Crazy for ikea
Thousands of shoppers flocked to the new Ikea in Dartmouth Crossing on Wednesday for their first look at the popular home store.
Opposition justice critics are calling on the provincial government to implement additional safety measures for Nova Scotia Youth Facility staff in Waterville in preparation for the return of a violent offender.
The 19-year-old man, whose name is protected by the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was convicted in the August 2014 stabbing death of Daniel Pellerin. While he was serving his sentence at the Waterville facility, he participated in a riot and was then transferred to an adult facility.
He has pleaded guilty to assaulting four youth workers at Waterville and in March of this year, he was charged as an adult for allegedly assaulting a guard at the Pictou County jail.
The province had applied to keep the offender at the adult facility for the remainder of his sentence but its application was rejected last week by Judge Anne Derrick. He is set to be transferred to Waterville on Thursday.
Meanwhile, staff at the facility say they are terrified and illequipped to deal with the teen, who has said he wants to be the first person in Canada to kill a youth worker.
The Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union, which represents the Waterville correctional staff, sent a formal request to the Justice Department on Monday recommending such safety measures as Tasers, bear spray, weighted furniture, kevlar vests, reinforced doors and the ability to implement institutional lockdowns.
The union also says there is a staff shortage.
Karla MacFarlane, Pictou West MLA and Progressive Conservative justice critic, said government must listen to front-line workers.
“The track record on this individual is rather alarming, beyond most offenders, and I would have to say in this case say that . . . the recommendations should be implemented before this young offender goes back to Waterville,” she said.
Claudia Chender, NDP justice critic and MLA for Dartmouth South, said it’s incumbent on the justice system to ensure the offender gets the attention and rehabilitation he needs, but the safety of the employees tasked with that job is also of utmost importance. “It’s going to be a balancing act,” she said.
“Where a judge has mandated that a person receive intensive therapy we need to be able to deliver it if the only way they can do that right now is at Waterville they’re going to have to figure out how to do it there.”