Debates of February 25, 2005 (day 44)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on the issue of the Dene K’onia and the $1.5 million I believe the Minister said that it costs to operate the Dene K’onia, Mr. Speaker, he keeps referring, and so have other Members of the government kept referring, to a number of one. I believe that that open custody young offenders facility in Hay River can accommodate eight young people. He says there has recently only been one young offender accommodated there. I am going to ask the Minister is he going to stand by that number today in the House on the record? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Dent.

Return To Question 493-15(3): Capacity Of The Dene K’onia Young Offenders Facility

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When Mr. Villeneuve was asking about services to his communities, he was referring to inmates from the South Slave region. I was referring to the number of inmates in the facility from the South Slave region. That, in the past couple of weeks, has been one or two. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 493-15(3): Capacity Of The Dene K’onia Young Offenders Facility

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just for clarity, the Minister is not talking about one or two from Hay River. He’s talking about one or two from the entire South Slave region and going back, again, you can’t just use one day as a snapshot, he’s saying that going back historically there has only been one or two young offenders in that facility from the South Slave region. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 493-15(3): Capacity Of The Dene K’onia Young Offenders Facility

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Obviously numbers have fluctuated. Within the last year, the numbers have been quite reduced. It’s in the order of an average of between one and three, depending on the week. The numbers I reported were for the last couple of weeks. So, of course, it has fluctuated. The numbers that have been in Dene K’onia since March last year have ranged as high as six or seven at times, but they haven’t all been from the South Slave. A good number of the clients, probably a majority of the clients from the past year, have probably been from regions north of the lake. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 493-15(3): Capacity Of The Dene K’onia Young Offenders Facility

Mr. Speaker, would the Minister not agree that that is not unusual in terms of the territorial facilities that we have, such as River Ridge Territorial Treatment Centre and the Arctic Tern facility in Inuvik? As territorial facilities, it’s not unusual for there to be a group of people from the various regions. I understand why the Minister is making the point when he is referring to South Slave numbers, because he’s being asked by South Slave Members. In the context of the territorial facilities, is it not common to have people from all regions? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 493-15(3): Capacity Of The Dene K’onia Young Offenders Facility

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, it is common to have people from all regions, especially as we have reduced the numbers of facilities across the Territories. I guess the only point is that, on occasion, Members have made the point that we need to provide services close to home, as Mr. Villeneuve was doing. If we are going to follow that, then we have to take a look at what’s closest to home for people from Inuvik as well.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 493-15(3): Capacity Of The Dene K’onia Young Offenders Facility

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I still think it’s a red herring and it’s a cheap way of making a case, to keep referring to one or two young offenders in the facility down there when it has been almost at capacity for quite some time now, to justify a $1.5 million savings and keep referring to one or two. It’s just to throw it out there in a way that creates a misconception and it’s just a red herring. In fact, that facility has been well utilized in the past year and I would like the Minister to admit that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 493-15(3): Capacity Of The Dene K’onia Young Offenders Facility

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In fact, that facility has been the only facility that’s had male young offenders in it since March of this past year, so March 2004. The reason for doing that, Mr. Speaker, was to ensure that we placed all of the open custody young offenders in the one facility as a means of saving some money. We can’t close the facility in Yellowknife, it’s a dual facility, half of it is for secure custody and the other half is open custody, we can’t achieve the same level of savings. We did reduce the costs over the course of the last year by not utilizing the open custody section at the North Slave facility. So all of our open custody inmates have been kept at the Dene K’onia. At the end of the day, we can achieve a bigger savings by shutting down the one facility completely. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.