Mr. Chair, I, too, would like to thank the Minister for making an attempt to try to increase the police presence in the community of Tsiigehtchic. It’s a start, but at the end of the day the community would like to see officers in the community permanently, if that’s possible. It is a start and the Minister should be commended for thinking outside the box and coming forward with an initiative that hopefully will improve policing and services in our small, isolated communities.

I, too, have concerns regarding the young offenders’ facility in Inuvik. Last time I checked, there were four individuals in there. For a facility that should have a lot more people in there it is a wasted facility such that the capacity is not being utilized. For the number of staff per inmate, it’s not justified.

We have to start looking at other types of facilities, such as wilderness camps. We have programs that have been delivered for the Department of Justice that were pilot projects but we don’t seem to have gotten anywhere with them.

We do have to work on dealing with the issue with regard to abuse and the issue around rehabilitation of clients so that we are able to assist them so when they are released, at least they have the tools to identify their problems and the means to deal with them. There was a program that was developed through the Tl’oondih Healing Society with the Department of Justice looking at a program that integrated people back into society. They take a program prior to their release from a correctional system. It was a pilot project and there were results from that. I think it’s important that we build on that. Because of decisions with regard to how Justice is being funded, those programs don’t really exist. You have wilderness camps on your list of things that can be considered. I know that issue has been here as long as I have. I know at one point Fort Resolution and Aklavik were designated for these type of wilderness camps for the Department of Justice. That’s going back to the 13th Assembly.

Nothing came of it. We continue to look at the wilderness camp in the confines of having individuals choose if they want to go there or not. A lot of times that’s the downfall of the program for the individuals who want to provide that type of service or program for inmates and people who invest in these camps.

I think we also have to look at the First Nations Policing Policy in light of First Nations governance in the Northwest Territories. It should not be considered only a Government of the Northwest Territories issue; it should be an aboriginal issue. It is to provide First Nations policing in the confines of

what happens in the rest of Canada where there is First Nations policing on reserves. You have First Nations in large aboriginal urban centres. I think there’s no difference than that in the Northwest Territories where 50 percent of our population is aboriginal. I think that we, as government, have to not only look at it simply as a policy where you can train people but also a policy where you can really make a difference between the First Nations governments, the RCMP, the Department of Justice, all working together to improve justice, policing and enforcement in our communities. I think it is something that this government has to seriously take hold of and expand, especially when we are in the process of renewing that contract now with the federal government. I think also we have to see if there are other federal programs we can tie similarly to programs that are on First Nations reserves in southern Canada and see if we can bring them to the Northwest Territories, which are basically dollars that are accessed for First Nations communities.

Again I would like to raise an issue that I raised in this House before; it is the whole complaints process that we have in place. I think the government has to do or the Department of Justice and the RCMP have to do a better job of promoting the system that they use dealing with complaints. It has to be publicized. It has to be posted in communities so the people know that there is a system in place that people can file complaints in regards to an officer or in regards to an incident that occurred or an individual feels that their fundamental human rights have been violated. I think, again, as the Department of Justice, the more checks and balances that you have, the more transparency and openness that we have of our justice system, I think the more that we are able to allow the people and the public, the people in our communities, to feel that they are a part of the justice system and not the other way around. It is them and us.

With that, Mr. Chairman, I look forward to asking him a few questions as we go through the budget.