The aboriginal court worker program was hard hit by a funding cut in this year’s provincial budget, and now it’s being felt with job cuts in the Battlefords.
It’s been confirmed that the contingent of aboriginal court workers with Battlefords Tribal Council is being reduced to one staff member.
Moreover, the other staff member who is staying on is going to have only a half-time position. She will be working the aboriginal court worker program as well as Domestic Violence Treatment Option court.
As for the other position, BTC aboriginal court worker Georgina Blackbird confirmed her job is being eliminated as of the end of August.
She isn’t happy about the personal impact, but her main concern is the impact on clients.
Aboriginal court workers are heavily involved in dealing with those accused in the criminal justice system.
They assist aboriginal clients with the process and will appear in court on behalf of clients who are unable to attend, usually due to transportation or other issues. The aboriginal court worker will appear in court and also talk to the prosecutor to find out what the charges are and what the Crown’s position is.
“We’re the in-between person which is very valuable for the person standing up in court when we assist them,” Blackbird said.
A key part of the job is helping clients understand the justice system.
Blackbird explained a number of them will want to “plead out” at the first opportunity, which runs the risk the clients will end up serving time in jail simply because they don’t understand what they are pleading guilty or not guilty to.
“A lot of them don’t understand what they are getting charged with,” said Blackbird.
Their role is in mentoring those clients so they know what to expect, and to explain what their charges are.
There was no shortage of clients for Blackbird. Now, one person will be taking on the entire client load for the area and that concerns her.
“She’s going to go and be working, working and working which could burn her out,” Blackbird said.
Blackbird wants to see the decision reversed.
“They need to re-look at that and put it back in, because it is needed not only here in North Battleford but where ever the court points were that (the funding) got pulled,” said Blackbird.
“Instead of building a new jail, they should put that money back and pay a court worker to keep doing our job.”
The cutback is being felt across the province, and others whose jobs had been impacted had been speaking out in the media in recent days as well.
The provincial budget had cut funding for the aboriginal court worker program by almost $600,000, from $1.9 million down to $1.3 million, in the 2016 budget.
Overall, funding for a variety of justice and corrections programs, which also includes aboriginal police consulting groups, the special investigations unit grant and alternative measures programming, is being reduced by more than $1.8 million to $4 million.
The provincial government defended the cuts in the legislature during debate in the legislature June 21. Of the $1.3 million budgeted for the aboriginal court worker program, Attorney General Gordon Wyant said “we are confident that level of funding is going to be sufficient to ensure a responsible level of service, to ensure that that court worker program continues.”
