Many times in the past I have used this space to inform you of new and innovative ideas at Alberta Justice. My goal is to make the justice system efficient, effective and accessible for all Albertans, and pursuing new ways of doing things is the best way I know to achieve that.

In October I attended a conference on missing, exploited and runaway children hosted by US President George W. Bush. It was a tremendous opportunity to meet with officials from the US Department of Justice, the National Association of Broadcasters and the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children.

I also met with New York City Police officials and visited the site of the World Trade Centre. But the highlight was hearing the US President announce he was taking immediate steps to develop and enhance the AMBER plan, including setting national standards.

Thankfully, violent child abductions are rare in Alberta, but if it does happen, Alberta will now have a similar system in place to help police quickly find the child and the abductor. (click here for more.)

During this holiday season, I hope many of you will take time to be thankful for many other aspects of life in this province.

I encourage you to take time this holiday season to reflect on the positive: our faith, our families, our communities.

We do have a great deal to be thankful for. Personally, I would like to thank all the staff within the Alberta Solicitor General for their work throughout the year. I also would like to thank all the individuals and organizations who are working to make our province a safer place to live.

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season.

Each new year brings with it a time of reflection - a chance to look back and see what has been achieved. As we move into the first few months of 2003, I'd like to take the opportunity to reflect on a few of Alberta Justice's successes over the past year.

We have focused on improving access to the justice system on many fronts - from increasing the small claims limits from $7,500 to $25,000, to increasing the use of alternative dispute resolution, including judicial dispute resolution and dispute resolution officers in our courts, to providing Maintenance Enforcement Program clients with real-time chat on the MEP web site.

A Provincial Court practice note formally recognized Early Case Resolution in our criminal courts, which reduces the number of cases unnecessarily set down for trial, saving court time and reducing the number of witnesses who attend court only to find that the case will not proceed. Alberta's Prosecution Service is implementing this important initiative in all offices across the province.

The ongoing Family Law Review is nearing the end of its first stage with the introduction of the Adult Interdependent Relationships Act in the spring session. The Family Law Reform Consultation was also wrapped up, after giving Albertans the opportunity to provide input on issues including child support, maintenance, and the rights and obligations of people involved in personal relationships. The Family Law Review will be continuing into the new year with the consideration of new legislation.

These are but a few of the many successes achieved by the department this year. The foundation of all those successes is you, the hard working and dedicated people who make up the Justice team.

Thank you all for your contributions towards this year's accomplishments. I wish you all a healthy and happy holiday season and a wonderful new year.

Jim Nichols ,
Deputy Solicitor General

I thought I would take this opportunity to tell you about a number of issues that involve this department.

Since the release of the Report of the Alberta MLA Policing Review Committee last summer, there has been plenty of discussion about the report's recommendations. One of those recommendations suggested the Alberta Solicitor General and First Nations develop a province-wide or perhaps regional/treaty-based First Nations police service.

A committee of federal and provincial government representatives, RCMP, First Nations Chiefs of Police, First Nations police commissions and Treaty 8 First Nations has been formed to review aboriginal policing and the idea of regionalization.

Throughout the fall and early winter a series of meetings took place in First Nations communities to develop an Alberta Treaty Chiefs' position. I am confident the outcome of the activities of the committee and the consultations will result in a stronger police service that meets the needs of First Nations communities.

After the Policing Review was released, we received close to 140 formal responses. This department is now summarizing the submissions and a government response will be forthcoming.

A review of Alberta's provincial corrections facilities is another important initiative. At the time of this writing, the three-member MLA committee is expected to submit its final report to the Alberta Solicitor General by the end of November.

One final initiative that I would like to mention is staff recognition. Like Alberta Justice, we too want to encourage staff to continue putting forward innovative ideas. We already recognize staff for excellence in education, community work, valour, long service, leadership, and team awards. I think we are doing a good job of recognizing staff achievements but we are also open to new ideas - we welcome your input. We will be reviewing this in the near future, so stay tuned.