Attending to the Needs of Inuit Inmates in Canada: Exploring the Perceptions of Correctional Officers and Nunavut Officials
On March 10, 2015, the Office of the Auditor General of Canada released a performance audit concluding that the Nunavut Department of Justice did not adequately plan for and operate facilities to house inmates and did not adequately manage inmates in compliance with key rehabilitation and reintegrat...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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Scholars Commons @ Laurier
2018
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| Online Access: | https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/2100 https://scholars.wlu.ca/context/etd/article/3213/viewcontent/Kosta_Barka__MA_Thesis.pdf |
| Summary: | On March 10, 2015, the Office of the Auditor General of Canada released a performance audit concluding that the Nunavut Department of Justice did not adequately plan for and operate facilities to house inmates and did not adequately manage inmates in compliance with key rehabilitation and reintegration requirements. Given the room for improvement and my prior experience working with Nunavut Corrections, I embarked on a qualitative research project that sought to interview inmates in Nunavut Corrections about their perceptions of rehabilitation programs offered in Makigiarvik Healing Facility. Although university ethics approval was received for the research, I encountered resistance when I tried to attain ethics approval from the Nunavut Research Institute, and access to inmates was denied. Instead, the research came to focus on correctional officers’ perceptions of rehabilitation and reintegration programs offered by Nunavut Corrections. In January 2018, I spent two weeks in Nunavut where I: engaged in participant observation; conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with seven correctional officers; and engaged in conversations with three Nunavut officials. My findings explore: participants’ perceptions of the inmates; whether, how, and to what extent the participants feel the programs meet the needs of Inuit inmates; and participants’ recommendations for how to address deficiencies within Nunavut Corrections. The analysis addresses: the lack of training for correctional staff; the paucity of research on rehabilitation programs; the disconnect between staff and organizational leaders; cultural and generational differences that exist among Inuit that have implications for rehabilitation programming; and the importance of considering the Risk Need Assessment (RNR) model for improving rehabilitative programming in Nunavut Corrections. |
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