Nunavut government pays more for rising crime

Nunavut will spend $5.8 million over the next 12 months to hire and train 45 new corrections workers at the Kivalliq corrections centre in Rankin Inlet, which is slated to open in early 2012. (PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)

True to the adage that “crime doesn’t pay,” in Nunavut, crime will cost the government $10 million more this year than last.

Rising levels of crime in Nunavut and staff hiring for the new Kivalliq correctional centre means that the Government of Nunavut’s Department of Justice now needs more money to operate.

Justice minister Keith Petersen told the legislature’s committee of the whole March 8 that his department needs a $10.3 million increase in its operating budget, bringing its total budget estimate to $88.4 million for 2011-12.

The $10.3 million increase will cover:

• $180,000 for a new liaison officer in Ottawa to provide services to prisoners from Nunavut jailed outside Nunavut, such as coordinating visits with elders, arranging for country foods, doing Bible deliveries, issuing calling cards, and visits;

• $564,000 to hire four new community corrections officers;

• $450,000 for two new “crime reduction” members at the RCMP headquarters who will try to put programs in place for offenders and gather intelligence on drug trafficking and bootlegging;

• $757,000 for overtime and pay increases for RCMP members;

• $2.5 million for legal aid services; and,

• $5.8 million for 45 new corrections workers at the Kivalliq corrections centre, set to open in Rankin Inlet early in 2012, money which will also go towards paying for training, temporary housing, and temporary office space.

Peterson also said Maliiganik Tukisiiniakvik and other legal aid centres need more money because due to “a significant increase in violent crime, homicides and attempted murders.”

“They are very complicated, expensive cases to defend… it’s an increase in crime, very serious crime. That’s why we need this increase for legal aid.”