Susan Leblanc: My question is for the Minister of Health and Wellness. Mi'kmaw mother of two Sarah Rose Denny recently died of pneumonia after becoming sick while in custody at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility. Family and friends say Sarah Rose Denny was full of life - that not only was she charismatic, she was naturally beautiful and so strong. She overcame so many obstacles. This should not have been her end.
The Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland Nova Scotia has explained again and again that it is difficult to access proper health care inside correctional facilities, where inmates are the responsibility of the government.
Mr. Speaker, these are ongoing issues. Why has the government tabled a budget with no new funding for health care in prisons?
Hon. Brad Johns: It's very sad news and my thoughts certainly go out to the family of Ms. Denny. I will say that this is currently under review by the Medical Examiner Service and we're hoping to have a report soon.
Susan Leblanc: Mr. Speaker, Indigenous people are overrepresented in Nova Scotia's justice system. In order to be certain that this will never happen again, we need to understand what happened to Sarah. A review is one thing, but her family is calling for a public inquiry into her death.
Emma Halpern, the executive director of the Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland Nova Scotia, explains that many other provinces do have mandatory reviews. We do not and, as a result, we don't know exactly what happened. The family doesn't know exactly what happened and if we don't know what happened, how can we learn from it? I will table those comments.
Will the Minister of Justice conduct a public review of Sarah Rose Denny's death, as her family has called for?
Hon. Brad Johns: The DOJ is very committed to ensuring that we have a fair justice system and a system that meets the needs of Indigenous persons across this province.
We know that Indigenous and African Nova Scotians are overly represented in the system, and we are reviewing that. I will not commit at this time, but I am waiting to see what comes back from the review of the medical examiner's initial review and then we'll see from there.