Mr. Chair, I understand that they would be covered under the workers’ compensation legislation as all workers are and I also understand that there’s a bit of an overlap of coverage with the Corrections Act.
Thank you, Minister Sebert. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Covered by workman’s compensation act and the Corrections Act. Do they sign a waiver to say that they’re waiving their rights? Can the Minister explain that? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister.
Mr. Chair, no, they do not sign a waiver. In fact the Workers’ Compensation Act does not allow such waivers. People simply cannot waive the conditions and protections that are afforded by the act. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Could the Minister then explain to us what he means by their kind of a leave of absence? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Perhaps Ms. Haener could assist. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Ms. Haener.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Corrections Act allows for temporary absences to be provided to inmates to assist with their reintegration into communities and prepare for their release. The temporary absence provisions under the Corrections Act are there seeing that there would be an ability to work with communities and employers in communities to employ or otherwise support an inmate through counselling, through volunteer activities and those kinds of activities outside of a correctional facility. If an inmate happens to be working while on a temporary absence, then obviously they’re covered by the workers’ compensation provisions that are available to all workers in the Territories. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Haener. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you very much. I’ll have some other questions about that later on, but when it comes to committee I’ll have some concerns about that. The federal exchange of services I’ve seen a huge increase from the previous revised estimates. Could you explain this huge increase? It’s almost double. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister.
Mr. Chair, while there may be an increase from last year, I note that it is not that different than that 2014-15 actuals of $1,302,000. I don’t have long-term what the cost has been, however. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I understand that the 2014-2015 actuals, the $1,302,000, but the main estimates for 2015-2016 was $755,000. I see a real increase from 2015-16 to 2016-2017 of about 745. It’s $200,000 approximately from the previous year, so can he explain why we have this huge fluctuation and huge increase? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson.
Mr. Chair, I understand there has been some catching up, but perhaps Ms. Schofield could assist in giving more detail. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Ms. Schofield.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. In the planning and estimating of revenue for the main estimates for 2015-16, at times you want to be as conservative as you can be without overstating your revenue. In this fiscal year, we did a greater analysis of what has been happening historically. We have adjusted the calculations to determine what the estimated revenue would be, as well as we have seen an increase in federal repatriated offenders in our facility over the last couple of years. Annually, the per diem rates that we charge to the federal government for housing offenders changes as well. It is a reflection of volume increase, per diem increase, as well as looking historically to what the actual revenues have been in repatriating our federal offenders. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Schofield. Mr. Thompson.
I thank Ms. Schofield for that answer. I appreciate the historicals, which are actually more reflective of what is going on. At this point I have no specific questions for this page. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. No further questions for this page? We can move on to page 261. Active position summary, information item. I will give committee a moment. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The decrease in corrections positions, is that as a result of the reorganization of the North Slave Correctional Complex? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister.
Mr. Chair, yes, that is correct. The amalgamation of the two facilities is the reason for almost all of that decrease, rather.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Are there other positions affected outside of that facility? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister.
Yes. Mr. Chair, there are probation officer positions affected. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Nothing further.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Any further comments or questions? Seeing none, we will continue on to community justice and policing. The total activity page is 263. We will defer that until we discuss the detail on page 264 and 265. Do we have comments or questions on page 264? Ms. Green. MS. GREEN: Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to confirm that this is the correct section in which to discuss the New Day program and the integrated case management projects. Is that correct thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Sebert.
Mr. Chair, I believe that program does come under this section.
Thank you, Mr. Sebert. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, could the Minister describe for us what is happening with the New Day program, which is a pilot program at this point? What are the next steps for the New Day program? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister.
Mr. Chair, the program is going to be evaluated at the end of the year. I believe a contract has been let with an organization that will evaluate the program. I believe we are hoping to get that report back by the ends of the year. Perhaps Ms. Haener can provide more detail. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I was kind of expecting to hear from Ms. Haener.
I apologize. That one is on me. Ms. Haener.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just to get more information on the New Day program, the Minister indicated that it is undergoing an evaluation. That is part of the piloting process that is being engaged in currently with the current service delivery provider. As the Minister indicated, we intend to have that evaluation completed this year. The contract with the current service provider ends at the end of this calendar year. It is our objective to have the evaluation inform the development of any awarding of any future contracts for the delivery of the program as well as the ongoing design of the program. It is our intention to ensure that we continue to deliver this type of programming. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Haener. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I recognize that it is not easy to evaluate a program like this because the change would be seen over the long- term, not necessarily within a matter of weeks or months. I am wondering on what basis this program will be evaluated? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister.
Mr. Chair, we have a contract with an organization that is very experienced in this area, but perhaps I can ask Ms. Haener to give more detail. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Ms. Haener.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. This program was actually created in follow-up to the Family Violence Action Plan. It was developed in a highly collaborative manner with NGOs and others involved. There is a very strong, detailed description of how the program is to be delivered and that is included in the contract with the service provider. That information along with the contract will be used to lay out the assessment process to ensure that the contractor is delivering the program, or to assess whether the program is being delivered in line with what was envisioned in the contract and the program description. As well, the evaluation will try to look at whether or not the program, as described and outlined in the contract, is actually achieving the objectives that it was originally intended to. Is it achieving success in terms of making a change for the men who are partaking in the program? That would involve several different approaches in evaluation, including speaking to participants, speaking to providers, and gathering information in those ways to base an assessment upon. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
