Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, recently, I heard on the news that the Government of Canada was wrapping up the public consultation in its review of the country's criminal justice system. During the review in the NWT, some were saying that the territorial system incarcerates people with addictions, disability, and poor mental health, where it should be offering them treatment. Mr. Speaker, the news article spoke about how their view is focusing on issues such as delays in the court system, better support for victims of crime, and decreasing the number of marginalized and vulnerable people in jail. According to the article, decreasing the number of marginalized and vulnerable people in the jail needs to be the focus of us in the NWT.

It is my understanding that, when people come from a trauma situation, it sometimes leads to their addictions so they can cope with the difficult issues in their life. Trauma could be from loss, grief, or effects of the residential school systems, as some examples. During the trip to visit the treatment centres, we had the opportunity to visit Guthrie House, part of BC Corrections, which provides residents with a unique program that helps them deal with their trauma and addiction.

We had the opportunity to speak with the residents and they talked openly about their lives, trauma, and their addictions. What I found very interesting was their opening conversation piece when a new inmate comes in: "What happened to you?" Not: what did you do wrong? Powerful words, I would have to say. Mr. Speaker, most people end up in conflict with the law as a result of trauma, addiction, or mental health issues. Our system focuses on punishing people for misconduct and not treating problems like addiction and trauma.

I would like to see residents be sent to treatment facilities, but sometimes a person ends up in jail. With this in mind, why can't we use the Guthrie model up north to help them deal with their trauma and addictions while they are in there? It is really interesting to hear the residents talk about how they want to heal themselves, and this model helps. It is about providing the necessary tools of peer support, therapy from psychologists, additional counselling, and anger management classes, to name a few. Presently, our approach does not seem to be working. We need to do something differently. I think the model would be a great start. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister of Justice later on today. Thank you.