EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
We have a very intensive training program. I guess there are 10 or 11 modules with 400 and something hours of training that they receive.
We do encourage people that working in corrections is a career.
One of the difficulties that we have and if you look at the different facilities, Rankin Inlet folks are more receptive to working there and even at the Makigiarvik. The Baffin Correctional Centre, of course, has got a negative public perception. Anyone that has ever been in that facility will realize or understand that it’s a dangerous facility for work for the corrections officers and inmates.
Of course we’re hopeful over the next four years in 2021, when the upgraded facility is open, it will be a facility that could be more conducive to a career in corrections.
I think we’re also talking to Nunavut Arctic Collage about possibly having a two-year corrections training program based on our Nunavut practices.
We do know that the numbers are low, but hopefully that will change in time. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Yes, I agree. I think it’s quite a complex thing to try to figure out.
In 2015 the government issued a request for proposals and it was titled, “Organizational Review, Nunavut Corrections Staffing, Overtime and Other.”
According to the terms of reference, the successful proponent would conduct an assessment to determine if the division’s current staffing, overtime and organizational models meet the current demand for services.
According to the government’s website, the contract for this review was awarded to Aarluk Consulting and that was awarded on August 6, 2015.
Can you indicate if this review has been completed to date and, if so, what were the results?
That report was only part of the review. They completed a report, but there is still an ongoing review of the whole corrections and corrections staffing.
I appreciate what the minister says, but what did the report say in regard to staffing and overtime? That was a big issue that was brought forward to this House. It was something that was a concern to the regular MLAs especially.
We saw that the overtime amounts for Justice and I think a lot of that was because of corrections. It was a little over $3 million. What did the report say about that?
The report made 49 recommendations; three for an organizational staff review; corrections organizational structure, workforce training program, and human resources. There are a whole bunch of recommendations. What it came down to ultimately in the end was the Corrections Division needs to hire a lot more corrections officers.
We have to continue our review to find some efficiency before we come back in the House here and say, “We need all these new corrections officers to fulfill the recommendations as part of this report and review.”
You can anticipate that there will be more.
In future years we will be approaching, through our business plan and our main estimates, looking for additional PYs in corrections.
Can the minister tell us, in regard to corrections across Nunavut, how many vacant positions you have in terms of corrections alone?
Where you have correctional officers, how many people are having to do double shifts because you don’t have the staff to cover the shifts?
Hon. Keith Peterson: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank Ms. Angnakak for bearing with me.
If you go to the Baffin Correctional Centre… .
I just want to make sure that I give you the correct information.
There are 11 vacancies at the Baffin Correctional Centre, 6 at the Makigiarvik, 6 at young offenders, 1 at the Ilavut Centre in Kugluktuk, 11 at the Kivalliq centre, 2 at the women’s centre, and 1 at the Utaqqivik facility here in Iqaluit.
I’m going to assume that those vacant positions are equalling to more and more overtime and more and more costs to the department.
Yes, of course there is more overtime.
What we have been trying to do now in the last several months is to address the overtime rather than call whoever is first on the list. Instead of going by seniority, we go by what we call relief workers to come in and provide short-term employment for two to three days.
Hopefully it will reduce the overtime.
We just signed a new collective agreement with the NEU. The workweek has gone from 37.5 hours to 42 and that should help.
It’s too early to say, but it will make the workweek longer and hopefully reduce the overtime.
Ms, Angnakak: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I guess it’s too early to ask you about the 2016-17 overtime numbers.
I don’t think we have the actual detailed numbers for overtime right now. Yes, it’s probably too early.
I want to go to something else just to ask a few questions.
I read with interest your 2015-16 annual report of the Division of Corrections, Department of Justice. It goes in there about reducing the rate of reoffending.
It says in here that “…Nunavut Corrections does not have a definition for recidivism,” which I can’t say because it’s a very hard word to say. I’m wondering if you can talk about that a little bit, about why there is no definition and why it’s so complicated.
One of the problems of recidivism, we’re finding in our own jurisdiction but it’s similar in other jurisdictions, is that an individual may be back in jail, but it might not be the same offence. If they’re in there for a break and enter and they serve their time, and then they’re back in jail but this time it’s for a sexual offence, that’s two different offences, but it’s the same individual.
Different jurisdictions have to work around that and figure out how they’re going to calculate the recidivism or reoffending or re-contact. That’s what we’re struggling with right now.
Plus one of our problems right now or issues is that we haven’t been doing a very good job over the years of tracking a lot of this.
We’re going to be doing that and building up a database so that we could track year over year and over time.
If we were going to look at, instead of tracking what type of crime somebody has committed, but maybe track the individual themselves, they may have committed different crimes. Do you have that kind of information where you’re tracking people and how many of those are reoffending?
We can track individuals returning to the facility.
For example, at the Baffin Correctional Centre the rate of offenders returning has been calculated at roughly 70 percent, but again, it could be for a variety of reasons. It may not be for the same offence, but it could be for different offences over a period of five years or longer.
That’s a very high number for us.
How is that in relation to other jurisdictions across Canada?
In talking to other jurisdictions or comparing, there is high…now I’m struggling with the word…recidivism across Canada, but we just don’t know what the reasons are right now.
Am I to assume then that this has never been looked into?
It’s 70 percent. That’s really high to me and a red flag would go up.
I would have assumed I guess that you would have some idea on why we can’t reach those that are reoffending at such a high rate. What is it that they need?
What is it that we’re not giving them or their family?
I think part of it is the program we could offer in the facilities and then what kind of aftercare we’re going to offer after people are released from jail.
Again, those kinds of issues will be considered in the new Corrections Act. That’s the kind of stuff we’re going to be looking at.
The Corrections Act we’re currently operating under is from the Northwest Territories. It’s from 1973.
With our new Corrections Act we can consider all these issues that we can use to provide better support in jail like programming, Inuit societal values, using the elders in the corrections system, and then support back in the communities when they’re released.
I wonder if anybody has ever gone back to the reoffender and asked him or her why they keep reoffending all the time.
I thank Ms. Angnakak. It’s a good question.
I don’t actually know if that’s something that has been done, but I’m sure through counselling people would open up. Again, a lot of information is protected by access to information.
When someone tells you something, you can’t just throw it in a report and then use it.
We are considering how we can utilize people who have been in jail or correctional facilities and our community crime prevention plans.
When they’re released and they return to their communities, we can use what they have learned or some of their ideas on how we can help people who are being returned to the community after they’re released in the coming years.
Ms. Angnakak: I would like to ask one more question on this topic before I go on to something else.
Has there ever been a case where a reoffender has turned around and has changed his or her way and they actually work at corrections?
You hear about some stories, and I don’t know about in Nunavut, but you hear of stories where people have really turned around their lives and were able to offer some real support to others going through a similar lifestyle.
Do you have anything like that that has happened?
Is that something that maybe the department would be open to looking into?
Although I haven’t met this individual personally, a year or two ago or maybe longer a fellow named Tony was interviewed.
There’s a show, Back from the Brink, where he used his knowledge and experience and he went back and talked to groups and individuals in schools and elsewhere, “This is what I learned and here’s what you need to do so that you don’t have to follow in my tracks.” It was well quite well received from what I understand.
There is a success story and a very public success story.
There may be other success stories, but they may not be so public.
I think it would be worthwhile to go and seek him out and see if he knows of some other people and have some kind of round-table discussion because these are high numbers.
Maybe that’s something you can do that is different than what’s being or maybe it’s being done.
I don’t know. In my mind, to me it would seem worthwhile to ask him.
I want to just address segregation practices at the BCC.
Your department had indicated in 2015 that pending results of a legal analysis, it was anticipated that an enhanced supervision placement would be piloted at the BCC, and that was in the fall of 2015. Can you confirm if this enhanced supervision placement has been piloted and can you indicate if this pilot was successful?
I apologize to Ms. Angnakak. We don’t have that information here.
Otherwise I would love to be able to respond with an answer.
I’ve got a little over a minute, so I could take my time. Let’s try another question.
On November 8, 2016 you tabled the 2015-16 Annual Report for the Division of Corrections, which we have in front of us here.
This report indicated that “There was a noticeable decline in the use of correctional facilities outside of Nunavut…as a result of the completion of the mould remediation at BCC and the opening of Makigiarvik,” which is good news to hear. How many Nunavut inmates are currently housed in facilities outside of the territory?
That should be an easy answer for you, Mr. Peterson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I am happy to say that it is an easy answer. 19.
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you very much. (interpretation ends) Following the list of names.
Justice. Corrections. Following my list of names, Mr. Okalik.
I would like to ask first of all about corrections if there is an Inuk manager or director in any of the correctional facilities.
There is an intern in the Rankin Inlet facility.
I met the individual last summer.
When his training is complete, then he would take over.
What about the other facilities, as there are quite a number of correctional facilities, and what types of plans are you contemplating?
In reading your business plans, it doesn’t mention any promotion of Inuit into the higher ranks.
This aspect doesn’t seem to be included, especially in light of the fact that Inuit make up the majority of incarcerated prisoners.
Will this be part of your plans?
It’s not a new issue. It has been an issue for many years.
Again, we want to promote corrections as a career. We would support and encourage any Inuit corrections officers who want to move up through the ranks.
Again, it’s part and parcel of our overall GN Human Resource Strategy to identify individuals who want to receive management training or career training in a chosen profession, and corrections would be no different.
The Corrections Act is going to be geared more toward Inuit culture and if that’s the case, then you will need people knowledgeable about Inuit culture.
People like that should be in management so that the new Corrections Act can be properly applied.
Can you push to have more Inuit trained in the higher ranks?
I thank Mr. Okalik for the question and comment.
Yes, certainly it only makes sense that we do that, the new Corrections Act, and then have persons from Nunavut who understand the communities, who have lived up here and grew up here. It makes good sense.
Again, we have to encourage individuals to enter that profession because it’s a very challenging profession. It’s not an easy job and there is a lot of stress in those positions.
In just looking at the numbers for stress leave and sick leave, it can be very stressful.
You’ve got to get people to be interested in that career and then provide them with proper training.
As I mentioned to Ms. Angnakak, our officials are considering working with Nunavut Arctic College to actually develop a corrections training program so that you can actually go and attend a course for two or three years, and then come out with all the training needed to understand that job.
It’s not just being an individual who is hired without any background or any training, going into the job and you don’t know how to be able to interact with difficult situations. Every day there are very challenging situations.
I have read the reports. I’m sure some of my colleagues have read the reports. It’s a very challenging position.
Certainly what we want to do is have persons from Nunavut, Nunavummiut, to be in corrections, running the facilities, and offering programs and counselling in the facility so that when people are released into the communities, they’re released with possibly skills, a better understanding of what got them into trouble, and hopefully they don’t reoffend or become one of those re-contact or recidivism individuals.
We all know that Inuit will not be appointed to the positions at corrections, especially when they’re fewer than those already working there.
Perhaps more training can be provided to existing staff on Inuit cultural issues and get orientation on trauma experienced by Inuit.
I’m sure the guards can be provided with more training to increase their awareness of what Inuit inmates have gone through.
I believe that it does occur. Now we do provide training.
Corrections has, I believe, 10 modules and 400 hours plus of training and that includes training in cultural, traditional and IQ values.
I was very happy when I went to tour the facility in Rankin Inlet that unilingual English-speaking people were taking an Inuktitut language training course.
Perhaps you can provide more Inuktitut training for the correctional guards so that they can communicate with the inmates.
I had an opportunity last summer to tour that facility. It’s like night and day between the facility in Rankin Inlet and what we see out at the BCC, but hopefully when that facility out here is upgraded, it would be more conducive to attracting individuals to work in corrections.
Of course, as I indicated earlier, we do include an Inuit cultural awareness component in our training and we could encourage corrections through our corrections officials to offer it as part of the additional training with some language training so that they can communicate with the inmates.
I would like to see all these things occur in the future.
No, I just thought of one thing because Mr. Okalik made me… . When you were talking about the Rankin Inlet healing facility, Mr. Friesen, I think, is doing a very good job here.
Maybe he is somebody that you can bring here to make it the same over here so that we have the opportunities where we can have the same type of services happen over here.
He would probably be a very good person help make that happen.
I thank Ms. Angnakak for the suggestion.
I don’t have too many questions, but I’ll start on… .
I think it might have been touched up on, but can the minister describe some specific supports that are provided to individuals in their reintegration into the community once they have been released from a correctional facility?
It has only been recently where Community Corrections did this a few months ago, actually in December, where they launched a discharge and release plan for persons who were being released from custody back into communities and they were on an active probation order. I don’t know what would be in the discharge and release plan, but presumably it would be pertinent to the individual. Not every individual will have the same discharge and release plan, but it would provide them with a continuum of care when they’re back in their community.
With that plan, I guess it’s like a template with steps or that sort of thing. You mentioned something about the plan being worked on in December recently. Can you share it in the House?
Those discharge and release plans will be individual plans. It would depend on their circumstances.
It would also depend on what community they’re returning to because not all communities have the same level of services back in their communities, such as wellness programs or addictions services or mental health services.
Most communities have justice committees, so those committees would work with the individual if they were released.
I liked what Ms. Angnakak was saying too about possibly looking at previous inmates that have turned their life around. I have seen that film, the documentary, Tony Back from the Brink, and it’s about this guy. I believe he’s from Clyde River.
He ended up working with the Ilisaqsivik Society and giving back to the community and trying to be a role model to other people that might be on the wrong path.
Going back, I wanted to talk about this final report by the Division of Corrections. This talks quite a bit, first of all, about contraband and incidents of contraband and that sort of thing.
There was a chart towards the back where it showed… .
It’s Table 7 of Appendix B and it shows the different types of contraband or incidents.
Can the minister say what happens in these instances once an inmate or in some cases a visitor trying to visit an inmate is found with contraband?
When I read this report, I have to say I was pretty surprised with the amount of contraband that can get into a facility.
I remember years ago when I was the Minister of Justice earlier, I had asked about it.
There used to be a drug sniffing dog called Jack. They were telling me about drugs in the BCC and I asked, “Did you ever bring Jack in?” They told me they did.
The poor dog, I guess, was just overwhelmed by the drugs and he got sent south and reassigned to, I think, the Canada border agency or something.
That’s what they told me.
Anyway there were a lot of drugs in there getting in and out of the facility.
It’s amazing how they do it. They can drill a hole through the wall and squeeze it through or put it under the fence when they’re out in the bullpen there.
Of course when visitors come there, they’re checked and as much as possible they’re asked questions.
If an inmate is found to have drugs, then their privileges could be taken away or they could be put in segregation depending on how serious it is.
Moving along on to Table 9 on page 23 of the report, Appendix C, IT talks about segregation placements.
I noted that the BCC, there’s a little asterisks on it saying that “There were 37 segregation stays in BCC that were documented but no reason was provided, this number is not reflected in the above data.” Can the minister explain this chart and that little asterisk?
Could Mr. Joanasie clarify what page he is referring to and the chart again?
It’s on page 23, right at the end, Appendix C, Table 9.
I have to plead ignorance on this one.
I don’t have an explanation why that asterisk has segregation stays in the BCC that were documented, but no reason was provided.
I apologize for that, Mr. Chairman.
When it says it was “…documented, but no reason provided,” is that standard practice for correctional officers if they’re going to put someone into segregation or do you always have to provide a reason?
There is a requirement to document for the record the reasons for segregation.
We believe it was probably a recordkeeping error that led to this “no reason provided.”
It’s not a standard practice. That’s the answer.
Ms. Angnakak asked about how many inmates are currently housed outside of the territory.
I’m on page 18 of the same report. Table 1 shows the overall average counts and peaks from 2015-16. The minister said that there are 19 inmates currently outside of the territory, which is an all-time low, if I can compare it to that chart.
Can the minister state what the current numbers are for the other correctional facilities?
Since 2008-09 there has been significant improvement in facilities.
In 2009 I recall they had women in the BCC with men, but in a separate pod.
That led to overcrowding,
Then we built the women’s’ correctional facility, then we eventually built the Rankin Inlet Healing Facility, and then we built the Makigiarvik.
We have added facilities, which allowed us not to have to send people to the North Slave Correctional Centre in Yellowknife.
I remember that used to be $266.67 a day. It was like $100,000 per inmate per year.
It cost us $4 million just to house inmates in these other facilities, and then we had agreements with Ontario and Alberta. We made significant improvements.
I remember touring some facilities in Ontario in 2009 where I met fellows from Nunavut. In fact I met a lot of my constituents at one of the facilities. We had almost like a constituent meeting, “Hi, Keith.
How are you doing? Tell my mom and dad that I’m doing okay.” Someone mentioned earlier about talking to the individuals.
They were telling me, “If we’re going to serve a sentence, we would like to serve our sentence in Nunavut.”
We have added these facilities and then with the new facility that will come on stream in a few years, it will really enhance our facilities and continuum of care.
To answer your question, in the Baffin Correctional Centre, as of March 3, in remand we had 23 individuals, sentenced there are 25. At the Makigiarvik there is 17 on remand and 19 are sentenced. At the Rankin Inlet Healing Facility 16 on remand and 11 on sentence.
The Kugluktuk Ilavut Centre, there are three persons there. Utaqqivik here in Iqaluit there are 11.
The Nunavut Women’s Correctional Centre there are seven. In outpost camps there are three. There are 135 in our facilities in Nunavut as of March 3.
Mr. Joanasie: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Sorry.
Did he include the young offenders as well or did I just miss it?
If he didn’t, can he be kind to share that?
When Ms. Angnakak asked of the 19 inmates outside of Nunavut, can the minister state where they are located?
They are located in the Northwest Territories, Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta.
Mr. Joanasie: Is there a breakdown between the provinces?
I have to correct the earlier number now. I’m just reading it.
We actually have 20 incarcerated in other jurisdictions, not 19; eight are in the Northwest Territories.
In the past we used to have upwards of 30 to 40, so it’s significantly lower.
In Ontario there are 11 and in the past we would have upwards of 30.
Currently it says in British Columbia and Alberta there’s only one in the two provinces.
That’s 21; 8, 11, 1, and 1.
I was going to ask too what the department gets charged for. I guess it’s a daily rate. Is it a daily rate or how is that cost agreed to between Nunavut and the other jurisdiction?
Just to go back to Alberta and BC, between the two provinces, there’s only one, but we have agreements with both provinces.
We have to send people, but currently there’s only one between the two provinces.
In the Northwest Territories the daily rate is $300.76 per day.