Mr. Speaker, on the morning of August 10th, an individual escaped custody from the North Slave Correctional Centre and almost immediately this information was in the media, sending the community of Yellowknife into a sense of great unease. Through the commendable efforts of the RCMP, the individual was apprehended three days later, on the morning of August 13th. I applaud the efforts of our officers in “G” Division. They acted with great distinction in resolving this unprecedented incident in a peaceful manner. However, throughout the crisis the response from the Minister of Justice was lacklustre and failed to inspire confidence that this issue was of serious concern to Northerners. On the day of the incident, it was reported that this escape exploited the pre-existing gap in the physical security to facilitate the escape at the Centre and, more specifically, into my constituency of Kam Lake. I was pleased to hear that area used for the escape has been isolated and that necessary improvements are being made. It is unfortunate that it took an incident of this proportion to realize that this security gap existed, and this is a great disservice to our territorial peace officers.
Sheriffs, correctional officers and others put their lives on the line every day for the benefit of Northerners. It's crucial that we provide them with the equipment, training and facilities they need to ensure they can do their job safely and effectively. What our correctional officers go through every day in the course of their duties is something to be admired and not dismissed or trivialized. I'm deeply saddened to see media reports questioning the ability of our correctional officers to do their jobs when, in fact, the issue was with a previously unknown security gap at NSCC. It is up to the Minister to demonstrate his commitment to public safety by ensuring the integrity of our facilities so all Northerners know that this government stands behind our correctional staff.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister directed a critical incident review after this escape took place and now has recommendations to prevent such an incident from ever happening again. I now urge the Minister to release as much information as possible from the review so that my constituents, those who live a stone's throw away from the jail, know that their homes and families are safe. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.