Debates of March 2, 2005 (day 47)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Justice today. Mr. Speaker, the Premier shared with us a process whereby money gets approved in our system and had indicated that you can’t just add money back into budgets or spend money at will. It needs to go through a process to be voted on and to be debated and consulted on and so on. I would like to ask Minister Dent a question today, because I find it curious that cost overruns in one area results in, what I think to be, cuts in another area. I would like to ask Mr. Dent what process he went through whereby he secured the $1.5 million for the overruns for the operations for the North Slave Correctional Centre. Where did he get the money? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Return To Question 525-15(3): Cost Overruns At The North Slave Correctional Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I haven’t ever said that we had cost overruns at the North Slave Correctional Centre. The department didn’t seek supplementary funding for the operations. There will have been some money that would have been allocated from one resource to another, whether it was permanent employees to overtime, or permanent employees to casual, it would have been handled through the normal process. The overrun that has been referred to isn’t something that we have characterized as an overrun. We haven’t come to this House and sought supplementary appropriation for it. The department will be very close to its budget, the allotment that was provided by this House last year. At this point, I think there is a good likelihood that we will be within budget, although, as I said, it will be very close. Thank you.

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

Supplementary To Question 525-15(3): Cost Overruns At The North Slave Correctional Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, then I am led to believe -- and I hope the Minister can understand why I am a little sensitive about this subject of where we spend money, because of where we are needing to cut money, Mr. Speaker -- that the independent review on the North Slave Correctional Centre, that the Corrections Canada intervention at the North Slave Correctional Centre, the wrongful dismissal suits, the overtime, the paid leave, all these things were manageable within the existing budget of the North Slave Correctional Centre. That is amazing, considering that we have gutted the budgets for other facilities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 525-15(3): Cost Overruns At The North Slave Correctional Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Corrections Canada paid the entire cost for their staff to come up and work with our staff in the facility here. They feel that it is a good training opportunity for their staff to see how another operation works, as well. We sought the assistance from an experienced person in B.C. on the human resources side, and the corrections department in B.C. only asked that we pay 25 percent of his salary for his work with us, as well as his transportation costs.

We have gone out to find economic ways to accomplish things. There was always an expectation that in the move to the new facility, there would be a requirement for increased overtime and casual use, because you have to train people and you can’t train people without having extra staff on at times to make sure that the coverage is always there. Some of the overtime had been expected and, yes, we have been struggling to live within budget. Some of the cost-saving measures that I have outlined to the Member already included the reduced use of casuals in the North Slave facility, through moving all of the young offenders to Hay River for a period of time. Thank you.

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

Supplementary To Question 525-15(3): Cost Overruns At The North Slave Correctional Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, those are some fine contributions that we received from other jurisdictions and other governments, I guess. Although the Minister didn’t take the opportunity to respond to the assumption that the costs were in the $1.5 million range, could the Minister please commit to provide to this House if those extraordinary costs were due to the problems with efficiently running the North Slave Correctional Centre? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 525-15(3): Cost Overruns At The North Slave Correctional Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can reveal what is available. I know that, for instance, the FMBS has told us that we can’t reveal all of the numbers because, in many cases, they might indicate a specific person. I will take a look at what can be provided. I don’t think it should be difficult to get that information for the Member, because I believe that we have already provided a good part of this information, or as much as we can, to other Members in this House. Thank you.

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

Supplementary To Question 525-15(3): Cost Overruns At The North Slave Correctional Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just one final question. For the benefit of those people who work in the facilities in my community, could the Minister please confirm for us that the remand unit, the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre and the Dena K'onia facilities were run efficiently, effectively and in fact came in with their operations under budget? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 525-15(3): Cost Overruns At The North Slave Correctional Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the best of my knowledge the operations in Hay River were all run effectively and very close to on budget, if not under budget. Thank you very much.