This is page numbers 6289 - 6352 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 assembly.

Topics

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 6320

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd just like to thank our committee members who were part of the committee. Our committee took a real stance on the changes that needed to be done. At first, the department wasn't willing to. Our committee took the stance that we're not going to move on this bill the way it stands, and that led to a lot of changes to the bill that we now have, and I commend the Minister and the department for being willing to make those changes, and especially to our law clerk and their legal team that spent a lot of time, over a time of about a week that made all these changes that committee wanted to see into this bill, that final draft that we have here today. I'd just like to commend everybody who is part of that, our committee members, chair, and also the Minister, working together for the betterment of our residents in the territory to have justice and to be treated fairly. I would just like to thank everybody for their hard work and dedication. 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

Page 6321

The Chair

The Chair Daniel McNeely

Thank you, Mr. Blake. Any further comments? Seeing none, we will recognize Mr. Thompson for closing comments. There are six motions. Six motions, and we will move to the chair of the committee.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Justice explore the possibility allowing for private interviews between an inmate and a facility's Indigenous elder or spiritual adviser subject, to reasonable restrictions. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The Chair

The Chair Daniel McNeely

Thank you. There is a motion on the floor and it is being distributed. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Some Hon. Members

Question.

The Chair

The Chair Daniel McNeely

Question has been called. All those in favour? Ms. Green.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. McNeely. I just wanted to say to this motion that one of the things that we really liked about the Nunavut Act, the Corrections Act, was that it had a significant cultural context in it reflecting the culture and language of the Inuit. We felt that by what we could do to reflect that in the Northwest Territories is to find a role for elders and spiritual advisers. They do exist there now, and they operate in group settings. We felt that the opportunity for private interviews may also be beneficial to inmates. That's the background to this decision. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The Chair

The Chair Daniel McNeely

Thank you, Ms. Green. To the motion.

Some Hon. Members

Question.

The Chair

The Chair Daniel McNeely

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

To the next motion. Mr. Thompson.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Justice conduct needs-based assessments for all inmates;

and further, that the assessments be conducted in a manner that is timely relative to an inmate's release eligibility;

and furthermore, that the assessments take into account Gladue and other factors such as an inmate's disabilities;

and furthermore, that the department explore additional measures to encourage all inmates to participate in suitable programming, including offering new incentives.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The Chair

The Chair Daniel McNeely

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. The motion is on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion. Ms. Green.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The background to this motion is that we wanted to expand the kind of information that was taken in for assessments so that it was not just the security risk that the inmate posed to the facility and the staff but also what were their own capacities and limitations. Gladue, for example, is the set of factors that courts take into account in sentencing inmates, that recognizes that they may have disabilities and they may have factors in their lives that have caused them trauma and difficulty which have really formed their character and need to be taken into account, and so we thought that broadening the assessments to take into account the Gladue factors and other important elements of an inmate's life would give them a better experience of the programming that is offered in the correctional facilities.

We recognize that the assessments of people on remand and the programming opportunity for people on remand are not always the same as they are for inmates, so the idea of offering incentives for programming is to have those people on remand engage in programming which may address some of their most fundamental issues and steer them away from a repeat visit to the correctional centre. That is the background on this motion. Thank you.

The Chair

The Chair Daniel McNeely

Thank you, Ms. Green. To the motion.

Some Hon. Members

Question.

The Chair

The Chair Daniel McNeely

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Mr. Chair.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Justice prioritize work programs that are responsive to community needs, subject to necessary safety and security restrictions. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The Chair

The Chair Daniel McNeely

Thank you. The motion is on the floor. To the motion. Ms. Green.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Chair. In our public consultations, we heard community members speak positively of inmates doing work in their communities when they were incarcerated, that they were part of work programs and they did good volunteer work in the, or it was not necessarily volunteer, but good work in the community. It could be cutting lawns. It could be shovelling sidewalks. It could be stacking tables after a public event. The public consultation also indicated that people felt that was a very positive thing, to connect the community and the inmates together around a constructive activity, and they lamented that this program has really fallen off in recent years. We learned that the major reason that it has fallen off is that many more inmates are on remand rather than sentenced.

The corrections staff has said that they posed some security risk on remand that is not the same as when they have been sentenced, and so this component of programming has really been reduced in recent years. We heard clearly that people would like to see it come back, subject to necessary precautions. The background to this committee motion is to reflect what we heard, that the work programs were useful and that people would like to see them reinstated. Thank you.

The Chair

The Chair Daniel McNeely

Thank you, Ms. Green. To the motion.

Some Hon. Members

Question.

The Chair

The Chair Daniel McNeely

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Mr. Chair.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that the committee recommends that the security assessment tool used by the correctional service be objective, structured, and empirically defensible, and that a risk assessment tool that considers the unique realities of Indigenous inmates be developed and used. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The Chair

The Chair Daniel McNeely

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. The motion is on the floor. To the motion. Ms. Green.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Security assessment tools are standard practice in correctional facilities, and the concern that this particular recommendation addresses is that the assessment tool be particularly inclusive of the realities of Indigenous inmates, that, particularly, corrections staff look for security assessment tools that are culturally more appropriate than a standard tool that may be developed and used on a Caucasian population. We recognize that there are different tools, and we are encouraging with this motion that corrections finds and tries tools that may be more appropriate to the NWT inmate population, which is overwhelmingly NWT Indigenous peoples. Thank you.