Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize a number of constituents from my riding, Aggie Hardisty from Jean Marie, Catherine Belle-Sanguez from Jean Marie/Trout River Fort Simpson, as well as April Bell, who is now a corporal. Congratulations on your promotion. As well, Dang-Dang Gruben who is one of my youth ambassadors I used to work with. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize some folks here as well. I would like to first recognize our interpreters from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh: Mr. Tommy Unka in the Denesuline language; Mary Rose Sundberg, Wiilideh; and also I would like to recognize the two pages from Lutselk'e, River Marlowe and Ashton Catholique, and their chaperone, Hanna Catholique; and James Marlowe, I believe is also in the gallery. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize two constituents of the Great Slave riding, Brendan Kolson as well as Kiera-Dawn Kolson, one of the award recipients today. Welcome to the gallery.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to introduce my constituents Kyla Kakfwi-Scott and Amos Scott and congratulate them on their award. Thank you.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, like you, I want to recognize a man of many hats, also a resident of the Yellowknife North riding, Mr. Tony Whitford, and hopefully he never becomes a former resident of the riding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to recognize my friend Corporal April Bell of the RCMP. Thank you for your service, Corporal. Also my constituent Deneze Nakehk'o, who has done great work with Dene Nahjo. Thank you.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Mr. Dang-Dang Gruben. Mr. Speaker, I have travelled all over this world, and I see a young man like Dang-Dang travelling around this country drum dancing for Inuvik, and showing a good example to youth, not just in our region, but across Canada actually. I would just like to commend Dang-Dang today, and travel while you still can. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Justice regarding the recent influx of complaints from the NSCC inmates. As I mentioned earlier, an open letter accompanying a total of 69 letters containing general and specific complaints has been received by the Minister and many of us.
To start with, can the Minister explain what processes and mechanisms are in place to receive and resolve complaints at NSCC? Mahsi.
Minister of Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can advise that monthly meetings are held with the Inmate Advisory Committee at NSCC, the IAC, to discuss inmate concerns and other issues or requests. I understand that there was a recent meeting, and at that meeting there was no insight received by the staff, at least, to the concerns presented in these letters, but there are provisions for the inmates to meet and air their concerns. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you to the Minister for that response. It seems that the complaint mechanisms involve having the inmates talk to the very people who they may, in fact, have complaints about. Is there any third-party complaint process where inmates can go to someone who is not directly involved and make their concerns known?
I am not certain, Mr. Speaker, of any formal process. Clearly, if there were human rights violations or serious problems of that type, concern could be made to human rights. Legal counsel could be contacted and they could make their concerns known to me.
Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the Minister has given any thought to having some kind of a third-party complaints process. It just seems to me that, if the usual route is for the complaints to go right back to the warden, it is not likely to result in a resolution. Short of going through the legal route through the human rights process, would he consider another third-party method of assessing complaints?
I had not really considered this idea. Perhaps it does have some merit. I had been under the impression that the Inmate Advisory Committee, IAC, meetings were working well, where there was a full and open discussion regarding issues. Yes, we can certainly consider that idea. I don't think currently we would have a process in place, but I would be willing to look at it.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister's willingness to look at how these complaints are dealt with and how they might be dealt with more effectively. My final question has to do with programming. We understand the recreation position has been cut, that the arts and crafts room has been closed, and outdoor access is limited by the issues related to fencing. What kind of recreational programming is in place for inmates? Thank you.
I understand that two recreation officer positions are being converted into correction officer positions. This allows for greater interaction with the correction officers and inmate in a different and more relaxed environment. Corrections officers from each of the pods provide supervision at recreation activities as part of their regular duties. I understand that that would include as follows: each pod has access to a gymnasium daily; inmates have access to the visiting room/multipurpose room outside of the pods on a daily basis; and inmates continue to have access to exercise equipment, basketball, volleyball, and floor hockey. The manner in which the programs are delivered may have changed, but the programs are still available. Thank you.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I was talking about legalization of marijuana and some of the issues and the consultation process. I have to congratulate the department on the work they have been doing. However, I know we have gone into nine communities, but has the department looked into going into some of the smaller communities? I mean, I know Fort Liard was on the list, but smaller communities like Wrigley, Sambaa K'e, and that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Minister of Justice.
Yes, Mr. Speaker. I can advise that, of course, we have just completed a successful public engagement program in which we received 1,160 responses and 200 people participated in our community engagement meetings. In the communities that my staff visited, two representatives of small communities were included; Tsiigehtchic, where alcohol is prohibited, and Fort Liard, which has alcohol restrictions in place. A number of communities were visited by the staff. I think it represented a good cross-section of the communities in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the Minister for his answer. Two communities out of 27, I don't think that is a good representation. Will the Minister look at talking to these small communities? Even though maybe they are not going to go and consult with them, maybe they can write a letter to these smaller communities and ask them to get some feedback in there. We are talking about some of the very small, small communities, and this will have a huge impact on them.
As I mentioned, we received 1,160 responses to our online survey. Anybody from across the Northwest Territories or, in fact, from outside the Territories, if they wished, could participate. In addition, we did write to Aboriginal organizations seeking their input. We only have a limited amount of time, as we all know, as the federal legislation will be in force starting July 1st next year. We visited a cross-section of communities, admittedly not every community. Between the visits to the community and the many submissions made online, I think we did receive a good cross-section of opinion from our territory.
I thank the Minister for his answer. I guess he is missing the point. Some of these communities don't have access to the internet system and that. That is a concern for me. I am hoping that he will get his department to at least write to these communities and ask them for some input. On to my next question: has the department consulted NWT businesses already selling medical marijuana or cannabis to NWT? If not, why?
If there are producers in the NWT, they are outside the legal supply chain. The only exception is that individuals with a prescription can grow cannabis for themselves and also for one other designated person also with a prescription. During the public engagement period, we sent 120 letters out to a range of stakeholders throughout the NWT, inviting them to respond, that included the Chamber of Commerce and the Medical Association.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am talking about the medical cannabis, not the homegrown stuff that may or may not be out there. Mr. Speaker, has the department looked at the thought of developing a homegrown organization to grow cannabis in the Northwest Territories? We have some of the best soil in the country and availability. We can get the seeds from somewhere else. Has the Minister looked at this as an option for people in there? I know in my riding we have some great land that we can use. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Laughter
Masi. Minister of Justice.
Thank you for the interesting question. Essentially, the production of marijuana is a federal issue. Those who wish to manufacture marijuana will have to be licensed by the federal government. They would have to approach the federal government. Presumably, they would have to make an application showing how they could ensure the safety of the product and so on. That could happen. I understand that even fairly small organizations might be able to avail themselves of this legislation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask the Minister of Justice some questions on these inmate concerns and also correctional concerns for the facility. On October 12th, the Minister sent the honourable Members of this House an e-mail that indicated the inmate concerns were inaccurate. A week later, the deputy minister of the Department of Justice went into the press and confirmed that some of these concerns were, in fact, accurate. I want to ask the Minister about GED Program. He has both told us that the Adult Education Program is present and inmates can access it. His department has contradicted that and say it is not currently available. Will the Minister set the record straight and tell us if education opportunities are available at the facility for inmates? Thank you.
Minister of Justice.
Yes, Mr. Speaker. Further research on this issue has revealed that the department continues to offer the GED to any NWT resident who wishes to take the program, wishes to study and take the examination. It is a set of standardized tests that, when passed, provides certification that the test taker has Canadian-level academic skills at the grade 9 to 10 level. It continues to be an academic option that is available to inmates at NSCC. Thank you.
I would like to thank the Minister for setting the record straight. It can be very confusing when we have two different narratives emerging out there when we are trying to help people with their issues. Mr. Speaker, the Minister also said no programs or staff positions have been cut in his e-mail, yet we have heard that recreation positions have been cut and that recreation is not currently being offered. Can the Minister set the record straight on that? Have there been cuts to recreation programs and positions in the Department of Justice?
As mentioned previously, two recreation officer positions are being converted to correction officer positions. I don't think there will be any change in the availability of the recreation programs to the inmates.
I am still a bit confused about this. Who is currently providing recreation to the inmates, and what kind of training have they received, if any?
As I understand it, corrections officers are providing this service, and they have gone through the necessary training.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What I have heard through sources is that is not, in fact, true, that no additional training has been offered and, in fact, that the training manager position that was created to assist in the Auditor General's recommendations that increased training be offered to the correctional service has been cut, as well. I would like to ask the Minister: how many training officers are currently in the correctional service and what training programs are they offering to our correctional officers? Thank you.
