Debates of October 25, 2004 (day 27)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don’t know what to pursue today, maybe I’ll just continue on with my Member’s statement. To the Minister of Justice, Mr. Speaker, on the issue surrounding low morale problems and high vacancy rate and high overtime and such, I see two problems there. One is that I don’t think there’s recognition on the part of the Minister, he’s never admitted or acknowledged that there is any kind of problem and the more he says that, the more our phone lines and our e-mails and everything is burning up because people are getting really, really frustrated. The second thing is the more we ask questions to the Minister and the department about these problems, the answer keeps coming back saying well, it’s because there is a transition going on at the centre and whenever there is transition there are problems with change. That seems to not be the one that people are accepting either. They don’t believe that is the problem. They have no problem accepting that. It’s a whole lot of things. Mr. Speaker, one thing that keeps coming up is the fact that the warden of the correctional centre is related to a senior manager in the department and I’m very uncomfortable with this idea. This is a very small town and these are very good people, I’m sure they are doing a good job. I want to know from the Minister, to assure the people out there, what steps have been taken to ensure that there’s no direct supervisory link. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister of Justice, the Honourable Mr. Dent.

Return To Question 294-15(3): Issues At North Slave Correctional Centre

Mr. Speaker, I am not prepared to address that kind of question in this House. I would submit to you, Mr. Speaker, that this issue has been addressed in this House where a person is named in this House who has no possibility of representing themselves here, and I believe that in the past the Speaker has ruled that that is not admissible. I believe that this is the same situation, because we have now identified two individuals very clearly and they have no way of addressing that in this House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The Chair will remind Members to not make reference to specific individuals in the House who are not here. The Chair did think that that question was slightly not related to the individuals in particular but, Ms. Lee, I will allow you a supplementary.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I totally appreciate what the Minister is saying and it is something that I have been thinking about for many months, many weeks now. It is true; I am giving the Minister an opportunity to explain what is happening in the department. It hasn’t anything to do with the individuals. I am telling the Minister that there are concerns, and I want him to explain to the House what he has done as Minister of Justice to make sure that all is in good order. It’s true; those two employees can’t explain themselves. I’m giving the Minister an opportunity to explain that everything is fine and that there are measures in place so that relatives are not reporting to each other and I think that’s important. We live in a…

What is your question, Ms. Lee? I didn’t hear a question there, Ms. Lee. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 294-15(3): Issues At North Slave Correctional Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question was what has the Minister done as a Minister to make sure that there is no perception or occurrence of anything wrong going on? I think he could explain that because it’s his department, it’s his employees…

Thank you, Ms. Lee, there was a question there. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 294-15(3): Issues At North Slave Correctional Centre

Mr. Speaker, I have outlined on many occasions in this House that there is an independent review of human resource practices that has been undertaken by corporate human resources to examine the practices across the Department of Justice. That will be completed within the next couple of weeks and that will identify whether or not there are any systemic problems with human resources in the department, particularly within corrections. If they identify any problems -- and I said if they identify any problems -- then the department will move to address them. At this point, Mr. Speaker, I have no inside knowledge that there are problems. I believe that the issues are being raised by individuals, and I do believe that a majority of the staff in corrections are satisfied with their jobs and the way in which the department is running. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Final supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 294-15(3): Issues At North Slave Correctional Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m not sure that this issue can be explained by a review. I really would think that it would be better for the Minister to explain what sorts of steps are in place to make sure that these two people can do their jobs independently and not be accused of interference, because I think that would be in their benefit as well. The second thing, Mr. Speaker, he talked about an internal review…

Thank you, Ms. Lee. You keep referring to two individuals. The Chair is going to rule that question out of order.

---Ruled Out of Order

Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Villeneuve.