Cliff Cullen says he has a steep learning curve ahead as he settles into his new role as Minister of Justice and Attorney General for the Province of Manitoba.

The MLA for Spruce Woods moved into his new job on August 1st and he was previously Minister of Crown Services. “I appreciate the confidence the Premier has by posting me in the justice department. Justice obviously has challenges and I know there are some initiatives underway from the previous minister and I know we are looking at modernizing our justice system and we’ve got some strategies in place and I look forward to moving forward on that front.”

The latest statistics show crime is on the rise in Manitoba and that includes Winnipeg and the rural parts of the province.

“It’s clearly something that we will have to address. Obviously a lot of social issues that are a part of society that seem to fall into the justice system as well. So there are lots of challenges on that side of things and we will do what we can to improve the justice system to make sure people have access to justice and at the end of the day we have safe communities as well” said Cullen.

Experts point to some of the drug issues and Cullen says it gives rise to an increase in crime. He says the province will have to work across a number of departments to deal with those addictions and those issues.

When it comes to marijuana Cullen says the Province of Manitoba continues to work on getting things in order. “We’ve been working away on that since the federal government made its intentions clear. We’ve got a lot of legislation in place and we are still dealing with some items on the regulatory side.”

Cullen says Manitoba is waiting for some direction on a few of the regulatory items and will be making changes right up until marijuana is legalized in October.

Cullen says the justice portfolio is a significant one with 4,000 people working in the system and the annual budget is about $655 million.