Motion Carried)

Committee Motion 23-16(2) To Undertake A Facility Review Of Existing Facilities And Space Requirements (Committee Motion Carried)

Committee Motion 24-16(2) To Defer Consideration Of Department Summary For Department Of Justice Infrastructure Acquisition Plan (Committee Motion Carried)

Report of Committee of the Whole

Orders of the Day

Committee Motion 20-16(2) To Reinstate Funding In The Amount Of $265,000 In Contributions To Special Projects For Community Justice Activities (Committee Motion Carried)
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Also in regard to the amount of the contribution, it’s $700,000. But I know under the budget item it’s $1.3 million, so we’re short roughly $600,000. I’m just wondering where the other $600,000 is expended. More importantly, I notice that the John Howard Society received the most money from among everyone. Is that the group that’s been contributed to in Yellowknife? Yellowknife’s not on the list either.

The Chair Glen Abernethy

Ms. Schofield.

Schofield

Thank you, Mr. Chair. You are correct. That is only a portion of the funding that’s available. There is funding provided, which the Minister alluded to — core funding — where each community gets an amount of money to fund a coordinator to assist the Community Justice committees in their activities. So there is that funding, as well, that is part of this. So each community receives that funding whether they have an active Community Justice committee

or not.

Those funds go toward assisting them in developing their committees.

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

But again, on a similar argument of base-plus funding, I think they should have coordinators. If you want to have a program to run, you have to have someone overseeing it. It shouldn’t be simply given to them on the basis that if they don’t have a coordinator, they still get it. I think it comes back to the argument of having someone overseeing this program but also having it

coordinated so that it’s functional and we’re seeing results.

I’d just like to again ask in regard to the base-plus funding…. I believe that in order for any program to function, you do have to realize that there are costs that you will incur that may not be part of your budgetary process, such as your rental costs, your utility costs, your overhead costs. We have to realize that you can’t have group funding based on per capita. Someone who manages a program in Tsiigehtchic is an individual who has costs that they have to bear too, in regard to their cost of living and whatnot. They’ve used per capita; it doesn’t really…. You’re not able to track a lot of these people, and that’s probably why you’re not able to find coordinators in a lot of these communities.

Again, it comes back to my argument on base-plus. I mean, if you’re going to pay coordinators, you should have a universal scale right across the board. You can’t have one group in one community paying more for a coordinator versus a community that’s paying less. Again, are those salaries for those individuals universal, right across the board, or does it fluctuate?

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mr. Chair, we do make contributions to the community. It’s at the discretion of the community to employ a coordinator out of their funding that they receive from the GNWT. In one community a coordinator may be making more than the other one. We give the money to the community, and it’s at their discretion to decide where the money should be going within the criteria of the proposal. Mahsi.

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Quick question, Mr. Chair. Again, can we get the information on the total amount of the $2.061 million for Community Justice, Corrections, and break it down so we can see what all these activities are for?

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

The first distribution of $700,000 — we’re making copies available. Certainly we’ll provide that information once we have that package available. Mahsi.

The Chair Glen Abernethy

If there are no further questions on 7-37, we’ll return to 7-39, information item, Community Justice and Corrections, Active Positions. Agreed?

Department of Justice, Activity Summary,

Community Justice and Corrections, Active Positions, information item, approved.

The Chair Glen Abernethy

Page 7-41,

Department of Justice, Activity Summary, Services to the Public, Operations Expenditure Summary: $3,920,000. Agreed?

Department of Justice, Activity Summary,

Services to the Public, Operations Expenditure Summary: $3.920 million, approved.

The Chair Glen Abernethy

Page 7-43, Activity Summary, Services to the Public, Grants and Contributions. Ms. Bisaro.

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Sorry, Mr. Chair. I thought we were going to 7-42. I have a question relative to numbers on page 7-42.

The Chair Glen Abernethy

All right, page 7-42. Department of Justice, Service to the Public. Ms. Bisaro.

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

On page 7-42, the Protection Against Family Violence program figures: the ’08–09 estimates are some $30,000 less than the ’07–08 Revised Estimates and the Main Estimates. I’m just wondering if I could get an explanation as to why that particular activity or program has been reduced by $30,000. It’s a major focus of this government. It was a focus of our priorities when we set them in October. I’d appreciate some rationale for this reduction.

The Chair Glen Abernethy

Thank you,

Ms. Bisaro. Ms. Schofield.

Schofield

The $30,000 was transferred from Protection Against Family Violence to the

Justice of

the Peace Program. It’s still going toward the Protection Against Family Violence program; it just puts the funding in the area for the Justice of the Peace, which provides the service under that Protection Against Family Violence. So the work they do in the communities, when they’re taking orders…. It’s operating costs associated with carrying out that act.

The Chair Glen Abernethy

Thank you,

Ms. Schofield. Page 7-42, Justice, information item.

Department of Justice, Activity Summary,

Services to the Public, Program Delivery Details, information item, approved.

The Chair Glen Abernethy

Page 7-43, Department of Justice, Activity Summary, Services to the Public, Grants and Contributions. Agreed?

Department of Justice, Activity Summary,

Services to the Public, Grants and Contributions: $105,000, approved.

The Chair Glen Abernethy

Moving along to page 7-44, Department of Justice, information item, Services to the Public, Active Positions.

Department of Justice, Activity Summary,

Services to the Public, Active Positions, information item, (page 7-44) approved.

The Chair Glen Abernethy

7-45, Department of Justice, information item, Services to the Public, Active Positions.

Department of Justice, Activity Summary,

Services to the Public, Active Positions, information item, (page 7-45) approved.

The Chair Glen Abernethy

Page 7-46,

Department of Justice, information item, Work Performed on Behalf of Others.

Department of Justice, Information item, Work

Performed on Behalf of Others, (page 7-46) approved.

The Chair Glen Abernethy

7-47, Department of Justice, information item, Work Performed on Behalf of Others — Continued.

Department of Justice, Information item, Work

Performed on Behalf of Others — Continued, (page 7-47) approved.

The Chair Glen Abernethy

7-48, Department of Justice, information item, Work Performed on Behalf of Others — Continued.

Department of Justice, Information Item, Work

Performed on Behalf of Others — Continued, (page 7-48) approved.

The Chair Glen Abernethy

Department of

Justice, page 7-49, information item, Work Performed on Behalf of Others — Continued. Ms. Bisaro.

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

The last item on this particular page talks about funds we expend on behalf of Nunavut. In the Revenue Summary there’s an item, Exchange of Services, for $2.686 million. This particular item in terms of expenses is $3.210 million. I wonder if I could get an explanation as to whether or not we are not receiving as much revenue as we spend, and if not, why not?

Schofield

This revenue item is our exchange of services agreement

with the Nunavut

government to house their offenders. In the Revenue Summary, that’s the revenue we receive from the federal government for housing federal offenders. So there’s different utilization numbers that are used in those, as well as different rates.

Debates of May 30th, 2008

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