Hay River (Nov 15/04) - Time appears to be running out for the Dene K'onia Young Offenders Facility in Hay River.

According to one worker, employees were told unofficially last week that the open-custody facility for boys will close April 1.

"They told us we were going to be losing our jobs," said youth officer Mike Gagnier, adding the closure is to be a cost-saving measure for the GNWT.

"There was a lot of surprise and shock," he said of the Nov. 10 staff meeting. "There were a lot of angry people there."

Gagnier said representatives of the Department of Justice will make an official announcement tomorrow at the facility.

A petition is circulating in Hay River against the possible closure of Dene K'onia, plus other potential cuts at Court Services and the remand unit of the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre. The petition claimed there could be an overall loss of 40 jobs.

Mayor Diana Ehman said she has heard rumours about all three operations and has been contacted by some concerned employees. However, she has been unable to confirm anything.

When contacted on Friday, Justice Minister Charles Dent would neither confirm nor deny Dene K'onia is closing. "It would be premature for me to say anything right now," Dent said.

The minister said all GNWT departments are considering substantial cuts for the next budget and those plans have been given to MLAs. However, they are considered confidential.

This year's budget announced $20 million in savings for each of the next two years.

Asked if Dene K'onia is safe from those cuts, Dent replied: "I'm not going to answer that question."

The minister said there are 15.5 full-time equivalent positions at Dene K'onia, plus casuals. Over the last year, the number of young offenders has ranged from two to eight.

Groenewegen won't comment

Dent noted that, under the federal government's new Youth Criminal Justice Act, there has been a dramatic decrease in the number of incarcerated young people.

Dene K'onia costs about $1.5 million a year to operate.

"It's going to be sucked out of the economy here," said Gagnier, who has worked at Dene K'onia for five years.

Hay River South MLA Jane Groenewegen declined to comment on the future of Dene K'onia, citing the confidentiality of business plans during the budgetary process.

"I can say that we have been in discussion with the ministers representing departments that have plans that may potentially impact Hay River," Groenewegen said. "We're doing what we can in those discussions to acquire assurances to mitigate those impacts as much as possible."