There won’t be full coverage, but it’s not an everyday occurrence at Corrections. But certainly, that is one area that we did highlight as the Justice Department before we even went to cutting the vacant position. There wasn’t much weekend activity. Mahsi.
Debates of May 30th, 2008
This is page numbers 725 to 756 of the Hansard for the 16th Assembly, 2nd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was justice.
Topics
Main Estimates 2008–2009 Department Of Justice
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Main Estimates 2008–2009 Department Of Justice
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
David Ramsay Kam Lake
My fear is that if there is no coverage on the weekends, inmates are going to want to go to the hospital. If they need to go to the hospital, they are going to go to the hospital, and when they go to the hospital, there is going to have to be a guard or two guards with them when they go. Vacant position or not, I think we need to have coverage at that facility on the weekends.
Main Estimates 2008–2009 Department Of Justice
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Jackson Lafferty Monfwi
Certainly there are incidents at the Corrections. The avenue that, I guess, we’ll access will be at Stanton. But we will certainly continue to monitor that. Mahsi.
Main Estimates 2008–2009 Department Of Justice
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Main Estimates 2008–2009 Department Of Justice
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Jane Groenewegen Hay River South
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I had a couple of questions also on the nursing support services for the North Slave Correctional Centre but also for the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre. There is a proposal to reduce funding for these functions by the amount of $109,000. I have heard now that for North Slave it will be the elimination of a vacant position at the North Slave Correctional Centre. What is proposed to be eliminated in terms of service or people in the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre?
Main Estimates 2008–2009 Department Of Justice
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Main Estimates 2008–2009 Department Of Justice
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Cooper
There is one maintenance position, and it is the only position in that facility, so there is only one affected employee. It has been recommended to senior management that this could be done. The DPW looks after the more sophisticated and complicated repairs and maintenance that need to be done. The COs and the inmates can look after the more minor maintenance matters. We understand that there will be two retirements this summer, and the affected employee is almost certain to get one of those positions as a corrections officer.
Main Estimates 2008–2009 Department Of Justice
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Jane Groenewegen Hay River South
To my question, I am not clear. Is there any proposed change to the support at South Mackenzie Correctional Centre for nursing support?
Main Estimates 2008–2009 Department Of Justice
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Main Estimates 2008–2009 Department Of Justice
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Jackson Lafferty Monfwi
Mr. Chair, to answer the question for the Member, no, that is not part of the plan. Mahsi.
Main Estimates 2008–2009 Department Of Justice
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Jane Groenewegen Hay River South
Can the Minister please tell me: what is the anticipated savings from the
elimination of the vacant position at the North Slave Correctional Centre?
Main Estimates 2008–2009 Department Of Justice
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Main Estimates 2008–2009 Department Of Justice
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Jane Groenewegen Hay River South
So the savings of eliminating a vacant position for a nurse at the North Slave Correctional Centre…. Will there still be a nurse at the North Slave Correctional Centre working Monday to Friday?
Main Estimates 2008–2009 Department Of Justice
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Main Estimates 2008–2009 Department Of Justice
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Jane Groenewegen Hay River South
Why was the position vacant? How long has it been vacant, and why was it vacant?
Main Estimates 2008–2009 Department Of Justice
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Jackson Lafferty Monfwi
We don’t have that detailed information at this time, but we can certainly provide that to the Members. Mahsi.
Main Estimates 2008–2009 Department Of Justice
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Committee Motion 16-16(2) To Reinstate Funding In The Amount Of $109,000 For Nursing Positions At Ycc And Smcc (Committee Motion Carried)
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
May 29th, 2008
Jane Groenewegen Hay River South
I have a motion I’d like to move. We don’t have that information. It would be helpful to have that information in our deliberations here to help us make decisions. Since we don’t have that information, I’m going to make a motion.
I move that this committee strongly recommends that the government take immediate action to reinstate funding in the amount of…. We’re going to have to amend the motion here. Can I just get some clarification? Let me read the motion, and then I’ll find out if that needs to be changed.
I move that this committee strongly recommends that the government take immediate action to reinstate funding in the amount of $109,000 for the proposed elimination of nursing positions at the South Mackenzie and North Slave correctional centres under the Department of Justice, under Community Justice and Corrections.
Mr. Chairman, that’s my motion, and I’m now hearing from the Minister that there is no anticipated change at the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre and, in fact, the only position being eliminated is the one position at the North Slave Correctional Centre, for a savings of $87,000. Do we need to amend the motion, or what?
Committee Motion 16-16(2) To Reinstate Funding In The Amount Of $109,000 For Nursing Positions At Ycc And Smcc (Committee Motion Carried)
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
The Chair David Krutko
Excuse me. We do have a motion that’s been put on the floor. We have a motion. It’s been read out. We’ll circulate the
motion, and then we’ll deal with the motion. We’re circulating the motion.
To the motion, Ms. Bisaro.
Committee Motion 16-16(2) To Reinstate Funding In The Amount Of $109,000 For Nursing Positions At Ycc And Smcc (Committee Motion Carried)
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a question which might clarify the difficulty we’re having with the dollar amount. When the department numbers were discussed at the Social Programs Committee, we were given information that indicated that a nurse position at SMCC for a value of $22,000 was going to be reduced. If, as the Minister has advised, that position is not being reduced, could the department advise what that $22,000 reduction is related to? That might help us out here.
Committee Motion 16-16(2) To Reinstate Funding In The Amount Of $109,000 For Nursing Positions At Ycc And Smcc (Committee Motion Carried)
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
The Chair David Krutko
Again, we’re dealing with the motion. At this time we can only discuss the motion. You can’t ask questions to the Minister. I’d like to ask the mover of the motion, Mrs. Groenewegen, to the motion.
Committee Motion 16-16(2) To Reinstate Funding In The Amount Of $109,000 For Nursing Positions At Ycc And Smcc (Committee Motion Carried)
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Jane Groenewegen Hay River South
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To the motion, which is to recommend that the government reinstate the $109,000 for any proposed reductions to nursing services at the North Slave Correctional Centre and the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre, I would like to say that I believe these are important services, and they are there to ensure that the corrections officers are not having to extend their time dealing with health issues. I think that the funding for them should be reinstated.
Our motion is premised on information that we received from the Department of Justice. If that information has changed, so be it, but this is the information we have before us. This is the information that we’re going to vote on.
Committee Motion 16-16(2) To Reinstate Funding In The Amount Of $109,000 For Nursing Positions At Ycc And Smcc (Committee Motion Carried)
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Committee Motion 16-16(2) To Reinstate Funding In The Amount Of $109,000 For Nursing Positions At Ycc And Smcc (Committee Motion Carried)
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
An Honourable Member
Question.
Committee Motion 16-16(2) To Reinstate Funding In The Amount Of $109,000 For Nursing Positions At Ycc And Smcc (Committee Motion Carried)
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters