Has the Department of Housing considered giving it to Aurora College as an asset for them so they can include it in their programming as opposed to just giving it away to an organization?

That facility has been through the government process a number of times, to see if there was any interest within government.

This is the first real deal we’ve been able to sign, and it’s a lease arrangement that has a three-year life which could possibly be extended or evolved into ownership at some point. But we’re very glad to be able to report that we’ve finally got a paying tenant.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Well, again, I state that I’m pleased that it’s going to a training group. I didn’t realize we

had so many treatment centres that we had to get rid of one, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I want to know what the total cost has been for the number of years since we had it on the books. What was the total cost to maintain that facility while it’s been empty?

The facility, I believe, has been unoccupied since about 2003 or thereabouts. The O&M costs, I understand, currently are about $70,000 a year, and that doesn’t include the mortgage.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Oral questions, the honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, my questions today are for the

Minister of Justice. This gets back to my Member’s statement, where I was speaking of the collapsing of the deputy warden position at North Slave Correctional Centre, which happens to be in my riding of Kam Lake, and the fact that that position was collapsed. Now it’s going to be the responsibility of the sentencing administrator. There’s been much talk about the program delivery officers at that facility as well being let go.

I’d like to ask the Minister of Justice: what are the department’s plans going forward for program delivery at North Slave Correctional Centre?

Thank you, Mr.

Ramsay. The

honourable Minister responsible for Justice, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr.

Speaker.

There are proposed changes to the North Slave Correctional Centre and also the young offenders that we’re faced with. At the same time, there are no changes to the program delivery. We will continue to deliver those programs with the staff that we have at the centre.

Mr. Speaker, if you get rid of the program delivery officers and the deputy warden of programs, I’m wondering what expertise there is in the sentence administrator position and the managers. What experience do these folks have in delivering programs that are going to rehabilitate inmates so that our communities and our families can be safe?

We do have the expertise from within. We have one continuing staff member who has taken on the role of delivery officer. Also, the two current members whose positions are proposed for reduction do have the opportunity to

become the case officers, or case managers. So they will continue to deliver the programs at the centre.

Mr. Speaker, our communities being safe should be of paramount importance to the government. I’ve heard from folks who work at North Slave Correctional Centre, and a couple of the words they use are “directionless,” “leaderless.” There’s no direction there when it comes to programming. If you’re going to carry out the removal of the deputy warden of programs and the two program delivery officers, it’s absolutely going to be directionless.

I’d like to ask the Minister: can he produce evidence that the expertise is in-house to deliver the programs on a frequent basis and on a professional basis?

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Member’s discussing this particular area of concern for his riding. We will do our part as the Department of Justice to monitor the programs that are being delivered at the centre. Wherever there needs to be improvement, we’ll highlight that as well. Certainly we will continue to monitor the progress of the centre.

Final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to reiterate: I think community safety is of paramount importance. I want the Minister to tell me where the experience and the education and the professional credentials are at North Slave Correctional Centre so that people can deliver these programs effectively. I want to have some faith in those folks that are delivering these programs. If it’s a psychologist…. Like I said in my Member’s statement, it took three years to recruit a psychologist for that centre, and I don’t want this left to just anybody.

Interruption.

Now that we have the power back, we will continue. We were at Mr.

Ramsay.

Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr.

Speaker.

Safety is one of our top priorities as a department — safety of the inmates, also safety of the correctional officers and, as the Member alluded to, safety of the public. We’ll certainly do what we can. We do have a psychologist on hand to assist us with program delivery at this facility, and also the two individuals that are in there currently and also the third individual that does deliver the program. So we will continue to deliver the programs that have been delivered for a number of years, and we’ll certainly monitor that as well on a continuing basis. Mahsi.

The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The Hon. Premier, Mr. Roland.

Mr. Speaker, as we conduct ourselves in this Assembly, we would review any particular incidents that occur. We know, for example, there’s a process of being ready and available for Members during question period as well as Committee of the Whole, and overall conduct of Ministers. Yes, if there were an issue that came up, we would sit down and have a discussion and see where we could correct things, if that were the case.

Mr. Speaker, the Premier has been in this House as long as I have. It has been a commonly accepted practice, if not a rule, that members of Cabinet do not use this House as a forum to discuss their constituency issues. Is that the Premier’s understanding?

We know for a fact that Members that become Ministers are somewhat tied down to a process — what they can do — in trying to work on behalf of their constituency. But there’s still an avenue for Members to address issues in the House, whether it’s through Members’ statements or speaking to motions that may come up from time to time. We generally vet that to see where that may go and would reflect on that as we come out in the discussion.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Premier if there is any reasoning why, in his mind or that he knows of, it would have been a practice of this government for many years not to have Ministers use this House as a forum to promote the interests of their own personal constituencies.