Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The indication we are receiving, although it is not specific to the master plan, is in nearly all the communities and regions that discussions are taking place about justice, corrections and courts. There is very strong support for development of community-based institutions and community-based programming. In relation to the master plan, I think what we will find, at least everything we have heard to date points to the fact that we will continue to provide support to the institutions that exist, but we will also complement that with the way we are reviewing the operations of corrections right now to see what resources we could throw to communities to help them develop proposals and then for us to find sufficient resources to fund proposals which would provide community-based institutions. For instance, land-based programming and community-based open facilities for young offenders and even adult offenders. As it suggests in the master plan, there has to be some coordination between the communities and the large facilities that we presently have. For instance, with adult offenders we do not have any resources allocated for half-way houses, for adults who are sentenced to correctional centres for a long period of time. We have no programs or facilities in place that would help them make the transition to go back and live in the communities. We do not have adequate resources or facilities developed for communities to take on the responsibility for young offenders, aside from just sending them out to a bush camp with a trapper here and there. We have no programs, no structured and well-resourced approach that we have developed yet with communities for that. That is where the work is going to be in the next year or so, trying to make those available because the communities are asking and because increasingly we are convinced that by working with communities and by us supporting it, the idea of having large centres continuing to operate institutions can be complementary with small community-based, land-based institutions and programs.
Stephen Kakfwi on Bill 17: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1993-94
In the Legislative Assembly on March 4th, 1993. See this statement in context.
Bill 17: Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1993-94
Item 18: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
March 3rd, 1993
Page 747
See context to find out what was said next.