Debates of October 14, 2004 (day 20)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister of Justice a number of questions today with regard to staff morale and other issues at the North Slave Correctional Centre. The first question I would like to ask the Minister is what steps since last spring when this situation was first outlined to the Minister, has he or his deputy taken to address the staff morale issue at North Slave Correctional Centre? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Minister of Justice, Mr. Dent.

Return To Question 215-15(3): Addressing Concerns At The North Slave Correctional Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there was some expectation that with the staffing of the new correctional centre, there would be some extra time required by people and that has come to pass. Staff training and staff workload during the transition to the new centre has disrupted routines and caused some problems. We are still working through that. At the beginning of this month, an additional 12 officers have started the training program and at the end of five weeks from the start of their training, they will be moving into full-time positions within the centre. We think that will do a lot to deal with some of the workload issues that have arisen. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Supplementary To Question 215-15(3): Addressing Concerns At The North Slave Correctional Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Minister, for your response. I will go back to the explanation that the Minister gave, which is fine and good, but the problems in staff morale existed well before the changeover to the new facility. His response didn’t really answer the question. What steps have been taken to address the issue of staff morale and also the issue of fair hiring practices at the North Slave Correctional Centre? I don’t think his response answered the question. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 215-15(3): Addressing Concerns At The North Slave Correctional Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Previously, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Ramsay didn’t ask a question about fair hiring practices, so I will answer that one first. I am satisfied that the hiring practices undertaken by members of the Department of Justice follow the government standard as set out by corporate human resources and by FMBS. Staffing is a process that is well supervised. The process is set out in the Collective Agreement and it is followed specifically as set out in the Collective Agreement. One of the reasons we’ve had to use so much overtime in the past while, is when the competition was held just prior to the opening of the new facility, the intent was to have the staff come on stream before the move to the new facility, but because of appeals on staffing there was a four-month delay before the positions were filled. So we have to follow the process, as set out under the Collective Agreement. I am satisfied that we are doing that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Supplementary To Question 215-15(3): Addressing Concerns At The North Slave Correctional Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, if the Minister is satisfied that fair hiring practices are underway at the North Slave Correctional Centre, I wonder why a full-scale internal human resource review is being conducted by one of our senior HR people with FMBS. Maybe he could suggest why that’s happening and maybe stand up and admit there are some serious concerns out there in terms of human resource management. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 215-15(3): Addressing Concerns At The North Slave Correctional Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when allegations are made that there is a problem, then it’s quite normal to look into them. I wouldn’t call it a full-scale review. I have never called it a review. We’ve asked corporate human resources in the Executive to provide assistance to examine the staffing processes and to make sure that the proper procedures are being followed and to make recommendations where change is needed and identify the strengths where we have those strengths. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Supplementary To Question 215-15(3): Addressing Concerns At North Slave Correctional Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will get back to the amount of overtime to employees at the North Slave Correctional Centre. For the period of one year, up until May 31, 2004, that amount was $216,395. Between June 1, 2004, and September 30, 2004, that amount was $243,913. Could the Minister explain why it is that his department, who knew for three years that they were moving into a new facility, wasn’t staffed up to the level that it had to be and didn’t take the measures that were necessary to not have to pay this amount of overtime? It’s ridiculous to think that in a four-month period we paid more than we did in an entire year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 215-15(3): Addressing Concerns At North Slave Correctional Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I indicated previously, corrections did try to staff up for the move. Unfortunately, the process, as it works in government, is sometimes time consuming to fill positions and they were not able to fill those positions prior to the move. That alone led to an increase in the use of overtime, as well as the increased numbers in staffing at the facility. The intention would have been to run another competition sooner had we been able to fill the positions, but because of the length of time the first one took, we’ve gotten behind. Why wasn’t staffing done earlier? Because FMB didn’t agree that the department should have the money in advance of having the facility open.

Oh!

It’s not a situation where the money was available. It was a situation where we didn’t have the money, so it couldn’t be done in advance.