The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral question. Member for Hay River North.

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier this sitting the Minister of Justice spoke about the transition of SMCC, the correction centre there, to a therapeutic model based loosely on, or rather inspired, I guess, by the Guthrie House model in Victoria. I think this is one of the most exciting things that is happening right now in corrections, if not in the entire government of the NWT.

We realize that we can't just send people into jails and expect them to come out fully rehabilitated and ready to integrate into society, and so this is an attempt to address some of those issues. It's a short time frame that people are in correctional facilities in the territories, so that is one of the challenges. I just want to get some information from the Minister about how they are addressing that challenge.

I would like to know what type of education is going to be provided to inmates attending the therapeutic model in terms of getting them ready for work, because a lot of people, they just need basic work skills. They need to know that they have to get up on time to get to work. They need to know how to punch a time clock, and that kind of stuff. Can the Minister please explain, or give us some details about, the type of education that is going to be provided in the therapeutic model? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Minister of Justice.

Louis Sebert Thebacha

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are certain steps that have to be developed in the therapeutic community at SMCC and, of course, these are being worked on. There are such things as developing a classification criteria for residents, inclusion in the program, contingency planning, and off-grounds activities, developing lesson plans for orientation and pre-treatment healing, and also developing a structure for educational and locational programming. That is part of the therapeutic program. However, I do not have more details than that, but we do recognize this is an important part of the program.

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

I understand that things work slowly in government, so hopefully the next Member to ask that question can get a little more detail. Part of the therapeutic model or, rather, the Guthrie House model requires that inmates, once they leave, they have some sort of job, that they have somewhere to go and work. Because a lot of people have gone through that model, a lot of the former, I guess, "residents" they are called, have their own businesses and they employ a lot of the people who are released from the program. We do not have that in the territory yet, but we do have a lot of businesses willing to work with people who are fresh out of corrections, so what sort of relationships and maybe agreements with the private sector has the department pursued?

Louis Sebert Thebacha

I will seek some more detail on that question from the department. We do realize, of course, that that is an important part of the Guthrie House phased approach, is that, upon release, residents there have continued contact with outreach support, so what happens after the person gets released is clearly a part of the therapeutic community approach. I will attempt to provide more detail to the Member opposite.

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

One of the reasons that I think SMCC was chosen for this is because there is some private industry there. However, not everyone who is released is going to live in Hay River, so what type of supports are going to be provided for those people who go through this program in their home communities once they return?

Louis Sebert Thebacha

That will depend, of course, on the person, the resident, being released and the ability of his home community to provide those types of supports. It will likely be different depending on the resident being released, his character and background, and also the community to which he is going.

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It sounds like it's still to be determined, still a work in progress. Again, like I mentioned, Hay River was seen as a good place to try this model out because there is industry and there is access to all of the facilities that are needed. Was there consideration given to having a place where the inmates or residents, once they clear the program, can stay in Hay River, something like a halfway house but one that is a safe space where people can live so they do not have to go back to the conditions that brought them there in the first place? This way, the partnerships with industry can be developed in the community, and they can have access to all of those supports. Was this idea considered? Because I know there is an opportunity to do this in Hay River.

Louis Sebert Thebacha

I can advise that there was some discussion or thinking about a halfway house model in Hay River. One of the issues that concerned us, however, was that not that many of the residents at SMCC would likely have as a home community Hay River, so that was seen as an issue, but certainly we did think about it. Thank you.

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Item 9, written questions. Item 10, returns to written questions. Item 11, replies to the Commissioner's opening address. Item 12, petitions. Item 13, reports of committees on the review of bills. Item 14, tabling of documents. The Honourable Premier.

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Tabling of documents. Minister of Infrastructure.