Corrections in Nunavut—Department of Justice

Opening Statement to the Standing Committee on Oversight of Government Operations and Public Accounts

Corrections in Nunavut—Department of Justice

(2015 March Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut)

5 May 2015

Michael Ferguson, CPA, CA
FCA (New Brunswick)
Auditor General of Canada

Unnusakkut. Good afternoon everyone. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for this opportunity to discuss our report on Corrections in Nunavut. Joining me at the table are Jerome Berthelette, Assistant Auditor General, John Affleck, Principal, Jo Ann Schwartz, Director, and Maria Pooley, Senior Auditor, who were responsible for this audit.

The Department of Justice is responsible for corrections services in Nunavut, including ensuring the safe and secure operation of correctional facilities. This also includes ensuring that inmates are appropriately placed within facilities and supervised in support of their rehabilitation and reintegration into the community.

As part of the audit, we looked at whether the Department of Justice has met key responsibilities for inmates within the corrections system. We looked at both the management of facilities and the management of inmates. We focused primarily on the Baffin Correctional Centre and the Rankin Inlet Healing Facility.

I would like to provide you with a brief overview of the report findings.

Overall, we found that the Department of Justice has not adequately met its key responsibilities for the management of correctional facilities in Nunavut. As a result, the safety and security of staff and inmates at the Baffin Correctional Centre and the Rankin Inlet Healing Facility are at risk.

For almost two decades, the Department has known there was a need to address the poor conditions and overcrowding at the Baffin Correctional Centre. It has also known about the need for appropriate space in Nunavut to house maximum-security inmates. These inmates are currently housed at the Baffin Correctional Centre despite the fact that it is a minimum-security facility.

We found that actions taken by the Department did not address these needs. The Department spent roughly $53 million to construct the Rankin Inlet Healing Facility and Makigiarvik. However, even with these new facilities, the Department will need roughly 70 additional correctional facility beds to have the 268 that it predicted it will need by 2026.

Furthermore, neither of the new facilities provides space to appropriately house maximum-security inmates. The Department is still trying to determine how to address problems with the physical condition of the Baffin Correctional Centre.

We also found that evacuation drills were not being conducted as required at either facility. In light of the risks posed by not conducting these evacuation drills, we sent a letter to the acting deputy minister of the Department of Justice during the audit to advise her of this shortcoming. We did this so that the acting deputy minister could take appropriate action without delay.

In the area of case management, we examined the files of 39 inmates housed at the Baffin Correctional Centre, Rankin Inlet Healing Facility, and the Uttaqivik Community Residential Centre. We found that the Uttaqivik Community Residential Centre provided an example of good inmate case management.

In contrast, we found that serious case management deficiencies at the Baffin Correctional Centre and Rankin Inlet Healing Facility limit the Department’s efforts to rehabilitate inmates and prepare them for release back into the community. For example, none of the inmates sampled had a completed case plan to guide their rehabilitation. In addition, access to rehabilitative programs and mental health services was inadequate, and limited planning was done to help prepare inmates for release.

Overall, our audit concluded that the Department of Justice has not met its key responsibilities for inmates within the correctional system. Our report includes several recommendations to the Department for improvements it can make to address the problems identified.

The Department has agreed with all of our recommendations and has made several commitments in its responses. Mr. Chairman, your Committee may wish to seek details from officials about some of these actions. In particular, your Committee may wish to ask how the Department intends to address the shortage of space to appropriately house medium- and maximum-security inmates and the safety of staff and inmates in its two largest facilities. Mr. Chairman we recognize that appropriately housing medium- and maximum-security inmates will require significant financial resources.

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my opening remarks. My colleagues and I would be pleased to answer any questions Committee members may have. Thank you.