Thank you, Minister. Do I have further comments or questions on page 268? Mr. Vanthuyne.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. As this is corrections, I would like to ask about the North Slave Young Offender Facility. We know that it is being reorganized and significantly reduced. I wonder if the department can please provide detail on the department’s long-term plan for the facility. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. That might be a question for either page 269 or 267. Shall we move on to 269?
Agreed.
Mr. Vanthuyne.
Under your guidance, Mr. Chair, I’ll ask that the same question be asked on this page. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Minister.
Mr. Chair, after a careful evaluation of the young offender facility, we had found that the numbers had been falling over the years, mainly as a result of the change in the act in approximately 2003. We’ve been looking at this for some time and have noticed a steady decline in the numbers; there didn’t seem to be any jump. Certainly we are committed to keeping the facility here in Yellowknife. The whole facility, in the sense of that facility and the adult facility are being re-profiled as far as employment within the facility, but the young offender facility will remain with dedicated staff. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Nothing further from Mr. Vanthuyne. Any more comments or questions on page 269, active positions? Seeing none we will return to the total activity on page 267. Page 267, operations expenditure summary. Comments or questions from Committee? Mr. O’Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. Under “program detail” there’s a line here for youth facilities and there’s some significant changes that have taken place and I’m wondering if the Minister and his staff can talk a little bit about that? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O’Reilly. Minister.
Mr. Chair, the reprogramming of the youth facility will result in considerable savings, and that’s the reason, as I understand it, for the reduction. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. O’Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. My apologies, I understand that one of my colleagues has raised this issue already, but at the risk of going over the same ground, what’s the long-term future of that facility? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O’Reilly. Minister.
Mr. Chair, although the building is fairly old it’s in excellent condition. I had the opportunity of doing a tour of the facility a couple of months ago. Obviously, there will be a continuing need to have that facility. We’re not envisioning any change; there will always be a need for some facility such as that for youth. That facility seems to be in excellent shape and we’re not contemplating any major changes. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. O’Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. Are we going to be making more effective use of the facility? Are there other purposes that it can be used for? I understand that the number of youth offenders in there is not that great, which is a good thing overall, but are we able to repurpose parts of it or use it for other purposes to get some efficiencies? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O’Reilly. Minister.
Yes, of course. For example, just as one change we’ve made, I designated it a couple of months ago as a facility in which women prisoners on remand could be held. This was a significant problem in Yellowknife. Perhaps Ms. Haener can expand on my answer, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Ms. Haener.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The facility was constructed as a youth facility and we have an obligation to ensure that youth are held separately and apart from adults, and as well, to protect the privacy and the identity of those individuals that are held in that facility. It is difficult to repurpose a facility of that kind. As the Minister indicated, we have taken one part of the facility and designated it as being available to house women on a temporary basis. There may, in future, be opportunities to look at other things such as more links with communities and utilizing the staff and the resources at the facilities for those types of things. We’re certainly engaged in that kind of activity in Fort Smith, for example, where there are considerable partnerships with community organizations to support programming both in and out of the men’s and the women’s facility there, and that may be something that could be explored in the future. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Haener. Mr. O’Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair, and I do appreciate the responses from the department to that, and that’s it for me on this one. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O’Reilly. Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I’ve got a question and it’s in regards to community linkages in terms of how the department of corrections is dealing with or trying to work with communities. Could the Minister explain what actions will be taken to enhance partnerships with communities and what does that mean? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Minister.
Mr. Chair, perhaps Ms. Haener could assist in the response. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Ms. Haener.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We have, in the past, had community leaderships from a number of different communities across the territory expressing interest in working with corrections on such things as reintegration of offenders back in to communities, and we often will engage directly with those communities to try to facilitate that wherever possible. This happens both between probation staff and staff within the correctional facility environment as well. There’s also engagements with different organizations and communities to support things such as work programs and other things like that to support the rehabilitation of inmates in facilities, and to support programming and services for individuals under community supervision. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Haener. Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Could the deputy explain whether that initiative could be focused on specifically individuals that are being reintegrated, or is there an effort to look at perhaps people that are going back into the community and working with their families? Thank you.
Minister.
Perhaps, Mr. Chair, Ms. Haener could answer that.
Ms. Haener.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Case managers that work with inmates in facilities currently, and for quite some time, always want to actively engage families when there’s an interest and a desire on the part of families to support an inmate both during their time in a facility and in preparation for the release of that inmate. If families have that interest and the inmates want to see that happen, because obviously the inmate has to agree to that as well, folks who work in our facilities would be very happy to hear from family members and work with them on those types of things. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Haener. Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The point of asking questions is just to try to get a sense whether there is a holistic effort in terms of trying to at least bring some reformative measures in terms of the spirit of healing and wellness with individuals that have been incarcerated. Could the deputy explain whether correction services has referred to holistic healing and holistic service delivery in its vision, mission and values, and in what ways are its programs and activities holistic? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Minister.
Mr. Chair, perhaps Ms. Haener could expand on her last answer.
Thank you, Minister. Ms. Haener.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The corrections service has a number of different programs to support holistic healing and try to respect the cultural beliefs and values of individuals that are housed in our facilities. These range from healing circles, which are also done by probation as well, and smudging, on-the-land types of activities including participation in hunts. In Hay River there’s a specific area on the facility grounds that is dedicated to traditional programming, as well as at the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre there is a traditionally-based program to support addictions treatment and readiness for addictions treatment. There are a number of things like this that we have within the corrections service. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Haener. Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank the deputy for giving me that reply. What are the rules of elders and land-based programs then? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Minister.
As part of the, Mr. Chair, the holistic approach, I believe there are land-based and elders elements in the programs that have been discussed this afternoon by my deputy here. That is part of this holistic approach to dealing with people that need these programs. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. No further questions.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. I have no one further on my list for this page. Mr. Vanthuyne.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’m going to stick maybe along the theme of the programs, but I’d like to ask the department first: are they able to share with us how many individuals are currently in remand custody? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
