Caroline Wawzonek

I understand that the next round of stakeholder engagement is actually scheduled to take place in April of this year, so only just next month. At that point, there will be a review of what work has been done so far, what programs have been undertaken to this point. At that point, if in fact the various NGOs and stakeholders, victim services providers, and organizations are able to say that they can roll out and move forward, I would anticipate that there won't be a stop put in place, but the Department of Justice would be there to support their provision of those services. We do need to hear...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member has already alerted me previously to the fact that there is a report produced on this matter in June and that NGOs and stakeholders met at that time. Since then, Mr. Speaker, there's been some update, which is that the RCMP continue to engage with the proposed review committee and that, meanwhile, the GNWT Department of Justice is also putting forward a second meeting of the same stakeholders to review progress with respect to having the NGO group come together. So I say all that, Mr. Speaker, because the degree of support or program develop that will result...

I am assuming that the Member is referencing assaults on staff. Seeing that that is correct, I will find out whether or not there have been any further incidents involving assaults on staff and, in doing so, try to determine what responses there have been or investigations that may have taken place. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I certainly share the view that making sure that all staff at Corrections facilities across the Northwest Territories are safe is critical. I certainly am aware of the need to do that and aware of the challenges of working in the Corrections environment. I have seen and am aware from just my involvement in the correctional area that this is something that we need to be constantly vigilant about. Leaving aside this specific incident and the specific individuals involved, when I assumed this role, it was something that I was alive to and did, indeed, take action to establish the inter...

There are certain forms of escort within the facility that require two guards to be conducting an escort, and the staff at the correctional facility are aware of that. That policy has been the subject of review, and that has been the subject of review by the staff and by the supervisors at the facility. I am confident, going forward, that they have looked at that, that they have looked at that policy specifically, and that the things that we've done since then, including training in January, including the inter-departmental working group to support the staff, and hopefully, also with the...

I am confident in the work that was done in response to this incident by our staff, by the Department of Justice staff. That said, that doesn't mean that we can't still, being a new government and looking more broadly at correctional services and more broadly at the work that is done by all corrections staff, always strive to do better. I can say that there is going to be a workplace assessment done about safety and corrections this spring, and that that is, in fact, going to be external to the Department of Justice.

I am happy to commit and confirm that we will reach out to our legal counterparts in the other jurisdictions. We will reach out to stakeholders such as airlines, such as computer service providers. As far as public engagement, I think I would be a little more hesitant there in that that can mean a lot of different things depending on the nature of the bill. This change would involve a change to regulations. This is not a change that requires a legislative change; it is the Daylight Savings Time Regulations, I think, I'm not sure if that's quite right, so it's a fairly narrow change that would...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm glad I'm still the Minister responsible for "Justice" and not taking on the mantle of "Time." Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to confirm that staff within the Department of Justice are actively involved with their counterparts. We are keeping tabs of what's happening. We're aware of the progress that seems to be taking place in a lot of other jurisdictions, moving away from time changing. I'm not going to stand here today and say that we will take the lead, but I can say the department is right now quite active on this. If there's an opportunity to take the lead, then, we...

I will commit to getting a specific number to the Member. I don't have it offhand. I can acknowledge that, not only in our correctional facilities but in Corrections across Canada, there have been increases in the number of individuals who are off work as a result of psychological wellness, psychological injury. That is a growing concern. I am assured, somewhat fortunately, although there is work to be done, that Corrections staff are engaged on a national level with their counterparts to consider this issue, to consider what can be done to better support Corrections staff in the Northwest...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had confirmed quite specifically that it was an external contractor, external to the Department of Justice, but I don't have the name. I will have to confirm that. I would expect that it would come back to me. As far as releasing it thereafter, I would first of all need to know the extent of it. To the extent that it's a specific HR matter, I would be hesitant to release names that are involving HR. To the extent that it's a broader assessment, I expect that that can much more generally be released to the relevant committee. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.