Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, further to the statement by the Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay, I’d like to also speak about the Department of Justice and its human resources management, the morale of the department, the corrections division, and the North Slave Correctional Centre, in particular.

Mr. Speaker, I understand very clearly that the internal management of a government department or division should not be a topic of discussion in the Assembly as a normal course of business. I know that this is something that the Minister feels very strongly about, too. At the same time, Mr. Speaker, I have an obligation as a Member of the Assembly and to the constituents that I serve to see that things they tell me and the information they give me in confidence are given full consideration. Upon such reflections and deliberation of the information I have become privy to, I feel that it is in the interest of the public that we bring this into the public so that we can discuss it and address some of the concerns that are being raised. I can assure you that I will do this in a way that is respectful of the individuals involved.

Mr. Speaker, I must tell you that people are very, very hesitant to talk about what’s going on, but they feel compelled to because they feel that it’s in the public interest to do so. Mr. Speaker, I want to say that I know personally many of the senior managers in the department and I’m sure that they’re working very hard in their jobs with very good intentions. But I feel compelled to raise the red flag at this juncture so that I can motivate them to evaluate themselves more deliberately and see what they’re doing well and what they’re not doing well and how things can be improved.

In fact, I have always been a strong believer and a supporter of the work being done by the corrections division, especially the community corrections because I used to work there and I believe in the cause. But I need to tell them that the calls of concerns are becoming increasingly more frequent and more disconcerting.

Mr. Speaker, at one point in the last Assembly, it seemed like there was a direct line to my office from the Stanton hospital. Such were the calls and letters that I was receiving from many of the concerned employees there. It turned out that many of their concerns were very legitimate and needed to be taken care of. I can tell you that the similar drum beat is growing at an increasing rate from the corrections division and the North Slave Correctional Centre of the Department of Justice.

I don’t think what I’m saying here is coming as a surprise, Mr. Speaker, because the Minister has already initiated an internal review, except that we’re not clear at this point what the scope and terms of reference are and I will be pursuing this further at the question period later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause