Debates of March 7, 2005 (day 50)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, let me again, on behalf of my constituents, both inside and outside the system of the community of Hay River and the South Slave region, express concisely why I am asking the Department of Justice, corrections, to leave the operations of the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre as is with respect to staffing our remand unit.

This change in mandate for SMCC will not net the savings projected for the upcoming fiscal year. It will immediately affect nine casual corrections officer positions and ultimately affect 5.5 permanent positions. As for the Audit Bureau findings, “There was a lack of rigor and in-depth analysis to support the projected savings of $400,000" and furthermore with respect to travel and escorting services, the report says, "the estimated incremental cost of $18,000 was not supported by any historical data. Our review indicated that "there are too many variables and too little information to form a reasonable estimate. While there will likely be additional costs, they will have to be identified at a later point.”

Mr. Speaker, I would rather know these costs and projections sooner than later; before we make operational changes, not after. Mr. Speaker, I don’t think it’s any coincidence that an additional 5.5 PYs were recommended as the result of a human resources and operations review in 1997, after the tragedy of a suicide in SMCC cells. The report recommended that the six-bed remand unit be manned 24/7, 365 days a year, even though this unit will continue to accommodate inmates on administrative and disciplinary isolation and those waiting on medical clearance on intake. Even though it has been utilized at the rate of 100 percent over the past year for remand inmates and even though everyone, except the Department of Justice, is projecting an increase in crime related to resource development, the direction of this department is to reduce the current supervision in this area of the facility.

The department thinks that they can assess risk with a high level of accuracy. I don’t agree, especially since we are going to be seeing more transient people we’ll know less about in the future.

What I am requesting is fairly simple. I would like the government to respond favourably to the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Social Programs to reinstate the funding for SMCC for the remand unit. If you need more reasons than the recommendation itself, leave things status quo until the Department of Justice has had the opportunity to apply a more rigorous and in-depth analysis to the costs of the changes being proposed. The Premier has publicly stated that we are not broke, our fiscal picture has improved, so let’s keep justice services close to the people they serve…

Mrs. Groenewegen, your time for your Member’s statement has expired.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Thank you.

The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude her statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. As I said, the Premier has publicly stated that we are not broke and our fiscal situation has improved, so let’s keep the justice services close to the people they serve and let’s affirm our government’s support for the regions and say no to the centralization of programs and services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause