Mr. Speaker, I have a return to written question asked by Ms. Lee on June 1, 2004, regarding overtime payment and vacancy rates at the North Slave Correctional Centre.

The Department of Justice receives quarterly reports on the number of vacancies at the North Slave Correctional Centre. For the 12-month period from June 2003 to June 2004, the number of correctional officer vacancies reported was as follows: June 2003, 10 vacancies; August 2003, 10 vacancies; November 2003, 12 vacancies; March 2004, eight vacancies; June 2004, seven vacancies.

As of September 30, 2004, there were seven vacancies. On October 4, 2004, 12 correctional officers began a five-week training program and are working at the centre as part of their training.

There are 50 correctional officer positions at the North Slave Correctional Centre. This number does not include supervisors, managers or program staff. In total there are 91 positions at the North Slave facility.

A total of $6,980,358 was paid to the entire staff at the North Slave Correctional Centre between June 1, 2003, and May 31, 2004. The amount of overtime paid during this period was $216,395.

Between June 1, 2004, and September 30, 2004, $243,913 was paid in overtime. The increase in overtime during this four-month period can be attributed to a number of factors. The move to the North Slave Correctional Centre required increased staffing levels while adapting to the new facility and providing time for employees to train on the new approach to supervision and interaction with offenders. The new facility requires an increased number of employees for each shift and there were delays due to appeals in hiring more employees.