Thanks to the Minister for that response. I noticed that there was a reference made to the programming. Can the Minister provide some examples of the types of programming that is available to the inmates of the North Slave Correctional Centre?

Within all of our facilities, we have a number of programming opportunities available to inmates. That's true both here and in the facilities outside Yellowknife. They are constantly looking at and evaluating programs and rolling out new ones. They have recently enhanced the programs to deal with those inmates that have short sentences. They are set up on a modular basis so they can be continued outside of the facility.

To give you some idea of some of the programs that we are offering, they are the following: high school exam preparation, trades exam preparation, assistance with pursuing and registration into post-secondary courses by outside institutions, offering embedded essential skills training, Northern Leadership Program, and Starting Role In Business. There are quite a number of programs that are being offered. These programs are being constantly upgraded and changed as needs change.

One of the concerns raised to me a number of times by constituents who are unfortunately in the institution: can the Minister update the House on when inmates will be once again able to access the outdoor recreational facility? I understand there was quite a large investment made in that piece of property.

Yes, the number is correct that access to the outdoor recreation has been restricted since the incident of our inmate escape in August of 2016. In the interim, the traditional liaison counsellor has been continuing programming in the indoor culture room and areas within the facility designated for this purpose.

As I previously mentioned in this House, there were some complications in the procurement process that required the department to look at alternatives. The problem was that the bids came in at a figure far in excess of what we were expecting, so I can't speak publicly about the security enhancements, but I am hopeful that soon that work will be completed. I'm hoping that will be resolved by this spring so that area of the facility can be used again by the inmates.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My last question is related to the staffing of the program or the facility. On the issue of staffing, can the Minister also tell us what steps have been taken to address the concerns raised by the staff of the North Slave Correctional Centre? Mahsi.

Yes, the Member opposite is quite correct. There were concerns raised by the staff. There were a number of concerns, including staffing and safety at the facility. I can assure you that these concerns are important to the staff and that safety is paramount among those concerns.

Management at the North Slave Correctional Centre has been conducting regular occupational health and safety meetings and joint consultation meetings with the staff. In addition, they have met with the union or the workers about these same concerns. Stemming and arising from these meetings, several things have been done: improved communication whereby staff have better access to meeting minutes and are involved in changes to policies and standing operating procedures, orientation for supervising inmate recreational activities. In 2017, training in the area of de-escalation techniques, violence prevention, and responsibility surrounding the use of force was delivered through the Corrections Northern Recruitment Training Program to new recruits. Planned training in the areas of crisis negotiations and rectifications, those are among the programs that we have instituted or are being continued at the facility to improve conditions that have been raised quite properly by both the inmates and staff. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls held its meeting here in Yellowknife and will continue to meet people across Canada. My question is to the Minister responsible for Justice: what is the role of the Northwest Territories Department of Justice in supporting, monitoring, and following up on the work of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls? Mahsi.

Masi. Minister of Justice.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The commission, of course, is an individual commission and does not have any employees within or from any of the territories. The department and this government does realize that violence against Indigenous women is a national crisis. This has been borne out by what we have heard from the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Inquiry.

We are assisting the GNWT with a dedicated family information liaison unit that is a research team to help the victims find relevant documents from across the country. We are assisting in that way. We are not part of the staff of the commission because, as I said, they have to be independent, but we are assisting. Thank you.

What is the status of the Northwest Territories Men's Healing Program? To the Minister of Justice, again.

As Members will recall, this program has been under new management since June of last year. I understand that the program is working quite successfully. There have been quite a few men who have indicated interest in the program, so there was a seamless delivery of the program as the new management took over last year, or rather, July.

How will this programming be enhanced in the coming year?

As I mentioned, there was a seamless delivery of the program as the new management took over, but that doesn't mean that we haven't been looking at improvements, so here are some of the improvements we are contemplating: we want to make the program more flexible so that men will be able to join the group as soon as they are ready and get back into the program should they drop out. The program is more connected to community programs, such as counselling, victim services; an enhanced screening and referral process ensures continuity of service for men who are not ready to join a group so they can be referred to other groups for assistance.

The programming is more connected to the programming that the Correction Service offers. A New Day is not appropriate for delivery in the correctional facility itself, so outreach is targeted to offenders who are being released and can then join the program. So those are some of the enhancements and improvements that we are making.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance recently announced the initiative to advance the idea of a historical case unit. I want to understand: would the Minister of the Department of Justice know what role that his department will play in basically going forward with that initiative and how perhaps that process could provide a level of support and assurances to families of missing persons? Mahsi.

Yes, I believe the Member opposite, Mr. Speaker, is referring to the unit within the RCMP that will be looking at historical cases. I can advise that we'll be working closely with the RCMP with respect to this matter. I meet with a commanding officer, Mr. Zettler, quarterly. This is an issue that I would certainly raise with him. Thank you.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier, my statement was on addictions and mental health and the impacts of accessibility to drugs and alcohol to the residents of Tuktoyaktuk after the opening of the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk highway. Mr. Speaker, my question to the Minister is: can the Minister provide a status update of the development of the addictions recovery action plan? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, some initial activities to develop the mental health and addictions recovery action plan are under way. We're compiling key findings. We're looking forward to seeing the report from committee on suggestions of things that we need to do better. We're pulling together best practices from around other jurisdictions to help inform further discussion. We've also put together, or we're in the process of putting together, an interdepartmental working group of social envelope departments as well as the NWT Health and Social Services Authority in the Tlicho Community Services Agency. It's our expectation or intention to engage with members of the public and NGO partners as well as Indigenous governments by inviting them to provide feedback on the initial document that will be produced. We're also in the process right now of developing an engagement plan to help us move through this entire process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the update. Mr. Speaker, my second question to the Minister is: what kind of actions will the plan propose to address unique needs of small communities, especially the ones like Tuktoyaktuk are facing and intense rapid change to the community?

I don't want to presuppose on the conclusions that will come out of the work that's being done. I do know that the standing committee will be making a number of recommendations. Many of those are focused on the information that they heard during the tour. We hope to incorporate those types of things, but until the work is done I would hate to presuppose exactly what this document is going to look like. It's a little early days, but I am committed to working with the Member, Members from small communities, Members from the standing committees, and the public and other stakeholders.