N.W.T. young offender staff to merge with adult jail

The N.W.T. government plans to save money by merging staff and administration fromthe North Slave Young OffenderFacility with the North Slave Correctional Centre according to staff not authorized to speak to the media.

Employees were made aware of the proposed change last weekthe same time news broke that 58 government employees would beaffected by cost-cutting measures in the territory's upcomingbudget.

Corrections officers told CBC the young offenderfacility in Yellowknifewill continue to operate,but will be run by administratorsat the adult jail.

As part of the downsizing, employees will betransferred from the young offenderfacility to vacant positions in the adultjail.Some employees wereupset about the proposed change, saying there's a big difference between working with adults andyouth.But employees also said the young offenderfacility was operating below capacity, and a merger wasn't a total surprise.

The department of Justice declined to confirm the merger, but saida proposed change is in the works. The Minister of Justice declined comment until the territorialbudget is tabled on Wednesday.