Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My Members' statement today is about the need for our NWT corrections services to focus on the successful social reintegration and rehabilitation of incarcerated individuals. The Department of Justice recently completed a workplace assessment of all correctional facilities in the Northwest Territories. The results of that assessment were obvious as it exposed several long-standing issues pertaining to staff morale, safety, and preparedness, among other things. In a previous Member's statement, I spoke about the importance of offender rehabilitation. Today, however, I will be focusing on some issues that offenders face, along with potential solutions when transitioning from life in corrections back into the community.
Mr. Speaker, the key to any successful crime-reduction strategy must include solutions that address offender crime relapses among formerly incarcerated individuals. One way our government could help offenders with successful reintegration is to expand transition and through-care programs for offenders. This can be done in many ways. However, the ultimate goal is to help offenders successfully transition back into society and to avoid further criminality. Our goal must be to ensure rehabilitation back into the community, and they must be able to address life with purpose.
Mr. Speaker, one idea in relation to corrections programming that I think the Department of Justice should consider is to expand the level of community engagement that offenders have with where they are incarcerated. Offenders should have more opportunities to help serve and work for the community in which they are incarcerated. For example, at the Fort Smith Correctional Complex, both sections of male and female offenders should be able to work in jobs that were previously offered to offenders in the community. They should be able to do the things like help seniors in and around the community shovel snow, do gardening, clean house, or take courses in the Phoenix program at the high school. Offenders should be able to do this type of work and activities regularly, but that is not the case anymore. I would like to see these programs reinstated for offenders, including the option to take courses at Aurora College. I will have questions for the Minister of Justice at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.