Thank you. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Is there a rationale as to why they are not going to use this committee? I mean, it is trying to make it depoliticalized. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. There is a long history of the separation of the executive and the legislature from the judiciary, and, for that reason, the judges' salaries that would otherwise be subject to negotiation are sent to this committee, and they propose a recommendation, which we follow. I wouldn't propose to do that for a justice of the peace. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Is this the Minister's decision, or is this the department's decision, or is this a judicial decision? I guess I will ask that question first.

Thank you. Minister.

Yes. Certainly, we are willing to look at the system. As I mentioned previously, I don't think sending this to the Judicial Remuneration Committee would be appropriate, but we will look at it. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I realize the Minister may not have this answer. Will the Minister be able to give us a history of how the increments have been done in the past? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister.

Yes, Mr. Chair. I think we could provide a history of when the rates changed over time, going back some time. I am not sure how long. Thank you.

Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, and I appreciate the Minister and the department for being able to do that. Will they be able to tell us how they developed these rates, whether it was the department or the use of different mechanisms? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Well, I assume that the rates were established by the department in looking at other similar positions or perhaps even other jurisdictions, but I am not certain. I am not certain when the regulations or however the manner in which the JPs are paid were last established, so it might be a little difficult to search our records as to the methodology, but I can simply tell the Member that we will look into it. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Thompson. Nothing further from Mr. Thompson. Justice, court services, operations expenditure summary -- each Member can speak once to a section. Mr. O'Reilly, if you have a brief follow-up question, I will allow it. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. It is not a follow-up question, but can the Minister give us an update on the status of the public resource centre that was committed to replace the court library? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. I am sure the Minister is well-prepared for this one. Minister.

Yes, I am. I was expecting this question, actually. We have issued a tender for construction of a temporary resource centre on the fourth floor, and we are hoping that that will be open by April of this year, depending on the tender results. It is important to realize that the current library is still open. Access to it is a little difficult, but I think that most lawyers have a fob, and the general public, I think, can access it through a request to court services. When I walk by the library, usually there are no lights on, so I don't think there's much usage. I think there has been one request by the public. One person requested twice. Thank you.

Thank you. Nothing further from Mr. O'Reilly. Justice, court services, operations expenditure summary, activity total, $13,646,000. Does committee agree?

Thank you, committee. Moving on to legal aid services, beginning on page 287. Comments or questions? Ms. Green.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the Macdonald-Laurier Institute issued its second annual report on access to justice yesterday. One of its findings related to the NWT was low criminal aid spending per 1,000 crimes. That resulted in a grade of D, and last year's grade was D. I'm wondering what the Minister makes of this ranking. Thank you.