Page 9-17, activity summary. Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just one quick question for the Minister. On this page, are there three separate contracts or just one contract, or two contracts?

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Minister Lafferty.

There is First Nations policing contract, there is the DNA agreement contract and also within the territorial policing contract. Those are the three main areas of contracts that we’ve been working with and have been identified. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Yakeleya.

Mr. Chair, the First Nations policing, I understand that several years ago the RCMP and the Dene Nation...I think there’s another aboriginal group that signed a protocol agreement. Is this part of that funding in terms of policing and protocols working with the aboriginal communities?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister Lafferty.

Mr. Chair, that protocol agreement was signed between the RCMP, Dene Nation and Metis. It was signed two years ago. No, this is not part of the funding that’s been allocated. Mahsi.

Thank you for the information, Mr. Minister. The First Nations policing in the Northwest Territories, my understanding is the Minister is saying that this is within the detachment of the RCMP. Does that have a dedicated personnel with the resources to encourage First Nations members to join the RCMP? I guess I’m trying to get a sense of the amount of money here. What is it doing for our people in our communities in terms of First Nations policing, because it’s separate funding from the other funding that we do get for law enforcement.

Mr. Chairman, there was a First Nations Policing Policy that we have in place. We do have four current officers at the community level. Those communities are Behchoko, Fort Good Hope, Fort Simpson and Inuvik. Those are just the four key areas of officers we have in place. Certainly I’ve shared this with the standing committee already, that our goal is to increase those numbers. It looks very positive, but at the same time none of the resources have been identified by the federal government yet. We will continue to stress that. Mahsi, Mr. Chairman.

Certainly we want to increase our First Nations policing in our communities. I am somewhat surprised in terms of the community of Fort Good Hope being listed, so it is the first time I am hearing about it. It is not advertised very well, I guess, in terms of trying to do something for First Nations policing in terms of what you are trying to do and what are you doing in terms of supporting and improving or encouraging or developing First Nations policing. I look forward to seeing where the new Minister could continue working on supporting First Nations policing with increased funding from the federal government. It is more of a comment to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. That is a comment but it is to the Minister for a response.

Mr. Chairman, certainly this is one of the key focus areas, for me anyway, as a department. We are hoping to see an increase. This is just one area. Another area, of course, is the Community Policing Program that we have identified as a partnership with the federal government. We surely would like to see an increase in those two key areas, having our own people within a system of RCMP “G” Division possibly speaking their own language in community awareness. Those are areas of interest that we

tend to share with the police commission, police officers. It will always be our goal to push for the…Mahsi, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Beaulieu.

Could the Minister tell us the cost sharing arrangement with the territorial policing First Nations policing and the community policing, what the cost sharing arrangement between federal government and territorial government is for all three?

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Minister Lafferty.

Mr. Chairman, the territorial policing services with the RCMP “G” Division and the federal government with our territorial government, it is 70-30. We pay 70 percent and the federal government pays 30 percent. With the First Nations policing, that program is 48-52. It is slightly different from that policing contract. We just give them the contribution and they also provide the services for that contribution. Mahsi, Mr. Chairman.

The Community Policing Program was what I was interested in, if there was a cost sharing arrangement that was similar to the First Nations policing or whether it was similar to the territorial policing. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

The First Nations policing, as I stated, is 48 percent of our share and the federal government is 52 percent. That is what we have agreements in place with them.

Thank you, Minister Lafferty. We are on page 9-17, law enforcement, activity summary, operations expenditure summary, $31.822 million. Mr. Yakeleya.

Mr. Chair, I am hoping that the Minister would start to show us in due time the increased presence of members in communities without an RCMP detachment. I know there are some staff there that shows that you are having some presence, but I am hoping that we can see that, with increased presence in communities like Colville Lake, other communities that don’t have an RCMP detachment are more specific for my region and I am aware of the rate of an RCMP presence would increase over a period of a year. Hopefully next year we can get some good stats in terms of the amount of quality time spent in the community to support the community.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister Lafferty.

Certainly that will be one of our drives with the federal government to open up the police detachments that we do not have in communities already and then increasing our police presence into communities. I think it is key. It is important. We have heard over and over in this House that we need to focus on that. We continue to work with the RCMP “G” Division increasing their capacity into communities. Just introducing the three officers into the communities to service small communities without detachments, I think it will certainly be a good start for our department and for communities. We will continue to do so with the federal government since they are the key players in this partnership. Mahsi, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Minister Lafferty. We are on page 9-17, law enforcement, activity summary, operations expenditure summary, $31.822 million.