Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and this speaks to the Member's last question as well. Most of the people who are in the correctional system in the Northwest Territories are there on remand, meaning they have not yet been sentenced.
In the 2010s, there were a number of Supreme Court of Canada cases that spoke to bail and, you know, what was needed in order to detain someone versus to release them. The Government of Canada, in 2019, codified some of that language -- or those decisions. And now the release of accused persons is the cardinal rule and detention is an exception. So the Criminal Code of Canada and Supreme Court of Canada have both been moving in a direction where it is becoming more onerous on the prosecution, or the Crown, to actually have someone detained while they're awaiting trial. And we can see that in the Northwest Territories here with our numbers.
So between that and COVID, where you didn't want people, you know, crammed in small spaces next to each other, those are the factors that contributed to a decline in the number of people we have in correctional facilities. That being said, we are looking at more precise reasons. So there's a group in justice who is looking into this and hopefully sometime in the new year, we'll have some more concrete information. Thank you.