Debates of October 14, 2004 (day 20)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are also to the Minister of Justice with regard to my Member’s statement earlier today. Mr. Speaker, I have to tell you that the huge rate of vacancies at the Correctional Centre and the high amount of money that’s being paid for overtime is just one of the issues I am hearing that are contributing to a morale problem there that is affecting the operation of the centre.

I should also say that I am not speaking on the basis of one or two people who are talking about this; I have heard from many different people from different sectors in the community who have knowledge, interest or concerns about the facility. So my question, Mr. Speaker, is with regard to the review. What exactly is this review and what is the Minister trying to get at with this review? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Minister of Justice, Mr. Dent.

Return To Question 216-15(3): Review Of Human Resources At The North Slave Correctional Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The review is one that was requested by the department. They approached corporate human resources and asked if they could get some assistance to do an internal review. So it’s our staff along with one representative from corporate human resources assisting them to make sure they’re examining our human resources policies and practices, as said, to identify strengths and weaknesses and to make recommendations to build on our strengths and if they find weaknesses, to recommend where we might make changes within to address those weaknesses. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 216-15(3): Review Of Human Resources At The North Slave Correctional Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am trying to be very sensitive because this involves human resources, individuals and staff and such and I don’t want to name any names, but I must say the Minister is very good at skirting the issue either. He is speaking about finding out about strengths and weaknesses and doing a review. Could the Minister indicate what is the question he is trying to get an answer to? What is the problem he is aware of that gave rise to looking into this? Why did the staff of the department come to him and say there needed to be a review? What is the question? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 216-15(3): Review Of Human Resources At The North Slave Correctional Centre

Mr. Speaker, what drove this in large part were questions by Mr. Ramsay and others about what was happening out there, and there were suggestions in those questions that there was a problem with the staffing. I have not said that I believe there is such a problem, but whenever an allegation is made about there being a problem, then it behooves the government and the department to look into that. The department is following through on those concerns. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 216-15(3): Review Of Human Resources At The North Slave Correctional Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the information I have is in the last year there has been at least a 20 percent vacancy at the facility. There are 50 correctional officers who work at the facility and there have been up to 12 positions vacant. What is going on in there is much like I was hearing from the hospital. Correctional officers are refusing to answer calls on weekends because they don’t want to have to go in to go to work. That sort of thing causes a lot of problems and there might be a lot of things behind that that the Minister has to address. Would the Minister table in this House a terms of reference for this review or any instruction that his team is working under? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 216-15(3): Review Of Human Resources At The North Slave Correctional Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Ms. Lee talked about 12 vacancies. The only time we had 12 vacancies was almost a year ago, November 2003. At the end of September, there were seven vacancies and, as I said, we had 12 officers start training on the 4th of October. So I think that the issue of vacancies is one that is being dealt with. We’ve increased the numbers of positions with the staffing of the North Slave Correctional Centre. It takes a bigger staff complement to run that facility than it did the old facility. So I would argue that the movement is in the right direction. We are filling the positions.

In terms of the terms of reference, I have to review the direction that was taken here. I will have to talk to the deputy minister about what sorts of discussions he’s had with corporate human resources and how the team has been instructed. In terms of whether or not I can table a terms of reference, I will have to look into that and I will get back to the Member very quickly on that issue. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Final supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 216-15(3): Review Of Human Resources At The North Slave Correctional Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Maybe a House motion to table that terms of reference could give him extra ammunition. He is correct in saying vacancies were between 10 to 12 and it’s going down to eight and seven, but I don’t think the Minister is really appreciating the extent of the problem and that’s what I was trying to say in my Member’s statement. The voice is growing stronger and stronger. One of the concerns I am hearing is the people who should be interviewed for this review are hesitant about speaking out. What is the Minister doing to ensure the staff involved, who should be interviewed in order for this review to be well done and fairly done, know that it is safe and it is okay to be involved in this process? There is that much caution and alarm among the employees, from my understanding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 216-15(3): Review Of Human Resources At The North Slave Correctional Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to also say that I know there are a lot of happy workers at the North Slave Correctional Centre. It’s not as if the entire staff are unhappy. The times have changed and the change in approach has added to the issue of contentment with the workplace. Not all of the staff are pleased with the change in direction and the change in the way the facility deals with inmates. That has caused some concerns among some of the staff. However, a large number of the staff welcome the change and are satisfied with the terms of their employment there.

Now I want to make sure that everybody knows that there are no implications for retribution if they speak to the people involved in reviewing human resources practices at the facility. I will say that publicly and on the record. This is an internal review. It’s not something where we are looking to hang people out to dry. This is something being done entirely within the department to help the department identify strengths and deal with weaknesses where they are found. Therefore, it isn’t a situation where people should be concerned about addressing issues if they have them. We are just looking to make sure that we are doing things right now and, if not, that we find a way to do things better. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.