Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. My understanding is that nothing has been finalized to this point, but that the discussions have been encouraging. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Thompson, 30 seconds.

Thank you Mr. Chair, and I'll try to get these 30 seconds in and give him a chance to answer the question. Emergency protection orders. Have there been any changes or expected changes to this program? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I understand that there are about 65 emergency protection orders that are judicially confirmed each year. I don't think, and I'll stand to be corrected if I'm wrong, that we're planning a change in the legislation in this area. We do recognize that this is an important way that we can support victims, so it is very important, the so-called EPOs. I don't think we're contemplating changes in the legislation in this area. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Next, we have Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can the Minister confirm that the Integrated Case Management Pilot started in 2017 and will run until 2020? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don't want to change my response because there is a different questioner, but my understanding is that it ends on March 31, 2020. We're sure of that, and we are confident that it started three years ago. It's a three-year program, I'm told. Heads are nodding. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister, for assisting us with that complicated math. Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Perhaps the Minister could clarify whether this is a second or third iteration of this program, or what the case may be. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. If I might, I'd like to defer the question to Mr. Goldney, as he may have more accurate information than I possess. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Goldney.

Thank you, Mr. Goldney. Mr. Testart.

Thank you. I appreciate that. Are we going to keep piloting this, I guess? I mean, this budget is obviously continuing to pilot it, but are we going to see an expansion? When do we get out of the pilot phase? Can the Minister shed any light on that? Because once it's five or six or seven pilots, it's not a pilot anymore, it's an appropriation for a program. So, again, if we could have clarity on the future of the ICM program? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm not certain whether there is any limitation on the number of pilots you can have, but the program, in our view, has been successful. I cannot commit to this, but I think it's time that we take a very careful look at this. It has been a success, and perhaps it's time to move ahead to a program that is not a pilot. In fact, that's the goal of the work that we're doing at this time, or the department is. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Testart.

Thank you. I'm looking at an undated presentation that is available on the Department of Justice's website, and it indicates that short-term outcomes of the project are that being housed in Community Justice has been a neutralizer, that departmental barrier work is challenging many individual-level successes, and that the current ICM model may not be sustainable. Are these still findings of the pilot in its current form, or have these been addressed? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister.

Perhaps I might defer that to Mr. Goldney. I know that there have been challenges, of course, with this program, but overall we see it as a success. Mr. Goldney might be able to expand on that answer. Thank you.