Paul Okalik responds to scathing corrections report

Nunavut's justice minister has responded to a scathing report released yesterday by the Auditor General of Canada, who stated that the territory's largest jail — Iqaluit's Baffin Correctional Centre — puts the safety of security of inmates and staff at risk.

Okalik who also served as the justice minister while premier of Nunavut from 1999 to 2008, says that he agreed with "a lot" of the auditor general's recommendations.

"A lot of them, we're doing now," he says, specifically referencing a recommended requirement for fire exercises and noting that the government has implemented quarterly exercises since the auditor general's last visit. "I think it's in line with what we're trying to accomplish, which is to ensure a safe and secure environment for all involved, and make sure our facilities serve our purpose."

The report noted that the Nunavut government has been aware of the problems with Baffin Correctional Centre without fixing them for almost 20 years, and that the government has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to study the issues. In 2009, Okalik moved a successful motion to scrap a request for $300,000 to study a potential replacement for Baffin Correctional Centre. At the time, he stated that a community learning centre was a higher priority. 

"We were in process of opening two new facilities at the time," he says. "And I wanted to see more progress being made on other fronts, like better programming.

"I was never opposed to a facility that would bring us up-to-date. I was opposed to another study, on a study, on top of a study. I think we're past that point, and we're actually making progress."

Differing priorities, budget slowing process

The auditor general's report noted inmates at the jail are not accessing the programming they need, including mental health services and rehabilitative programs. Okalik noted difficulties in the territory's corrections act, admitting that it is "quite out of date.

"We're actually in the process of updating it to meet current requirements in our country," says Okalik. "So that is going through its final stages, and I look forward to seeing third reading during the session.

"At the same time, however, we're also committed to reviewing the legislation, our corrections act, to make sure it's in line with cultural practices and expectations and I look forward to that review very soon."

The review, says Okalik, is intended to ensure that the legislation is targeted toward ensuring appropriate cultural programming and healing processes for the territory's Inuit inmates. Over 80 per cent of Nunavut's population is Inuit.

In addition, Okalik pointed to the government's limited budget and long list of priorities as obstacles for bringing the Baffin Correctional Centre up to the proper standard.

"We've been focused in trying to make sure that we build the medium security facility, Makigiarvik," he says, "and now we have to work on the maximum inmates. That will take a bit more time.

Our work is never-ending. We're continually making progress as we speak. I see that a lot of the recommendations we have met... So those things are very helpful. We appreciate the recommendations, because it allows us to evaluate our systems and make sure we're doing the right thing."