Ron McCormick, Nunavut's Director of Corrections, met Iqaluit's city council Jan. 10 over a proposed motion to call on government departments to ensure people go back to their home communities after being brought to the capital for special services. Councillors want to ensure Iqaluit does not become "a dumping ground for individuals from other communities, overburdening our community resources with the many problems involved".

McCormick said if such a problem exists, very little of it is because of the Department of Justice.

"Out of 111 releases between July and December of last year, only four people stayed in Iqaluit," he said.

According to McCormick's research, there are two main reasons why a former prisoner decides to remain in the capital after release. Some individuals stay because they wish to keep jobs they attained through a work program while in custody. Others choose to stay for the support they have received through various organizations in the city that may not be available in their own community.

Banishment request sparked concerns

The Niksiit committee, directed by the City of Iqaluit to make recommendations concerning social well-being, became worried in November 2002. The hamlet of Cambridge Bay urged the Nunavut Court of Justice to ban a member of their community from returning home after serving a jail sentence. The committee wanted to ensure Iqaluit would not become a new home for this man and his violent behavior. They suggested sentences only be complete once a prisoner is returned to the community where they were arrested.

McCormick said each person is given a plane ticket when released from prison to return to their home community but what they do with the ticket is a personal choice unless otherwise ordered by the court.

"Once a person is released from custody, they can choose where they wish to residence," he said. "We have no control over them. In my opinion, once they've completed their incarceration they have served their sentence handed out by the court."

By the end of the meeting, councillors decided they need reports from other departments, such as health and social services, in order to make a more informed decision. Without these reports, Coun. Chris Wilson said the city may be buying into perception.

"We have no facts to go on," he said. "It's all perception. I suggest we just back off a little bit."

Coun. Lynda Gunn, chair of the Niksiit committee, said the motion should be revised to encourage other communities to do more for people in trouble.

"One thing kept coming up at the committee is that we want to encourage other communities to try to help their own people say in the instance of battered women," she said.

Council will ask the departments of health and social services as well as income support to report how many people who come to Iqaluit from other communities for services end up staying in the Nunavut capital.