The Ministry of Corrections and the Saskatoon Tribal Council have officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding to support First Nations inmates as they transition back into their home communities.

Tribal Chief Mark Arcand estimates 80 per cent of the inmates in the Saskatoon Correctional Centre are Inuit, Metis or First Nations. He adds the new agreement will build on already existing programs within the system.

“Enhancing those services because I think it’s time to do a paradigm shift. We’re not saying those are bad situations, it’s time to make those better, right, if I can use that language and when we talk about better, how do we get more staff, of our (STC) staff involved in these programs, right, cause they’re ran by corrections staff and ministry staff and that’s fine, but now it’s time to get Indigenous led for Indigenous people working collectively together.”

Some of the goals are to develop a reintegration program that best supports leaving incarceration and to create high quality cultural services at the Saskatoon Correctional Centre.

Minister of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety, Christine Tell hopes similar agreements can be made with other tribal councils in the province.

She adds the agreement will allow the province and the STC to further address the root causes of reoffending and create stronger communities by ensuring necessary supports and opportunities are available to those transitioning out of the criminal justice system.

The province says a Provincial Correctional Services Innovation Committee will be established as part of the agreement to improve outcomes over time.