Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about the need for people to go on the land who have done some pretty serious damages. The people and elders in our communities talk about that. I want to ask the Minister what the status is of the two communities who have made this request; Colville Lake for integrating people back into the communities and, of course, the community of Fort Good Hope, who wanted on-the-land treatment programs for people who are sent to our correctional institutes here.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Currently in the Northwest Territories we only have one wilderness camp and that’s Kozo Lake camp in the South Slave. We have had a request from Fort Good Hope to actually re-engage and reconfirm the camp that used to be in the Fort Good Hope or Sahtu area. We are having those discussions. We believe that these camps are important and provide a valuable service, and we would like to see it up and running. We still have to work out some details on the specifics for the Fort Good Hope wilderness camp but we are doing that, and hope to have some progress there. With respect to Colville Lake, it wasn’t a wilderness camp we were talking about. It was a reintegration program. We are very excited about this. This would be the first time that we’ve worked with the community and, to their credit, they were the ones who approached us and offered to work with us on a reintegration program.
We haven’t finalized any programs but I am happy to say that community members from Colville Lake recently met with some inmates from Colville Lake in the North Slave correctional facility and they were very supportive in finding ways to help that individual reintegrate back into the community, including providing logs so that the person could build themselves a home. They agreed to work with the inmate to help him find employment in the community. They’ve worked with the inmate to have him engage with youth committees and work with youth in the community. They’ve also got a plan to have them engage in some traditional activities within the community and the area. We think this is a great foundation for building the reintegration plan with the community that they have talked about, and we are still eager to do that and will continue to move forward on that.
In the latest numbers that I have received from the department, it costs the Government of the Northwest Territories about $107,000 a year per inmate to keep them at one of our correctional centres here. I want to ask the Minister what it costs to have an on-the-land program. Do they have one yet in the Territories? What does it cost for having people on the land at that type of program?
I don’t have the exact numbers for housing inmates in our facilities, but the number the Member quoted sounds right. I will confirm that actual number for the cost over a year.
As far as the exact numbers for inmates who are taking advantage of this -- and we must remember that inmates aren’t required to go to wilderness camps, they have to express desire and an interest to go to the wilderness camps -- but I will confirm to the Member what the costs are per day, but also the whole program costs as well.
I believe the Minister’s willingness. When I sat with him in Colville Lake, people and good old people, he wanted to do something different and do something that would make sense to the Aboriginals who have hurt our communities and their people. I want to ask the Minister if there’s a possibility of possibly having some time to invite the Social Justice Committee members to go to Kozo Lake and look at that project, talk to the contractor and possibly talk to some of the people who are doing time there right now and see the benefits of on-the-land treatment programs for people in the North.
Anecdotally, we know, from speaking to some of the inmates who have attended wilderness camps, that their experience in these camps makes them better able to take advantage of other programs that may be offered in our facilities, both in treatment within the facility and outside. One thing we need to remember, and I’ve already mentioned it, is that it’s very important that inmates are actively involved in their case management discussions, which may include opportunities to go out to these camps.
Camp experience can also be very advantageous, if you will, because it helps individuals prepare to return to their communities. It helps them connect with family, connect to community supports, which is obviously essential when people are returning.
With respect to the Kozo Lake camp, which is the one camp that we do have a contract with today, I personally haven’t been there but I take the Member’s point that it may be beneficial for me, and maybe a member or two from committee, to visit this camp to get a sense of the valuable services that they can provide as far as helping us prepare inmates for reintegration back into their communities and avoid being repeat offenders.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s been estimated that 85 percent of crimes in the Northwest Territories are alcohol and/or drug related, and 90 percent of offenders in the Northwest Territories correctional facilities have addiction issues. A high percentage of these offenders and people in the correctional institutes are Aboriginal people.
What Aboriginal context, what type of Aboriginal programs do you have that are operating now in the correctional institutes that we can also possibly offer on-the-land programs?
We do know that a significant portion of the inmates within our facilities are suffering from either addictions or mental health issues. As we’ve talked about already, the camps are an opportunity to help people deal with some of their personal issues and, obviously, in the long-term, reintegrate back into society.
Within our facilities here in the Northwest Territories, we do have specific programming, traditional programming, as well as some alcohol and drug programs in the facilities to help those individuals when they’re ready to start dealing with some of those challenges so that we can help them return to their communities and stay out of the justice system in the future. There are a number of programs. I can provide the Member and committee with a list of the specific programs that are available within each of our facilities so that they have a better understanding.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
