Thank you for noticing there, Mr. Speaker. My questions once again will be to the Minister of Justice. Earlier today my colleague Mr. Moses had asked, are treatment programs such as alcohol and drug treatment programs mandatory. I believe his answer was no. I am going to turn the question around and say, what would it take for the Department of Justice to make treatment programs such as alcohol and drug treatment mandatory.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated previously, what we’re interested in doing is working with inmates and people in the Northwest Territories who are ready. If an inmate isn’t ready for healing, if they aren’t ready to go through treatment, forcing treatment on them will have no results.
We have great case workers. We have a great case management team who will sit down with our inmates when they come into the facility, identify their needs and will work with them to encourage them to take the program, to take that healing journey, if you will. To force them is not going to work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, that’s a bold statement by saying forcing them will not work. Maybe the Minister of Justice can clarify for the House where that reference and where the strength of that statement comes from. He must have some information reference expert that says, when you are locked up for two years less a day, of course, and you have nothing to do, that forced alcohol treatment… I’m talking about court-ordered treatment, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, if it’s court ordered, then it would be required, but to force an inmate who hasn’t had a direct order to participate in alcohol and drug treatment programming would be against the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, so we would not be forcing people to do something that they are unwilling to do unless it was court ordered. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I guess the notwithstanding clause does not apply to us on this one. I can tell you first hand, when I worked in the correction centre as a corrections officer and certainly in many roles that I had worked there, a lot of inmates had mental health problems. What type of options, treatments and assessments are provided to inmates who are incarcerated? Furthermore, is there any follow-up provided to these particular inmates or are they simply just let go once they’re free? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I have already listed off a significant number of the programs that are available to our inmates, including the programs in some of our specific facilities. We have the facility in Fort Smith for adult males, which is actually set up for individuals who are having or experiencing cognitive challenges or other addictions issues. There is some specific programming there. We have specific programming at SMCC, which I listed earlier, as well, which was a result of good work done by the committee with us to put in that programming in Hay River. There are a number of programs there.
As far as transition, as an inmate completes their term or their sentence, they are dealing with a one-on-one case manager who is helping identify the programming needs that they have. As they are transitioning out, we have a program that works with probation officers outside in their home communities or in their home regions that will help with the transition. It will identify programs that are available to them within the region or community that they happen to live, at which point probation will take over that file and work with them to make sure that they’re meeting the terms and conditions of the probation and getting the programming that has been identified for them. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. How often is court-ordered treatment offered to inmates is not necessarily but as a direction that go to prison? Thank you.
Thank you. I’m not certain how often it is actually ordered within the justice system by a judge, who is a separate branch or arm of government. But I will go to the department and I will try to get that information for the Member. Thank you.
