Thank you, Mr. Chair. Maybe the better question is: on a per-shift basis, how do we deal with first aid response? Is there medical staff there, or is there a dedicated supervisor who has first aid training, something of that nature? How are we making sure that first aid is being addressed? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Debates of March 6th, 2018
This is page numbers 3639 – 3680 of the Hansard for the 18th Assembly, 3rd 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 going.
Topics
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Goldney
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Again, not getting into too much detail on the staffing component, I can provide the assurance that there is always somebody available with the training necessary to respond to first aid situations and recognizing that, for a good portion of the day, there are also nursing services available. Thank you.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Cory Vanthuyne Yellowknife North
Thank you, Mr. Chair. It is good to know. I want to move maybe a little bit into asking a bit about, from maybe a supervisory role or a managerial role, how we actually observe our officers' performance. Are there annual reviews? Are there some means by which we assess potential deficiencies or shortcomings amongst our officers and make sure that they are all brought up to the proper level of training? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Goldney
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, the supervisors are responsible for ensuring that performance is maintained and for the identification of deficiencies. I will note that we have struggles in getting our completion rate for the annual required performance reviews for employees. Some of this is just a reality of the shift work and the nature of our operations being dissimilar from other government jobs that have the benefit of easy computer access. It is something that we are working with the Department of Finance to improve. Absent the formal performance assessments that are required, the supervisors do keep track of the performance of those under them. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Cory Vanthuyne Yellowknife North
Thank you, Mr. Chair. As part of that, do we have any kind of identification of where someone might have, let's call it, a shortcoming of sorts? Is there an internal mentoring-type program of any kind where we have officers with more experience who are going to spend a shift with those with less experience? Is there any kind of that kind of mentoring, for lack of a better term, going on? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Goldney
Thank you, Mr. Chair. That is a factor considered in the design of the shift team. We do try to maintain that level of experience so we can have employees benefit from working closely with those who have had more experience. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Cory Vanthuyne Yellowknife North
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can officers request training? If an officer feels that they have particular shortcomings and they want to upgrade themselves, improve their skills, is there a way for them to make official requests, and will the department pay for them to have their training undertaken? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
March 5th, 2018
Goldney
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, we do allow officers to identify areas where they might want the benefit of additional training. That is provided as appropriate. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Cory Vanthuyne Yellowknife North
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Now, let's talk for a moment about the amount of staff available with respect to what you can tell us. There have been concerns that there have been a number of folks who have had to work double shifts, maybe in some instances even triple shifts. There should have been or could have been times when call-outs could have been made to have off-duty officers come in and take on some of those shifts. Are there reasons why we ask people to do double shifts when we have officers in waiting who might be able to come on with fresh minds, feeling rested, could come on and do a shift? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Louis Sebert Thebacha
Yes. Certainly, we have identified that as an issue, which, of course, led to, apart from possible employee burnout, a bit of a jump up in our overtime amounts. We are trying to address that. We are hoping that is in process right now. Thank you.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Cory Vanthuyne Yellowknife North
I only have a few seconds left. I just want to go over to communications for a moment. It seems to me, like I mentioned earlier, that a lot of the concerns that have been raised are directly related to communications. It seems that there also is a lack of a plan. Does the actual North Slave Correctional Institute or the department have an actual communications plan? I am not saying, "will do a better job." I am asking: is there an actual communications plan that has to be followed? This is an institute that places orders often. How do we get from managerial level to supervisory level, down to officer level, and back up efficiently and effectively? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
The Chair R.J. Simpson
Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Your time has expired, but I will allow the department to respond. Mr. Goldney.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Goldney
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Apologies for leaving the impression in perhaps my earlier responses that there wasn't a plan in place. In fact, there was a work plan developed to respond to some of the concerns that we were hearing from corrections officers. I wouldn't call the policies and procedures that we have put in place in response to that a communications plan, but there has been attention given to improvements to our procedures in the way we communicate with our officers. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
The Chair R.J. Simpson
Thank you. Justice, corrections, operations expenditure summary, activity total, $36,789,000. Does committee agree?
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Some Hon. Members
Agreed.