Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. At the end of May last year, an inmate at the North Slave Correctional Centre assaulted a prison guard, and when I say "assaulted," I mean he landed more than a dozen punches on the guard's head and kicked him in the stomach several times when he fell to the floor. I am told this is the most serious assault on a prison guard at NSCC in many years.
The little that we do know comes from the court case involving the inmate. He pleaded guilty to the assault on the guard and for another assault that put him in remand, in jail, in the first place. NNSL obtained video footage of the attack, which was entered as evidence. We see the attack. Then someone opens the door the man just walked through, looks, and then closes it. A guard runs from the opposite direction, sprays the inmate, and then handcuffs him. The fallen guard is helped out of the way, and the inmate is escorted in the opposite direction by two guards. There is no audio on this video, so we don't know what was said. The guard who was assaulted was taken to hospital for assessment and released, we learned later.
Mr. Speaker, the Department of Justice did its own investigation of the incident. I obtained the report by two departmental staff through access to information. It offers spotty information because large sections are blacked out. What I did learn was that the guard was not following the proper protocol for escorting this inmate. It is unclear whether the guard knew he wasn't following the protocol. Since the incident, the warden has informed staff that they have to review the corrections directives and standing orders and sign off on them. I also learned that the there is no training for new officers that relates specifically to escorting inmates through the building, although guards are taught self-defense as well as how to arrest and control inmates. It's unclear how much refresher training guards get after their initial six weeks of training.
Mr. Speaker, there are some loose ends. Why didn't corrections have a third party investigate the incident? Were serious incident response protocols followed? None of these questions are answered in the blacked-out report.
Mr. Speaker, being a prison guard is a tough job. Violence is always a risk, so safety is a big deal. This report raises questions about how safe a place NSCC is to work. I will have questions for the Minister of Justice. Mahsi.