I seek unanimous consent to continue with my statement.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. From the explanation that the Minister just gave us, I would like to understand what he is saying, but I have some difficulty in the contradiction he is making when he speaks about the Executive moving into the building. He stated earlier that the Executive would be moving in there permanently. Now, it sounds as if, when division takes place, that is when the Executive would be moving there permanently. Is this the way it looks right now? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr Chairman. Earlier, the Minister stated that the addition will not be 50,000 square feet to the building. I would like to know if he knows how many square feet it will be.

From what I understand, this position has been open for about eight months. I just wonder if he knows why this position has been open for so long?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to ask the Minister of Justice, because I have been led to believe that there is one position of the translators that has been unfilled for quite some time, and I wanted to find out if this is true.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The standing committee on legislation has completed the review of Bill 15. This bill would change the date for translation and publication regulations and other statutory instruments, as the Minister has indicated. Presently, the French translation has to be completed by March 31, 1992 and this bill would change the date to December 31, 1992.

The standing committee considered this bill at a public meeting held in Yellowknife on Thursday, March 12th. The Members of the committee were grateful to the Minister of Justice, the Hon. Dennis Patterson and his officials for attending to summarize the bill and respond to committee questions and concerns.

The standing committee also reviewed written input and a public presentation from the Federation Franco-Te Noise on the bill.

Mr. Chairman, in undertaking our review the standing committee on legislation was aware that subsections 15(2) and 15(3) of the Official Languages Act deal with statutes and statutory instruments that were made before December 31, 1989. Right now, the law states that these articles must be translated into French before April 1, 1992. The translation of statutory instruments has not yet been completed. If they are not translated by April 1st then we may find that NWT regulations have no force or effect.

The Minister of Justice has now advised the standing committee that it will be unable to complete translation and publication requirements by this day. As a result, he has brought forward Bill 15 to amend the deadline to December 31, 1992.

The standing committee also noted that amending the territorial Official Languages Act is only the first step to actually changing the deadline for French translations. The Parliament of Canada must also amend the NWT Act in order to concur with the new date.

In our discussions with the Minister the standing committee expressed concern over the fact that this is not the first time the deadline has needed to be adjusted. In each previous case the government indicated that the specified time period would be sufficient for completion of the task and in each case more time has been needed.

According to the brief and the presentations submitted to the standing committee, this had led to justifiable frustration from the Francophone community. They emphasized and I quote, "A bill tabled by the Minister of Justice to the standing committee on legislation of the NWT is an affront to our community. If this bill is approved it will constitute the fourth delay in implementing legislation dealing with fundamental human rights."

Mr. Chairman, I would like to quote further from the brief received from the federation which also commented, "We feel that our community should not suffer yet again from the fact that certain civil servants do not live up to their commitments. We ask the Government of the NWT that the deadline be June 30, 1992 rather than December 31, 1992."

Mr. Chairman, the standing committee agreed that this request was entirely reasonable, particularly since the Minister had earlier indicated that work on the translation of the remaining statutory instruments was nearing completion. Accordingly, at its March 12th meeting the standing committee on legislation passed a motion to amend the deadline on Bill 15 to June 30, 1992. Within the new format for legislative review adopted by this House it is possible for amendments to be made while the bill is before the standing committee, with the concurrence of the bill's sponsor. When this happens the amendments would be agreed to by consensus and a reprinted bill would be brought back to the House for consideration in committee of the whole.

In this case, Mr. Chairman, the Minister declined to concur with the standing committee's motion to amend the deadline to June 30, 1992. In responding to the standing committee motion, he indicated that the technical requirements for publication and printing of the translated regulations would require an additional allocation of time. Because the Minister did not concur with the committee's proposed amendment, Mr. Chairman, this bill is now before the committee of the whole without amendments. That is the bill which honourable Members see before them today, the same one which was given second reading on February 24, 1992. However, I anticipate that the House may wish to consider amendments to the proposed deadline when it is dealing with Bill 15 in committee of the whole this afternoon.

Mr. Chairman, before I proceed, I also wish to note that the standing committee remains sensitive to the fact that official languages spoken by the aboriginal people of the NWT must be considered a priority, as well. With that background to our deliberations, Mr. Chairman, I wish to advise you that on March 12th the standing committee on legislation voted to refer Bill 15 to the Legislative Assembly for consideration in committee of the whole. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to report to the Assembly that the standing committee on legislation has reviewed Bill 15 and wishes to report that Bill 15 is now ready for committee of the whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand that a member has to be present when a family member or friend visits, but what I am asking is that there are security guards who are hired to sit in at a time when a member is not there, and this is the question that has been raised by people in Baker Lake, because there is a person there who is guarding the cells. Why are they not able to come in and visit their family members, especially when the person who is detained has not committed a violent crime? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question to the Minister of Justice. A concern was raised in Baker Lake just recently, and as a result the mayor of Baker Lake wrote a letter asking the Minister about young offenders or people who have been detained in the local jail for weekend purposes. In a response to the mayor, the minister writes that it is the policy of the force that a member of the force must be present when family members or friends visit an inmate in cells or at the detachment. I would like to know whether, when people are being held in the detachment and for non-violent reasons, they would be able to go in and visit their family members and their friends. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.