Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Attorney General, for a very good presentation.
I would like to clear up a couple of things. You have a federal counterpart, Rob Nicholson, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice. You would expect him to be an advocate for his bill, Bill C-4, and appear before us suggesting that people were asking for this kind of legislation and that in fact attorneys general were asking for this kind of legislation, so I have three little questions for you.
My understanding is that attorneys general across the country wanted something done with some of the very sensible recommendations in the Nunn Commission of Inquiry report, and that some of those items have been dealt with in this act. However, much of this act is outside the Nunn commission recommendations. It is essentially a program of the government with respect to inculcating adult criminal sanctions into the YCJA, as you mentioned.
My first question is this: do you feel that this law responds adequately to both the Nunn recommendations and to the concerns of attorneys general across the country, and specifically the concerns of New Brunswick?
Second, what level of consultation did you have with the federal Attorney General on this matter?
Third, you mentioned a direct federal cut to a Fredericton program that is very near and dear to you, a very preventive early intervention program. At the same time, we know through Kevin Page's work that the cost of some of the legislation the government is bringing forward in terms of prison costs is extraordinary. Some of these sentences rely on provincial resources, but what we haven't received yet is any indication from any province.
Where does the rubber hit the road for provinces like New Brunswick? What is your estimation of the costs of the Conservative tough-on-crime agenda to the Province of New Brunswick? I left there this morning, and unless you found offshore oil or gas in the meantime, how are you or we going to afford it?