Thank you, Mr. Speaker

Standing Committee’s Observations and Recommendations

With respect to facility management, the standing committee acknowledges the Auditor General’s finding that the department has assessed current and future needs and developed plans to meet them. The standing committee recognizes this achievement as a bright spot in an otherwise damning report and recognizes the department’s achievement in this regard.

The standing committee focused on five areas related to facility management: Dynamic supervision; contraband; overtime; segregation; and, overall facility management.

Dynamic Supervision

The department advised the OAG that the practice of mixing inmates of varying security levels together, as well as the practice of mixing sentenced and remanded inmates was intentional and integral to its approach to inmate management. The standing committee is very concerned by this.

The standing committee recognizes that space constraints limit the degree to which inmates of differing security levels can be separated, however, the committee is not persuaded that the principle of dynamic supervision mitigates the risks of combining these inmates. Although paragraph 120 in the Auditor General’s report is specific to concerns regarding the inadequacy of staffing, it describes a situation in which dynamic supervision was not able to prevent inmates from becoming violent with one another.

Dynamic supervision calls for regular interaction between inmates and correctional officers in order to monitor inmate behaviour and ensure their safety. The OAG found that correctional officers lacked formal guidance on the requirements of dynamic supervision and that, because training had not been adequately tracked, the department lacked assurance that all staff received adequate training.

The standing committee is not concerned with the principle of dynamic supervision, per se. However, the standing committee objects to the department’s characterization of this principle as a deliberate defence of the decision to mix inmates of varying sentences and security levels. Dynamic supervision does not require the mixing of inmates of varying sentences and security levels, nor does it adequately mitigate against the risks of doing so.

Contraband

As the OAG’s report indicates, contraband is an ongoing challenge at all correctional facilities. The OAG found that searches of the cells and common areas were not being done at the required daily frequency at either the North Slave or Fort Smith (male unit) facilities. This is a cause for concern.

In discussing the challenges around contraband, the deputy minister indicated that approximately 85 percent of contraband consists of unauthorized items such as food, pillows and magazines. She suggested that the department needs to do a better job of distinguishing true contraband (ie. intoxicants, weapons – items that pose a risk) from other unauthorized items. The standing committee was reminded by the Auditor General’s staff that even less risky contraband items can be used as “currency” to trade for true contraband.

The standing committee supports the OAG’s recommendations with respect to tracking and analyzing contraband, and encourages the department to take the necessary steps to ensure that all searches for contraband are conducted with the required frequency.

Overtime

The OAG’s report indicated that overtime costs at the North Slave facility increased by 59 percent from 2012-13 to 2013-14, from $950,000 to $1.5 million. This took place despite the fact that in 2010 the department requested and received $1.2 million to fund 12 correctional officer positions to reduce overtime at the facility. The report also revealed that in 2013-14 approximately one-third of staff at this facility worked more than 200 overtime hours (an average of 7.7 hours or one full working day per pay period).

As the OAG’s report suggests, overtime affects sick leave, absenteeism, staff fatigue, productivity and morale. As well, the costs associated with overtime may result in decreased availability of resources in other areas.

The standing committee supports the recommendations of the OAG with respect to overtime and encourages the department to determine an acceptable level of overtime in a correctional context and to monitor and manage overtime use in all of its correctional facilities.

Segregation

The standing committee is particularly concerned with the OAG’s findings on the use of administrative segregation. Disciplinary segregation is used when an offender is found guilty of violating the offender code of conduct. In such instances, segregation only takes place when it is ordered by a disciplinary board, once an offender’s case has been examined. In administrative segregation, no such examination or review takes place and the manager of a facility alone may make the decision to place an offender in segregation.

The standing committee observed that administrative segregation increases the risk that an inmate’s human rights might be violated. For this reason, it is especially concerning that the OAG found the North Slave Correctional Centre was not keeping adequate records of inmates in segregation.

The standing committee encourages the department to ensure that all correctional facilities in the Northwest Territories keep adequate records of inmates in segregation.

Overall Facility Management

The standing committee noted a common theme in the OAG’s findings with respect to almost all of the issues raised regarding facility management: problems arise or are made worse by of a lack of management oversight of staff. Failure to monitor employees to ensure that they understand the rules and are acting accordingly is a factor that has contributed to problems with dynamic supervision, contraband, overtime and segregation.

Recommendation 8

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Justice develop the processes and safeguards necessary to ensure that staff are knowledgeable about the rules they are required to enforce and that they have the training necessary to do their jobs effectively.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to now pass the floor over to my colleague Mr. Daryl Dolynny.