Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to announce that the Corrections Northern Recruit Training Program is coming to Fort Smith.
This program supports the “Attraction and Recruitment” goal of the GNWT’s long-term strategic plan for the public service: “20/20: A Brilliant North.” The goal is to create a public service that reflects the diverse cultures of the NWT while promoting the development and advancement of our own people.
The six-week program provides the basic skills Northerners need to be eligible for entry-level jobs in our correctional facilities in Hay River, Yellowknife, Fort Smith and Inuvik. It is a targeted training program for Northerners to promote development and excellence. And it’s a big part of our long-term northern recruitment plan. We are looking for northern residents who care about their communities and want to make a difference in the lives of offenders. We plan to provide more opportunities to northern residents and encourage them to consider careers in our justice system. This maximizes opportunities and strengthens the role of communities in prevention and enforcement, especially in dealing with chronic offenders.
This training has already been delivered twice in Yellowknife. To date, 19 individuals have graduated from this program and 15 of them are employed with the Corrections Service. Many of the graduates are aboriginal and all are long-term residents of our Territory. They have more than just basic knowledge of how to work in corrections; they truly understand what it’s like to work in NWT communities. They’re uniquely qualified to support the reintegration of our offenders back into their communities.
But we’ve had trouble getting recruits from outside Yellowknife. It is important that our Corrections Service reflects our Territory in all of its diversity. So we are taking this program and reaching out into the communities.
Thirteen recruits from Fort Smith, Hay River and Yellowknife have been selected for the first program in Fort Smith. When the program ends, these Northerners will be ideally suited to work as corrections officers and youth officers. This training program, which is overlapping with one being run in Yellowknife, draws heavily upon our existing staff from Hay River, Fort Smith and Yellowknife to manage the program south of the lake and to deliver all the program training elements. We owe these staff a sincere bid of thanks as they help us to meet our goals to train, recruit and retain northern staff.
Mr. Speaker, training and recruiting the right people from the North for the right jobs is critical in helping us continue to provide and maintain high quality programs in correctional services. Our recruitment approach is assessable, relevant and enhances our existing programming. It is truly made in the North for Northerners. I look forward to welcoming the new graduates to the Corrections Service after they finish their program. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod.
