Wellness court comes to the NWT
Alternate legal process will allow defendants to seek treatment for mental health and addictions issues
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Published Friday, October 3, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
History was made in the NWT on Thursday with the first ever sitting of the territory's new Wellness Court.
The program is modelled after a successful and similar program in Yukon. It gives people who plead guilty to their offence the opportunity to apply to have their case heard in Wellness Court. If accepted, they could then receive treatment for addictions and mental health issues with the likelihood of a lighter sentence upon completion.
The court will be in session every other week, running opposite the Domestic Violence Treatment Options Court (DVTO). It will initially sit only in Yellowknife.
Sylvia Haener, deputy minister for the Department of Justice, said offenders remain under court supervision throughout the process.
"He or she will still have to appear in front of a judge once their wellness journey is completed," she said.
"The judge will take into account the progress made by the accused during their treatment and counselling, but they still have to return to court to be sentenced."
She said the justice department has worked closely with officials in Yukon.
"Their experience has been that they have fewer habitual offenders in the judicial system, mainly due to the program," she said.
Admittance to Wellness Court will be taken on a "case by case basis."
"No one is automatically accepted," said Haener.
"As long as the offence was committed in the NWT and the accused pleads guilty then they are eligible to apply to be considered for the program."
Those who are accepted are assigned a case manager who will monitor and supervise their progress through the program which can last from a year to 18 months.
She said the program will begin with only one case worker.
"It all depends on the individual and how much they want to change their life," Haener said.
The accused will be given conditions to abide by in Wellness Court.
"If they don't adhere to those conditions they could be removed from the program," she said.
Judge Robert Gorin presided over the first session yesterday.
He briefly explained what the program is about before hearing his first case - which involved a 42-year-old man charged with sexual assault.
Gorin said people who come before the courts with addictions or mental health issues should be given the opportunity to go to treatment before they are sentenced.
"The ultimate objective is to reduce the chances that the person who has gone the program will re-offend," Gorin said.
"If there is substantial progress made by the accused, that will be taken into account before sentencing."
The person appearing on the sexual assault charge yesterday has yet to make a plea, a mandatory requirement for getting into Wellness Court, but he has started the process to be considered for the program. He was not in custody for his appearance, and is scheduled to be back in Wellness Court Oct. 16.
The man's lawyer, Tony Amoud, told the court that the man has fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
Amoud said he expects to be the legal aid lawyer for the bulk of the court's cases, at least in the early going.
"My legal aid boss put out a memo three or four months ago, asking who'd like to be the defence lawyer for Wellness Court," Amoud said.
"Because I spent about three years in Halifax, representing people in what's known in Nova Scotia as mental health court, I jumped at the opportunity."
Amoud said he won't handle every legal aid defence in Wellness Court, but added for the sake of continuity, he'll be taking the majority of them.
"I'm excited. In my opinion this is what regular court should be like," said Amoud.
A pamphlet has been issued by the justice department laying out the five-step process.
It begins with a referral to the program, then the development of a wellness plan followed by treatment, programming and supervision.
The court then reviews the progress made before sentencing.
Haener addressed the sometimes common misconception that the program is only for aboriginal offenders.
"This court is geared for anyone. It's a very individualized program," she said.
"But the case programs could be different for aboriginal offenders. On-the-land spiritual healing with elders, for instance, is more likely to be part of an aboriginal person's wellness journey."
Haener said the court will be a learning process for all involved.
"After two years of working very hard to develop the Wellness Court program, we in the justice department are very pleased and excited to see it get underway.
