Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Justice under the Auditor General’s Report of the Correction Facility of 2015, recommendation 42: “The Department of Justice should identify the needs…of its inmate population.” More importantly, I want to underline, “assess its rehabilitation programs…ensure that inmates have access to rehabilitation programs that reflect their needs and their risks.”
I understand that the department is initiating reviews of the directive that guide programs access and delivery, to be completed by the fall of 2015.
I want to ask the Minister, are wilderness camps and on-the-land programs part of this initial review through the directives that would support the on-the-land programs by this department?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister of Justice, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for his question. We remain committed, through the Department of Justice, to establishing the wilderness camps and the benefit to having those camps here in the Northwest Territories. I should state that in the budget, currently we have $787,000 earmarked. We’ve had some difficulty in trying to identify proponents that can deliver the on-the-land program that we envision. In the meantime, we continue to work with other departments that are involved and trying to find somebody in the Northwest Territories that we feel confident can deliver the type of programming that the Member talks about, and we fully intend on doing that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Also in the Auditor General’s report, under point 41 it talks about the closure of wilderness camps and it also talks about, at the same time, the expression of interest that Mr. Ramsay has indicated is provided as potential to reopen these camps in the Northwest Territories.
I want to ask the Minister, would he direct his department staff to try harder, with a winning attitude of yes, we will do what we can with our best capabilities to open these camps and look at the areas that need to be expanded to make sure that these camps are a success by providing the resources to these camps, rather than to say no, it won’t work here? Could I get that commitment from the Minister?
I’ve given that commitment in the past and I’ll give it again today, that we are committed to seeing the wilderness camps established here in the Northwest Territories. We’re going to continue to work with folks to ensure that that happens.
We had intended to issue an RFP this month, but after the expression of interest process and the discussions that we’ve had with respondents to that process, further changes to the design of the program is what are needed and what are required, and we’re currently working toward that. From the discussion with interested groups, we concluded that the Wilderness Program needs to be more flexible so that different community groups and organizations can be successful in providing that programming. Not everyone is in the same place or has the same interest when it comes to wilderness programming.
We also want to make changes to the approach in order to encourage more communities to become involved in this, recognizing that wilderness programming can help offenders prepare for a successful return to their home communities upon release. We will continue to work with the communities and leadership in those communities to build a program that reflects the needs of the participants and the program partners, taking the time to do this properly – and I’m a big proponent of that; if you’re going to do something, you have to make sure it’s done right – that we will have a successful program here in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
I want to ask the Minister if he would clearly state and entrench within this department that this is what needs to happen at his highest officials, to make the on-the-land programs a success and provide them with strong resources to make it, and look at the flexibility of having these programs, these camps in Fort Good Hope, Fort Smith, wherever their interests are.
I want to ask the Minister, as part of the review of these wilderness camps, is his department willing to look at providing training courses for these operators, because it certainly would be conducive to what they’re going to be doing in these wilderness camps.
We’ll continue to move on that path of getting a wilderness camp established here in the Northwest Territories. We will continue to work with partners, communities, leadership in the communities, as I mentioned earlier. I am committed. I know the department is committed to seeing this happen. We will find a proponent. The Member talks about training. We’ll work with somebody. We just have to find the right fit for the department. There are a number of safety and liability concerns, things of that nature. We have to ensure that it’s going to be done right, and we have to find the right fit for the department in a proponent.
We still are trying to make that fit and make that match, and hopefully soon we will have accomplished that. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
The Auditor General’s report, again, states that point 41 of the recommendations…the department said they will review the records, and that’s their marching orders. So, I wanted to state clearly that the directive, that the Minister would, through his review, look at the cost of camp operators, camps that pay a daily rate for the inmates. It has to be reasonable. They have to eat, also. You know, they’re up against a facility that also covers… You know, it’s a different operation at the Yellowknife Correctional Centre. So, I want to make sure that the camp operators, if they’re going to go through this agreement, they need to be sure that it’s going to be a success and that there’s a strong commitment from this Minister to make it a success.
Will the Minister ensure that his officials strongly get the marching orders that these camp facilities would be a success?
Having served on the other side of the House for eight years, the department did get the message loud and clear about the Auditor General’s report and the steps that we need to take in the area of wilderness camps. We are moving forward; we’re going to get a fit; we’re going to make it happen; and I’ve impressed upon the department to do just that. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
