Yes. Thank you.
I'm glad to hear you affirm you are concerned about our criminal justice system. I don't think anyone...and certainly nothing in my remarks would indicate other parties aren't concerned about access to criminal justice or the effective running of our justice system. As well, legal aid in Canada is a key component of the ability to access justice.
As you are aware, funding for legal aid ended a few months ago. When we took over the government, we realized we had a problem on our hands in terms of ensuring there was no break in the service or funding of legal aid. What I did was extend, through our government, legal aid funding for a period of one year, which will then give me an opportunity to examine the issues surrounding legal aid, including some of the issues you have mentioned.
The extension for one year was carried over on the same basis as last year's funding. It was simply extended for one year. What happened, as I understand it, and I'm not an accountant, is this doesn't show up in the main estimates, but it does show up in the fall supplementary estimates. So there has been no decrease in legal aid. I think there may be a couple of other examples throughout the estimates that will indicate a similar situation. But I can say we extended it for one year while discussion with the provinces and territories continue.