Annual Report of the
Office of the Correctional
Investigator 2006-2007

Annual Report of the Office of the Correctional Investigator 2006-2007
© Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada 2007
Paper Version:
Cat. No. PS100-2007
ISBN 978-0-662-69936-1
PDF Version:
Cat. No. PS100-2007E-PDF
ISBN 978-0-662-46368-9
Internet: www.oci-bec.gc.ca
The photographs in this report are the work of Bill Rankin.
We thank Mr. Rankin for his generous contribution.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Correctional Investigator’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Twelve Key Barriers to Public Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

Full Implementation of the CSC Mental Health Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Full Implementation of the CSC Aboriginal Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Staff Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Program Capacity and Timely Access to Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Security Classification and Over-Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Professionally Accepted Standards and Health Care Accreditation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Population Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Data Collection and Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Communicable Diseases and Harm Reduction Initiatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Lessons Learned and Best Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Unescorted Temporary Absences and Work Releases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Human Resources Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

The Correctional Service of Canada’s Five Key Priorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
1. Safe Transition of Eligible Offenders into the Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
2. Safety and Security for Staff and Offenders in Our Institutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
3. Enhanced Capacities to Provide Effective Interventions for First Nations,
Métis and Inuit Offenders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
4. Improved Capacities to Address Mental Health Needs of Offenders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
5. Strengthened Management Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Other Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Annex A: Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Response of the Correctional Service of Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR’S MESSAGE
Ombudsman offices, such as the Office of the
Correctional Investigator (OCI), have been
established in Canada and throughout the world
because of an increasing acknowledgement of the
need to protect individual rights and enhance the
accountability of public institutions. Ombudsman
offices have come to be regarded as useful and
effective instruments to help citizens secure fair
treatment from their governments. Like other
traditional ombudsman offices, the OCI exercises
influence rather than power. We cannot compel
compliance with our recommendations. However, as a
democratic institution established by Parliament, the
OCI is well placed to conduct thorough objective
reviews and then cause the Correctional Service of
Canada (CSC) to change decisions that do not
comply with law and policy, or that raise issues of
fairness.
Maintaining an effective external avenue of recourse
in the correctional context is crucial. Prisons are by
nature closed institutions, often far from the public
eye, where one group of people has considerable
power over another. However well prisons are run, the
potential for abuse is always present, and governments

have established independent oversight mechanisms to
ensure that all its citizens are treated with dignity and
fairness, and in accordance with the rule of law.
To be most effective, oversight by ombudsman offices
requires that both the ombudsman offices and the
organizations they oversee understand and mutually
respect each other’s roles and responsibilities, and
adopt a constructive and positive approach. By and
large, my Office and the Correctional Service of
Canada have developed such a relationship, and I am
convinced of the Correctional Service’s commitment
to rectifying identified issues. In fact, with the close
cooperation of the Correctional Service, my staff has
again addressed more than 7,500 individual offender
inquiries and complaints in the past year. Without the
Correctional Service’s commitment to helping my
staff address and resolve issues, this Office would not
have been able to carry out its important public safety
mandate.
The workload at the OCI has been growing in recent
years. Many complaints have become more difficult to
address, in part due to the increasing number of
federal offenders with significant mental health issues

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

3

housed in Canada’s penitentiaries. Furthermore, as
policy and legal issues become increasingly complex, it
takes more time and effort to thoroughly review and
investigate complaints. Again this year, workload
pressures have challenged our ability to effectively
carry out our legislative mandate. We will continue to
pursue additional resources to ensure the Office
addresses these pressures.
I will take this opportunity to convey my sincere
appreciation and admiration for the work my staff has
accomplished again this year, as it has been an
especially challenging time for my Office. In
November 2006, after over two and a half years of
auditing work, the Auditor General (AG, Chapter 11)
reported alleged improprieties by a previous
Correctional Investigator. The audit covered the
period between 1998/99 and 2003/04. The report
also raised concerns regarding governance, financial
management and human resources policies. The
Office acted promptly and decisively to address these
concerns, a task that included initiating the recovery
efforts recommended in the audit report. This work,
however necessary, took many of my employees and
me away from our mandated duties of addressing and
investigating offender complaints. However, my
Office was able again this year to carry out its
legislative mandate with a high degree of
professionalism and enthusiasm. I cannot thank my
employees enough for their dedication, hard work and
invaluable contribution.
The next fiscal year promises to be another very
demanding one for the OCI, as workload will
continue to increase. We are also well aware of the
serious challenges the Correctional Service faces in
delivering on its own mandate and sustaining its
contribution to public safety, due in part to the
changing offender profile and escalating costs. As
indicated in its 2006/07 Report on Plans and
Priorities, 90% of the Correctional Service’s
expenditures are for non-discretionary costs, such as
salaries, utilities, food, medical services and
maintenance of its aging facilities. These costs are
driven, in part, by factors beyond the Correctional
Service’s control.

4

As a result, the Correctional Service has limited and
diminishing flexibility to enhance its capacity to carry
out its legislative mandate—in particular, to deliver
reintegration services and support. This Office
believes that the Correctional Service’s budget
stringency is now having predictable results: the
Correctional Service requires significant new,
permanent funding to fully discharge its public safety
mandate. The significant resource gaps the
Correctional Service has identified must be addressed
quickly and comprehensively to ensure effective
correctional operations that will keep our institutions
and communities safe and secure.
In its March 2007 federal budget, the Government of
Canada recognized the critical nature of the situation.
It allocated new money to temporarily alleviate the
Correctional Service’s current financial pressures. The
Minister also established the Correctional Service
Canada Review Panel to examine the Correctional
Service’s capacity to fulfill its public safety mandate. It
is my sincere hope that the Panel will provide
recommendations that will resolve these resource
issues and allow the Correctional Service to address
the public safety barriers identified in this report. The
Correctional Service can no longer be expected to do
more with less.
In its last two Reports on Plans and Priorities
(2006/07 and 2007/08), the Correctional Service has
identified the following five key priorities to guide its
efforts to deliver the best possible correctional results
consistent with its mandate:
1. Safe transition of eligible offenders into the
community.
2. Safety and security for staff and offenders in
our institutions.
3. Enhanced capacities to provide effective
interventions for First Nations, Métis and
Inuit offenders.
4. Improved capacities to address mental health
needs of offenders.
5. Strengthened management practices.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

This year’s OCI Annual Report will address issues of
offender concern related to the Correctional Service’s
five key priorities. My Office agrees that action on
these priorities will go a long way toward addressing
longstanding areas of offender concern. Last year’s
Annual Report detailed the correctional outcomes
that I believe the Correctional Service needs to move
toward. The Correctional Service’s response to that
report and its subsequent performance in improving
those correctional outcomes have been limited.
Moreover, the Correctional Service significantly
altered its approach last year by moving away from
making firm commitments to fully address the issues
of offender concern identified in my report. I hope
that this year the Correctional Service will
demonstrate its responsiveness by addressing the
underlying issues related to my recommendations. My
Office is committed to continuing to engage in a
constructive dialogue with the Correctional Service
and to moving forward on many longstanding areas of
offender concern.
For the most part, the Correctional Service’s five key
priorities reflect legislative requirements. Whatever the
reasons for the challenges that hinder the Correctional
Service’s efforts to meet these requirements,
Canadians—including parliamentarians—expect the
Correctional Service to be able to fulfill its mandate.
Anything less can have negative public safety
consequences. Therefore, in this year’s Annual Report,
I will reflect on areas of offender concern by first
commenting on existing significant barriers to public
safety. Then I will make recommendations related to
the Correctional Service’s five key priorities.

Howard Sapers
Correctional Investigator

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

TWELVE KEY BARRIERS TO
PUBLIC SAFETY
1.

Full Implementation of the CSC Mental Health Strategy

2.

Full Implementation of the CSC Aboriginal Strategy

3.

Staff Training

4.

Program Capacity and Timely Access to Programs

5.

Security Classification and Over-Classification

6.

Professionally Accepted Standards and Health Care Accreditation

7.

Population Management

8.

Data Collection and Analysis

9.

Communicable Diseases and Harm Reduction Initiatives

10. Lessons Learned and Best Practices
11. Unescorted Temporary Absences and Work Releases
12. Human Resources Issues

Over the years, the Office has identified many barriers
that restrict the Correctional Service’s ability to
maximize its positive impact on public safety. We
acknowledge that some of the 12 barriers to public
safety listed below may be related to the changing
offender profile and resource issues. Others, however,
can be addressed using existing resources. All 12
barriers are rooted in legislative requirements. Not
addressing them will increasingly have negative public
safety consequences.

1. Full Implementation
of the CSC Mental
Health Strategy
This Office supports the Mental Health Strategy that
the Correctional Service’s Executive Committee
approved in July 2004. The Correctional Service
acknowledged at that time that it needs to build
mental health care capacity to address the following
areas where there are gaps in its services:
•
•
•
•
•

early mental health screening and assessment on
admission;
coordinated and comprehensive primary mental
health care;
intermediate-level care for offenders with
mental health disorders;
acute care treatment centres; and
ongoing mental health support for offenders on
conditional release (community care).

We will enhance public safety if we ensure that
offenders with mental illnesses receive adequate
mental health care during their period of incarceration
before they are released back into the community. We
believe that permanent resources dedicated to
implementing the entire strategy are needed to fully
address this important priority. This Office notes the
commitment of funds in the recent budget and is
encouraged that the government-appointed panel
reviewing the operations of the Correctional Service
will address this issue.

2. Full Implementation
of the CSC Aboriginal
Strategy
The gaps in correctional outcomes between Aboriginal
and other offenders are widening. Urgent action,
leadership and resources are required to implement a
comprehensive Aboriginal strategy that will reverse the
disturbing trends highlighted in previous OCI annual
reports. The Correctional Service must continue its
efforts to build capacity for and increase use of section
84 and section 81 agreements with Aboriginal
communities.1 We believe that dedicated resources
and renewed governance—including the reestablishment of the National Aboriginal Advisory
Committee, as required by section 82 of the
legislation—are urgently needed to address this
important priority.

3. Staff Training
Lack of comprehensive training can be a significant
barrier to ensuring public safety. In many of the
Correctional Service’s incident investigations, the lack
of training is flagged as an important, if not key, issue.
Without investments in continuous learning and
training, organizations regress and staff morale may
decline. We are aware that many training sessions
were cancelled or postponed over the last year for
budgetary reasons. This is unfortunate as we believe
there are several areas where training could help the
Correctional Service better deliver its public safety
mandate.
• Use of force: Training has too often been the
victim of budget constraints. As a result,
mandatory training such as firearm certification
has often been the only training delivered. The
CSC Security Branch has clearly identified the
pressing need for ongoing training in the use of
force that goes beyond firearm training.
• Cultural competencies: Training and other

1. Sections 81 and 84 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act provide for the direct involvement of Aboriginal communities in supporting timely
conditional release.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

9

•

•

•

•

initiatives related to cultural competencies,
including ethno-cultural training and
awareness, have been limited and fragmented.
Mental health: Training for all front-line
employees is urgently needed to ensure staff
appropriately responds to mental health-related
behaviour.
Women offenders: All front-line staff in
women’s institutions should receive annual
refresher training in women-centered
approaches, in accordance with the
recommendation of the Canadian Human
Rights Commission. In addition, womencentered training should be delivered to all
community parole officers supervising women
offenders.
Administrative segregation: Refresher training
in this key area of corrections, where high staff
turnover is common, is required to ensure
enhanced compliance with the law and policy,
and fair decision-making.
Suicide: Suicide prevention training needs to be
a consistent part of ongoing training for all
CSC front-line institutional and community
employees, and staff must rigorously adhere to
policy.

4. Program Capacity and
Timely Access to
Programs
Limited program capacity affects the ability of
offenders to carry out their correctional plans, thereby
delaying their safe reintegration into the community.
Timely and gradual release into the community
provides for longer supervised periods of release,
which has proven to be the most effective way to
safely reintegrate offenders into the community. We
have identified the following barriers to
reintegration—many of which the Correctional
Service will need resources to address—in the areas of
timely case preparation and access to programs:

•

•

•
•

•

•

resulting in programs being provided late in the
offender’s sentence, beyond his or her parole
eligibility dates;
waivers, postponements and withdrawals of
National Parole Board hearings related to
program access;
a shortage of program facilitators and program
officers, especially those with the skill sets
required to deliver Aboriginal-specific
programming;
limited access to programs in the community,
especially for women and Aboriginal offenders;
limited or no anti-gang programming in most
institutions—meaning that, by default, reliance
on segregation is quickly becoming the norm in
this area;
delays in evaluation and national
implementation of Aboriginal programming;
and
the chronic shortage of Aboriginal-specific core
programming in maximum-security
institutions, which means that Aboriginal
offenders cannot carry out their correctional
plans and transfer to lower-security institutions
where Aboriginal programs are available.

5. Security Classification
and OverClassification
The inappropriateness of security classification tools
for women and Aboriginal offenders has been
identified as a serious issue for over a decade. The
Correctional Service has taken some positive steps to
redevelop its scales for women offenders and is now
redesigning its scales for Aboriginal offenders. From
our point of view, the Correctional Service continues
to over-classify Aboriginal and women offenders. In
addition, we feel it has not responded to this
important issue in a timely way, given the welldocumented evidence and research available on the
topic.

• a lack of employment and skill development
opportunities within and outside institutions;
• long waiting lists for programs in most regions,

10

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

6. Professionally
Accepted Standards
and Health Care
Accreditation
For years, health care issues have been a primary
reason for offender complaints to this Office and the
Correctional Service’s internal grievance process. By
law, the Correctional Service must provide essential
health care services to every inmate in accordance
with professionally accepted standards.
To help ensure that it was meeting this obligation, the
Correctional Service committed to having all of its
health care units, regional hospitals and regional
treatment centres accredited. While accreditation of
treatment centres began in the mid-1990s, the
accreditation process for regional hospitals and health
care units did not start until 2001. Accreditation
involves a detailed examination of an organization’s
services and methods of operation.
The Correctional Service asked the Canadian Council
on Health Services Accreditation (CCHSA) to help it
examine and improve the quality of care and service it
provides to inmates. In last year’s Annual Report
(2005/06), we noted that CCHSA fully accredited
only 3 of the 29 health care facilities (10%) it visited
for that purpose. This situation is unacceptable. We
urge the Correctional Service to continue its efforts to
prepare all of its remaining health care facilities to be
accredited. That task includes making accreditation of
the last unaccredited regional treatment centre a
priority.

7. Population
Management
After years of calls for fundamental reforms, the
Correctional Service continues to place offenders in
administrative segregation and other restrictive
environments as its main tool for resolving disputes
and tensions in penitentiaries. Over the last 10 years,

several internal and external reports have noted
fairness and non-compliance issues related to the
management or administration of segregation. They
have recommended the independent adjudication of
segregation cases as the only way to effectively
promote legal compliance in this area. The
Correctional Service has consistently rejected
independent adjudication and continues to argue that
an enhanced internal segregation review process can
achieve fairness and compliance with the rule of law.
As the Correctional Service continues its attempts to
improve its internal processes, the situation of
segregated offenders continues to deteriorate, as many
more offenders are spending extended periods in
segregation.
Over the years, the Correctional Service has
introduced many different offender sub-populations,
such as transition units. While we support the
concept of transitional units as a temporary, less
restrictive, alternative to administrative segregation,
we note that many offenders in some CSC regions
now serve a significant part of their penitentiary
sentence in these units. As a result, they do not
benefit from a proactive reintegration strategy and
formal regular reviews, which are legally afforded to
offenders in administrative segregation. Spending
extensive periods removed from the general
population, with limited access to programming and
services, prevents offenders from working on their
correctional plans and on ways to safely reintegrate
into the community.
We are also increasingly concerned about the overall
distribution of offenders by security level within CSC
facilities. Many medium-security institutions are
overcrowded and have excessive program waiting lists,
while some minimum-security institutions are
running below capacity. The National Parole Board
grants a significant number of conditional releases to
offenders held in medium-security institutions—a fact
that raises many questions about the Correctional
Service’s process of classifying offenders. Interestingly,
many of the offenders who are kept at mediumsecurity institutions until their conditional release into
the community receive positive recommendations for

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

11

release from their institutional CSC parole officers.
We are especially concerned about the impact of the
Correctional Service’s population management
practices as they relate to Aboriginal offenders.

8. Data Collection and
Analysis
One of the areas of concern common to almost all
identified systemic issues is the Correctional Service’s
lack of reliable data and limited analytical activity.
Over the years, we have made several
recommendations to the Correctional Service about
improving its data collection and capacity for analysis.
In 2005, the Correctional Service advised us that it
had convened a national committee with “expertise in
data reporting and analysis to discuss how best to
produce meaningful and quality reports on an
ongoing basis.” Further, the Correctional Service
advised us that its Performance Assurance Sector “will
now be providing expertise to ensure the quality of
the analysis.” These initiatives have yet to produce the
desired outcome—consistent, high-quality reports
that provide management with the information it
needs to make informed, timely decisions.
An organization must monitor its progress to ensure
that its programs and services are achieving desirable
outcomes. In the past, the Correctional Service
committed to improving its data collection, but this
past year, that commitment eroded. Quarterly reports
have become annual reports, key correctional
outcomes are no longer closely monitored and overall
data quality has not improved. We found little
evidence of either consistent, accurate information
collection or in-depth analysis in key areas where
improvements are urgently required, including timely
and safe reintegration, inmate injuries and deaths, use
of force, Aboriginal offenders, visible and ethnic
minorities, mental health issues, grievances and
offenders with disabilities. Previous OCI annual
reports provide details on these areas.

12

9. Communicable
Diseases and Harm
Reduction Initiatives
Inmates are 7 to 10 times more likely than the general
Canadian population to be living with HIV, and 30
times more likely to have hepatitis C. As the great
majority of offenders eventually return to the
community, it is imperative that the Correctional
Service take all reasonable steps to protect offenders
from contracting infectious diseases and potentially
spreading them in the community upon their release.
The spread of blood-borne disease within
penitentiaries is partly linked to intravenous drug use.
Drug interdiction alone can only go so far in reducing
the rate of infection among the offender population.
Over the last nine years (1998/99 to 2006/07), the
Correctional Service has spent significantly more time
and money on efforts to prevent drugs from entering
its institutions. A measure of the success of these
efforts is the percentage of positive urinanalysis
samples, which indicate drug use. Institutional
random urinanalysis has shown that drug use declined
by less than 1 percentage point between 1998/99 and
2006/07. In fiscal 2006/07, the rate of positive
samples was 12.0% (837 positives out of 6,957
urinanalysis samples taken in CSC institutions). Nine
years earlier, it was 12.8%.
It is clear that the measures to reduce drug use have
had only limited impact. Given this reality, and the
fact that even greater financial resources and
interdiction efforts may likely realize only limited
gains, the Correctional Service must move beyond
existing harm reduction initiatives of education,
methadone treatment, condoms and bleach. It must
implement a broader range of initiatives that have
reduced transmission of infectious diseases in other
jurisdictions without compromising the safety of staff
and offenders.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

10. Lessons Learned and
Best Practices
A learning organization develops strong processes for
providing continuous feedback to its senior managers,
so that it can minimize mistakes, and share and
implement best practices across the organization. This
approach also requires mechanisms to maintain
corporate memory, regardless of staff turnover. We
observed several key areas where the Correctional
Service could improve such continuous learning.
• Use of force: Some penitentiaries rely heavily on
use of force, while others appear to be
managing offenders using less restrictive
alternatives. The Correctional Service needs to
review these discrepancies to ensure consistency
and compliance with legal and policy
requirements for use of force.
• Inmate injuries and deaths: Given the vast
amount of information available from its
internal investigative reports, the Correctional
Service must have a rigorous process for sharing
and implementing best practices.
• Aboriginal offenders: There is no shortage of
innovative local initiatives, programs and best
practices, but they are not being transferred
across security classifications and regions.
(Reports and recommendations from the
Correctional Service’s Health Care Advisory
Committee are excellent. We would expect that
the National Aboriginal Advisory Committee,
once re-established, could provide similar
leadership on Aboriginal issues.)
• Grievances: The CSC internal grievance system
is one of the best sources of information and
should be used to identify and proactively
address systemic issues. Unfortunately, the
Correctional Service’s methods for collecting
and collating this data do not allow it to
routinely conduct meaningful analyses, or to
develop, implement and monitor cost-effective
strategies to prevent future complaints.

11. Unescorted
Temporary Absences
and Work Releases
Unescorted temporary absences and work releases are
an important element of the safe and gradual
reintegration of many offenders into the community.
These forms of conditional release are largely under
the purview of the Correctional Service. Over the past
decade, the Correctional Service has significantly
reduced their use, despite their high success rate. The
lack of work release options for women offenders is
especially worrisome, as work releases can significantly
improve an offender’s ability to move successfully into
the community.

12. Human Resources
Issues
The Correctional Service has developed a
comprehensive and noteworthy human resources plan.
To improve its ability to deliver on its mandate, the
Correctional Service has determined that it must
continue to increase the proportion of Aboriginal
workers at all levels, beyond employment equity
requirements, paying specific attention to institutions
with significant Aboriginal offender populations.
The Correctional Service’s ability to carry out its
legislative mandate in the area of health care rests in
part on its capacity to recruit and retain experienced
health care professionals and program facilitators. The
short-term nature of the funding for the Mental
Health Strategy hinders the Correctional Service’s
efforts to recruit experienced health care professionals.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

THE CORRECTIONAL SERVICE
OF CANADA’S FIVE KEY
PRIORITIES
1.

Safe Transition of Eligible Offenders into the Community

2.

Safety and Security for Staff and Offenders in Our Institutions

3.

Enhanced Capacities to Provide Effective Interventions for First Nations, Métis and
Inuit Offenders

4.

Improved Capacities to Address Mental Health Needs of Offenders

5.

Strengthened Management Practices

1. Safe Transition of
Eligible Offenders
into the Community
We know that evidence-based programming and
treatment can significantly reduce re-offending, and
we praise the Correctional Service for endorsing such
programming and treatment approaches. An April
2005 CSC report, The Safe Return of Offenders to the
Community, provides a detailed inventory of CSC
programs and treatment initiatives—such as initiatives
related to education, employment, substance abuse,
living skills, sex offender treatment, violent offender
treatment and family violence—that significantly
decreased re-offending.
For almost two decades, this Office raised concerns in
its annual reports about the decreasing ability of the
Correctional Service to prepare offenders’ cases in a
thorough and timely fashion for conditional release
consideration. A significant number of these delays
related directly to the Correctional Service’s inability
to provide the required assessments and treatment
before an offender’s scheduled parole hearing dates.
Now, as the Correctional Service faces increasing
financial constraints, the situation has become critical.
More offenders will return unprepared to the
community, where they will be supervised for a
shorter period. For the great majority of offenders,
timely, gradual and supported reintegration is the
most effective way to enhance public safety.
To address some of the issues associated with timely
case preparation and access to programs, a Joint
Working Group involving the Correctional Service of
Canada, the National Parole Board and the Office of
the Correctional Investigator was established. In
December 2004, the committee issued its Report on
Factors Causing Delays in National Parole Board
Reviews. The report made recommendations to
facilitate timely conditional release reviews. It also
recommended ensuring that offenders appearing
before the Board receive the assistance and programs
they need for their eventual safe community
reintegration in a timely manner. To date, there is no

evidence that correctional outcomes have improved in
the following areas:
• the number of, and reasons for, delays in
offenders appearing before the National Parole
Board;
• waiting lists for programs included in
correctional plans to maximize safe and timely
reintegration;
• timely access to programs and services that will
significantly reduce the time spent in mediumand maximum-security institutions; and
• the number of offenders involved in unescorted
temporary absence (UTA) and work release
programs, which have drastically declined over
the past decade despite a very high success rate.
Moreover, the Correctional Service has limited
capacity to monitor or analyze the above correctional
outcomes, or to ensure that its efforts are having
positive effects.
We support the Correctional Service’s efforts to secure
resources to improve timely access to a full range of
effective offender programs and treatment. As the
Correctional Service itself acknowledges, correctional
programming provides “better control and stability in
institutions and the community.”

1. I recommend that the Correctional Service
secure and commit adequate funding to
improve its capacity to provide the required
assessments and programming in advance of
the offender’s scheduled parole hearing dates.
2. I recommend that the Correctional Service
establish as a priority the timely preparation
of cases to appear before the National Parole
Board, as per policy. Performance in this key
area should be closely monitored and
measured on an ongoing basis through
increased reporting.

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17

2. Safety and Security
for Staff and
Offenders in Our
Institutions
Staff and offender safety is paramount, and the
Correctional Service has correctly emphasized this fact
in its last two Reports on Plans and Priorities.
The Correctional Service has two key fundamental
roles: to ensure a safe, secure correctional environment
and to help offenders safely reintegrate into the
community. To enhance safety, it must allocate
resources to both security measures and assistance to
offenders. In recent years, the Correctional Service has
tended to invest in security measures, often without
the same increased attention paid to rehabilitative
initiatives. The challenge is to recognize that beyond a
certain threshold, additional security investments do
not necessarily yield additional public or staff safety
benefits. Creating a more controlled environment that
does not provide sufficient support and services to
offenders may actually decrease the stability of
institutions and the potential for offenders’ safe and
timely reintegration into the community.
The overall level of violence in penitentiaries remains
unacceptably high. A key legislative responsibility of
the federal correctional system is to ensure that
inmates serve their sentences in a safe and secure
environment. For years, this Office has expressed
concern regarding the extent to which the
Correctional Service provides such an environment.
Experience shows that mechanisms such as positive,
ongoing interactions with offenders and alternative
dispute resolution could help diminish institutional
violence. Additional mental health services could also
improve the situation. Too many vulnerable offenders
suffering from mental illnesses are subject to abuse
from other offenders, while many more become the
subject of avoidable use of force interventions and
extensive placements in segregation.

18

The Deaths in Custody
Study
We are concerned about the high number of deaths
and injuries in federal institutions. In our last annual
report, we stated that the Office was especially
concerned about the number of similar findings and
recommendations made year after year by the
Correctional Service’s national investigations,
provincial coroners and medical examiners after
reviewing inmate deaths. We undertook to conduct a
comprehensive review of reports, observations and
recommendations dealing with deaths in custody and
other matters. Finally, we stated that, in order to
reduce the number of fatalities, a timely and
systematic follow-up on corrective actions was
required to ensure that preventive measures were
implemented.
In this context, the Office retained the services of a
senior academic from the University of Ottawa to
study deaths in custody. Specifically, this project
examined all reported deaths—due to factors other
than natural causes—that occurred over a five-year
period in Canadian federal correctional institutions.
The study included all deaths that the Correctional
Service had determined were homicides, suicides,
overdoses or accidents. The project was designed to
identify areas in which improvements might enhance
the Correctional Service’s ability to prevent or respond
to assaults and self-injury in the future.
The Deaths in Custody Study examined 82 reported
suicides, homicides and accidental deaths in custody
from 2001 to 2005, inclusive. The researcher reviewed
CSC board of investigation reports and action plans,
coroners’ reports, correspondence between CSC and
both OCI and coroners’ offices, and other documents
pertaining to each fatality. The study came to the
following conclusions.
• Finding #1: Investigative boards and coroners
repeatedly raise several common concerns in a
significant number of deaths in custody cases.
• Finding #2: There is no evidence that the
Correctional Service has improved its overall

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capacity to prevent or respond to deaths in custody
during the five-year study period.
• Finding #3: The Correctional Service tends to act
on the findings and recommendations of boards of
investigation, but often disagrees with, or takes no
action on, coroners’ recommendations.
• Finding #4: Typically, a significant period of time
elapses between an institutional fatality and the
Correctional Service’s adoption of formal measures
to address issues arising from it.
• Finding #5: It is likely that some of the deaths in
custody could have been averted through improved
risk assessments, more vigorous preventive
measures, and more competent and timely
responses by institutional staff.
The Deaths in Custody Study presents disturbing
findings. The report provides evidence that the
Correctional Service must enhance its capacity to
focus on observations and recommendations related to
deaths in custody. The Correctional Service has failed
to consistently incorporate lessons learned and
implement corrective action over time and across
regions, as similar errors are repeated, and similar
findings and recommendations are being made time
and again. The study also suggests that the
Correctional Service resists or fails to reasonably act
on a large proportion of coroners’ findings and
recommendations, compared to the findings and
recommendations of its own boards of investigation.
The report concludes that “…the Service fell short in
implementing its own policies and practices, and in
doing everything possible to avert a fatality.”
Beginning in 2005, the Correctional Service launched
three initiatives to improve its capacity to respond to
serious incidents and deaths in custody: it introduced
emergency protocols for all institutional health centre
nurses; implemented policy changes that addressed
first responder responsibilities; and improved
mandatory training for all nurses. To date, the
Correctional Service has not reported on the impact
of these measures.
The Correctional Service has indicated a willingness
to address many of the Deaths in Custody Study’s
findings. We are currently in talks with the

Correctional Service in an attempt to make sure that
it adheres to—or, in some instances, alters—existing
procedures and practices to ensure timely
• convening of investigations;
• meaningful analysis of completed investigation
reports;
• approval by the Correctional Service’s Executive
Committee (EXCOM) of recommendations
and action plans developed in response to
national investigative reports; and
• consistent implementation, follow-up and
monitoring of actions taken in response to
approved recommendations.
The Correctional Service has already committed to
improving the timeliness and effectiveness of the
investigation process, and to enhancing its mental
health capacity and responsiveness to incidents. This
initial undertaking is encouraging, and we look
forward to further steps to fully address the areas of
concern identified in the Deaths in Custody Study.
We hope that this collaborative approach will result in
significant improvements.

3. I recommend that the Correctional Service
establish a timely process whereby its Executive
Committee approves the development of
action plans in response to investigative reports
into inmate deaths or major injuries. In no
case should this process last longer than six
months from the date of the incident.
4. I recommend that the Correctional Service
develop an action plan on the steps it will
take to establish a new process to ensure
consistent and timely implementation, as well
as regular follow-ups, of its recommendations,
and those of coroners and medical examiners.
5. I recommend that the Correctional Service
• establish a consistent framework for
reporting and recording attempted
suicides, self-inflicted injuries and
overdoses;

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19

•

•

provide for the systematic review of the
circumstances of these injuries in order to
ensure that these cases are subject to
appropriate review and to investigate,
where required by law; and
take corrective actions to prevent the
recurrence of accidents and of wilful acts
involving injuries.

Communicable Diseases
and Harm Reduction
Initiatives
In April 2005, the Correctional Service signed a
memorandum of understanding with the Public
Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) to receive
scientific and technical advice concerning the
potential risks and benefits of prison needle exchange
programs. The PHAC released its report in April
2006. It concluded that prison-based needle exchange
programs in other jurisdictions have significantly
reduced the transmission of infectious diseases, and
that there was no evidence that these programs had
jeopardized staff and offender safety.
On May 10, 2006, the Standing Senate Committee
on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, chaired by
Senator Michael J.L. Kirby, tabled a report on mental
health and addiction, Out of the Shadows at Last.
Following a discussion of prison-based needle
exchange, the report recommended “that the
Correctional Service of Canada immediately
implement expanded harm reduction measures in all
federal correctional institutions.”
In August 2005, the Correctional Service began
implementing the Safer Tattooing Practices Pilot
Initiative, which included an educational component
and the setting-up of tattoo rooms in six federal
institutions. We received a copy of the evaluation of
the program in December 2006. The evaluation
concluded that “the initiative has demonstrated
potential to reduce harm, reduce exposure to health
risk, and enhance the health and safety of staff
members, inmates and the general public.”

20

On December 5, 2006, the Government of Canada
cancelled the Safer Tattooing Practices Pilot Initiative
and closed the six CSC tattoo rooms.

6. I recommend that the Correctional Service
evaluate the effectiveness and adequacy of its
harm reduction strategies in consultation with
its Health Care Advisory Committee.

3. Enhanced Capacities
to Provide Effective
Interventions for First
Nations, Métis and
Inuit Offenders
The over-representation of Aboriginal people in
Canada's penitentiaries has been well documented
over the past decade: nationally, Aboriginal people
make up less than 3% of the Canadian population
but comprise almost 19% of the total federal prison
population. For women, this over-representation is
even more dramatic—32% of women in federal
penitentiaries are Aboriginal. The fact that this huge
over-representation has grown in recent years is
alarming. While the federal inmate population in
Canada actually decreased between 1997 and 2007,
the number of First Nations people in federal
institutions increased by almost 26.4%. Moreover, the
number of federally incarcerated First Nations women
increased by a staggering 151% over this period.
We estimated the overall incarceration rate of
Aboriginal Canadians in 2006 to be 1,024 per
100,000, or almost nine times higher than the rate for
non-Aboriginal Canadians. While the Correctional
Service does not control social conditions or policy
decisions that help shape its offender population, it is
responsible for operating in compliance with the law
and ensuring the unique needs of Aboriginal offenders
are addressed.
The Correctional Service has implemented a number
of very positive initiatives and programs for

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• eight healing lodges;
• core Aboriginal programs, including Circles of
Change, In Search of Your Warrior and
Aboriginal Offender Substance Abuse
Programming (under review and revision); and
• program-based and site-specific initiatives, such
as Pathways, traditional circles, the Medicine
Wheel Program, sentencing circles (for
institutional offences), sweat lodge and
longhouse teachings, and celebrations of
cultural traditions and ceremonial practices.

community supervision is significantly smaller
than the proportion of non-Aboriginal
offenders serving their sentences on conditional
release.
• Aboriginal offenders continue to be overrepresented among all offenders referred for
detention.
• The rate of revocations for breach of conditions
(no new criminal offence) is higher for
Aboriginal offenders.
• Aboriginal offenders are re-admitted to federal
custody more frequently than non-Aboriginal
offenders, and too often this cycle of unfair
treatment begins again.

Unfortunately, these positive local initiatives are not
well coordinated by the Correctional Service and have
had limited impact on narrowing the gap in
correctional outcomes between Aboriginal and other
offenders. In fact, in our last Annual Report
(2005/06), we detailed the following persistent
pattern of poor outcomes arising from existing CSC
policies, procedures, practices and organizational
structures.

On October 16, 2006, the Correctional Service issued
its latest Strategic Plan for Aboriginal Corrections.
The strategy came with a national action plan and five
regional action plans, which included close to 200
actionable items. The great majority of the items had
completion dates of March 2007 or earlier. These
promising and ambitious undertakings have yet to be
fully implemented and accordingly have not reversed
any of the trends listed above.

Aboriginal offenders over the last six years, including
the following:

• Inmates of First Nations, Métis and Inuit
heritage face routine over-classification,
resulting in their placement in minimumsecurity institutions at only half the rate of nonAboriginal offenders.
• The over-classification of Aboriginal women is
even worse. For example, at the end of
September 2006, Aboriginal women made up
44% of maximum-security federally sentenced
women, 41% of the medium-security female
population and only 18% of the minimumsecurity female population.
• Placement in a maximum-security institution
and segregation limit access to rehabilitative
programming and services intended to prepare
inmates for release.
• Aboriginal inmates are released later in their
sentences than other inmates.
• The proportion of full parole applications
resulting in reviews by the National Parole
Board is lower for Aboriginal offenders.
• The proportion of Aboriginal offenders under

We also note the Correctional Service’s lack of
progress in improving the treatment of offender
populations in the North. A discussion paper,
Developing and Managing a Northern Correctional
Framework, reveals that complex issues are only
beginning to be understood and that little concrete
progress has been made on the Northern Strategy
Framework (December 2004). A further discussion
paper was issued in January 2006 but to date no
substantive action has been initiated.
In past OCI annual reports, this Office recommended
that the Correctional Service appoint a deputy
commissioner specifically responsible for Aboriginal
corrections to ensure that the Correctional Service
incorporates Aboriginal concerns into all of its
operational and policy decisions at the senior level.
The Correctional Service instead expanded the role
and responsibilities of the Senior Deputy
Commissioner (SDC) by adding the Aboriginal
portfolio to his duties. We viewed this response as a
workable compromise, and we hoped it would help

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21

the Correctional Service focus better on this key
priority. Unfortunately, we are not encouraged thus
far. A review of the last nine Records of Undertakings
and Follow-Up from EXCOM Meetings does not
provide evidence that Aboriginal-specific issues were
discussed.
The Correctional Service continues to actively consult
with Aboriginal communities, and we acknowledge its
efforts to include Aboriginal communities in shaping
Aboriginal corrections. However, the Correctional
Service is not meeting its formal consultative
legislative requirement. The Corrections and
Conditional Release Act stipulates that the Correctional
Service shall establish a National Aboriginal Advisory
Committee to advise the Correctional Service on the
provision of correctional services to Aboriginal
offenders. The National Aboriginal Advisory
Committee has not met since June 2004. We were
advised that new terms of reference and membership
for this committee are being developed.
We continue to be concerned that the Correctional
Service does not have the necessary data collection
systems in place to monitor and evaluate its progress
in the area of Aboriginal corrections. We have for
years recommended that the Correctional Service
publicly issue detailed quarterly reports analyzing key
correctional outcomes, including transfers,
segregation, discipline, temporary absences and work
releases, detention referrals, delayed parole reviews,
and suspension and revocation of conditional release.
The Correctional Service indicated in its Strategic
Plan for Aboriginal Corrections that it would develop
and implement an integrated monitoring system for
assessing the impact of policy changes on Aboriginal
offenders by March 2007. This date has now been
shifted. In fact, we have seen no evidence of improved
data collection or analysis, and we have been advised
that the Correctional Service will now produce only
basic annual reports on Aboriginal offenders, as it
claims trends are not significantly changing over time.
Over the years, our Office and other observers have
become increasingly concerned about the overclassification of Aboriginal offenders, and the use of
the Correctional Service’s actuarial risk assessment

22

tools, including reintegration potential scales.
Actuarial risk assessment tools are scales that measure
risk related to recidivism, institutional adjustment or
escape.
In 1996, Justice Louise Arbour was the first to express
concerns regarding the validity and reliability of the
Correctional Service’s initial classification scale. The
scale assesses several factors, including employment,
marital or family situation, associates and social
interaction, substance abuse, community functioning,
personal and emotional orientation, and attitude.
The Correctional Service is currently doing a study to
determine whether its re-classification scale needs to
be revised. Depending on the result of the study, the
Correctional Service will explore several options,
including retaining, revising or replacing the existing
scale. Consultations are underway and a draft internal
report is now expected in December 2007. We are
very concerned that if a new actuarial tool is required,
it will take the Correctional Service many years to
develop such a tool. With so much evidence regarding
the inappropriateness of current tools for Aboriginal
populations, we urge the Correctional Service to put
in place interim measures as it proceeds to develop its
new re-classification tools.
We were also notified that the Correctional Service
has no plan to review its intake assessment tools to
validate their appropriateness for use with the
Aboriginal offender population. The combination of
over-classification and lack of Aboriginal
programming best illustrates how systemic barriers
can hinder timely and effective offender reintegration.
Aboriginal offenders are over-classified because of a
poorly conceived actuarial scale. As a result,
Aboriginal offenders are disproportionately placed in
higher-security institutions, which have limited or no
access to core programs designed to meet their unique
needs. The absence of access to programming limits
the opportunity for transfers to lower-security
institutions, which in turn diminishes the chances of
timely and safe conditional release. This scenario
begins to explain why the reintegration of Aboriginal
offenders is lagging so significantly behind the
reintegration of other offenders. Clearly, these

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

differences in correctional outcomes cannot be
explained by differences in criminogenic risk or need
alone.

7. I recommend that the Correctional Service
reconsider its decision not to appoint a deputy
commissioner for Aboriginal offenders with
the authority to implement the Service’s
Strategic Plan for Aboriginal Corrections.
8. I recommend that the Correctional Service
publicly report, on an annual basis, its
progress in implementing its Strategic Plan for
Aboriginal Corrections. The report should
include progress on key correctional
performance indicators, including transfers,
segregation, discipline, temporary absences
and work releases, detention referrals, delayed
parole reviews, and suspension and revocation
of conditional release.
9. I recommend that the Correctional Service
immediately re-establish the National
Aboriginal Advisory Committee, as required
by law.

4. Improved Capacities
to Address Mental
Health Needs of
Offenders
We are pleased to report that the Correctional Service
has made some progress in addressing the inadequacy
of the mental health care provided to federal
offenders. However, the full implementation of the
entire CSC Mental Health Strategy is urgently
required to ensure that the Correctional Service
complies with its legal obligation to provide every
inmate with essential mental health care and
reasonable access to non-essential mental health care
according to professionally accepted standards.
Improving outcomes in this area is critical, as
offenders with mental illnesses continue to be
segregated when they display symptoms of their

illnesses and are too often not receiving treatment
according to professionally accepted standards.
The number of offenders in federal penitentiaries with
significant, identified mental health needs has nearly
doubled over the past decade. In 1997, 7% of
incarcerated men and 13% of incarcerated women
self-identified as having current mental health
diagnoses. In 2007, 12% of incarcerated men and
21% of incarcerated women self-identified as having
such diagnoses. The mental health services offered by
the Correctional Service have not kept up with this
dramatic increase and, in some instances, the services
have deteriorated.
As reported in the Correctional Service’s Report on
Plans and Priorities (2007/08), mental health
problems are up to three times more common among
inmates in correctional institutions than among the
general Canadian population. More than 1 out of 10
male inmates and 1 out of 4 female inmates have been
identified at admission as having mental health
problems, an increase of 71% and by 100%,
respectively, since 1997.
In July 2004, the Correctional Service approved a
mental health strategy that promotes the adoption of
a continuum of care from initial intake through the
safe release of offenders into the community. In
December 2005, the Correctional Service secured
funds to strengthen the community supervision of its
mental health continuum. This Office welcomed the
news of these new investments—approximately
$6 million per year for five years—in community
mental health. Funding allocated to enhance discharge
planning and community support will assist offenders
during their period of conditional release. We also
welcome the Government of Canada’s inclusion in its
March 2007 budget of new investments—
approximately $21 million for two years—to address
the lack of a comprehensive mental health intake
assessment process and to improve primary mental
health care in CSC institutions.
The major limitation of the efforts to date is that the
funding provided is only a small fraction of what is
required to deal with this growing crisis. Moreover,

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23

the funding has been allocated for the immediate and
short terms, and no ongoing permanent funding has
been secured. The Correctional Service recognizes the
challenges of staffing additional positions. It cannot
offer new permanent positions—for professionals such
as psychiatric nurses, psychologists and behavioural
science technologists—because the funding covers
only a limited period of two to five years. This fact
will undoubtedly hinder the Correctional Service’s
ability to recruit professional staff.

10. I recommend that the Minister make securing
adequate and permanent funding for the full
implementation of the Correctional Service’s
Mental Health Strategy a key portfolio
priority.
11. I recommend that the Correctional Service
fast track its training initiatives to ensure that
all front-line employees are trained in dealing
with mentally ill offenders.

5. Strengthened
Management Practices
The Correctional Service’s Report on Plans and
Priorities (2006/07) committed the Service to
strengthening its management practices by ensuring
that there is a “robust and effective organization that
is able to deliver on its key operational priorities and
other activities in a cost-effective manner and to do
this in a way that is consistent with public service
values that are essential to a healthy workplace and to
the confidence and trust of Canadians.” The
Correctional Service states that it will do so by
improving results in the areas of harassment, staff
grievances, respect, trust, accountability, management
practices, ethics, resource, integrity, fairness,
inclusiveness of the workplace and respect. The
Correctional Service should be commended for its
leadership efforts to strengthen its management
practices. We will limit our comments and
observations on this key priority to those initiatives
that are of concern because of their impact on the

24

offender population. Clearly, management practices
can, and do, influence the treatment of offenders.

Audit and Evaluation
In the last two years, the Correctional Service has
enhanced its audit and evaluation capacity and
incorporated external expert input in its processes and
practices. We welcome this initiative and believe that
this approach has increased quality and rigour in
internal audits and evaluations produced by the
Correctional Service. We encourage the Correctional
Service to rely on this approach in key areas of
concern, including the investigative process, offender
grievances, inmate injuries and institutional violence.

Grievances and Harassment
Complaints
In response to the 2005 Public Service Employee
Survey, the Correctional Service co-developed, with its
six bargaining agents, an action plan to address the
three major areas of employee concern identified:
harassment; grievances; and respect, trust and
accountability. The action plan for this fiscal year
includes the following:
• increasing training in, and awareness of,
harassment and grievance issues;
• developing, in consultation with bargaining
agents, a new policy on managing harassment;
• clarifying roles, responsibilities and
accountabilities related to managing harassment
and grievances;
• increasing the use of external facilitators and
investigators in harassment investigations;
• increasing the monitoring of harassment and
grievance processes; and
• training managers in conflict management.
Moreover, in its draft Strategic Plan for Human
Resource Management 2007–2010, the Correctional
Service indicates that it will measure the results of its
efforts to improve “workplace health and effective and
responsive labour relations” using the following
benchmarks:

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• demonstrated improvement in the management
of employee harassment complaints, whereby
– timeframes for harassment investigations
are improved, and
– harassment complaints are reduced; and
• demonstrated improvement in managing
employee grievances at each level, whereby
– grievance complaints at the third level are
reduced, and
– the number of adjudication cases drops.
This Office congratulates the Correctional Service for
moving forward with the above initiatives, which
include clear targets and timelines for reducing
employee grievances and harassment complaints. We
believe that dealing fairly and expeditiously with
grievances and harassment complaints is vital. This
Office also believes that human rights obligations
require that, regardless of one’s situation or
circumstances, all grievance and harassment complaint
processes reflect the same key principles. Applying
these principles helps create a healthy environment
conducive to effective correctional operations for both
staff and offenders.
We encourage the Correctional Service to apply
consistent thinking in its approach to addressing
offender grievances and harassment complaints. The
Corrections and Conditional Release Act requires that
offenders have complete and unprejudiced access to “a
procedure for fairly and expeditiously resolving
offenders’ grievances.” Over the years, our Office has
repeatedly concluded in its annual reports that the
existing procedure is dysfunctional in terms of
expeditiously resolving offender grievances, most
notably at the national level. The system has been
ineffective in dealing with the chronic backlog of
cases. This situation continues to have an impact on
the operations of this Office as, increasingly, offenders
turn to us to resolve their concerns. The Federal
Court has recently commented on the Correctional
Service’s performance in this regard (Caruana v.
Attorney General of Canada, T-1889-05, November 9,
2006) and stated:
This proceeding brings to light, undoubtedly
not for the first time, the Correctional Service
of Canada’s grievance procedure to provide

for “…fairly and expeditiously resolving
offenders’ grievances in matters within the
jurisdiction of the Commissioner,…”. Indeed,
the Applicant’s experience in bringing forward
a not unreasonable grievance leading to this
judicial review discloses that CSC’s grievance
procedure, at least at the second level in the
Ontario Region at the time here at issue, was
anything but expeditious and in stark contrast
with the Commissioner’s directive as to what
he or she interprets to be expeditious
procedure.
The Correctional Service in 1998, facing excessively
lengthy delays and a lack of compliance with its own
policy, extended its timeframes “to better reflect the
time required to respond.” This Office raised concerns
at the time that such an extension was inconsistent
with the Correctional Service’s commitment to “an
effective, timely redress process for offenders” and did
not reflect legal requirements. Almost a decade later,
only 22% of the grievances identified as “high
priority” at the Commissioner’s level were answered
within these expanded timeframes in fiscal 2006/07,
and the Correctional Service is again considering
extending the already extended timeframes.
The Correctional Service introduced a revised
procedure four years ago in an attempt to reasonably
address offenders’ harassment complaints. It issued a
further improved policy bulletin on harassment,
sexual harassment and discrimination in September
2006. In our annual reports, we have repeatedly raised
the issues pertaining to harassment grievances as a key
priority. In 2004, the Canadian Human Rights
Commission did the same. While the Correctional
Service appears to have finally developed a reasonable
harassment policy, we remain extremely concerned
that little progress has been made in ensuring
operational compliance with the policy and legal
provisions in such a key priority area. The
Correctional Service does not have enough trained
and certified investigators to deal with the 400
harassment complaints it receives annually, and
unreasonable delays remain the norm in addressing
these sensitive and important grievances.

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25

Human Resources Issues
In its draft Strategic Plan for Human Resource
Management 2007–2010, the Correctional Service
acknowledges that it must “put into place robust
measures to recruit and retain a representative
workforce.” The Correctional Service identified the
need to continue to increase the proportion of
Aboriginal workers at all levels, beyond employment
equity requirements, particularly in its executive ranks
and in institutions with significant Aboriginal
offender populations. It plans to implement a national
strategy for recruiting Aboriginal employees and
senior executives to meet its needs, starting in March
2008.

12. I recommend that the Correctional Service
immediately audit its operations to ensure it
meets its legislative requirement to resolve
offenders’ complaints and grievances fairly and
expeditiously. This audit should examine the
use of grievance information and trend
analysis to implement strategies to prevent
future complaints and to systematically address
areas of offender concern.
13. I recommend that the Correctional Service
significantly increase (above the required
employment equity level) the overall rate of
representation of Aboriginal employees in its
workforce at all levels in institutions where a
majority of offenders are of Aboriginal
ancestry.

26

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

Other Activities
We will take this opportunity to report on our
continued commitment to enhancing this Office’s
citizen engagement and its information program for
offenders. This past year, we have again been involved
in a number of outreach activities. We have continued
to increase our participation in public events to
enhance understanding of the responsibilities of
Canada’s federal prison ombudsman. Articles we have
written have appeared in a variety of publications. We
have also made presentations to a broad spectrum of
audiences at universities, colleges and community
centres, as well as conferences attended by
psychologists, criminologists, lawyers, judges, mental
health professionals, prison administrators and
interested citizens. These activities were opportunities
to increase public understanding of the role of
independent prison oversight within our criminal
justice system.

and abroad. The Director of Policy and Senior
Counsel of this Office acted as the guest editor of the
special issue. A number of articles in this issue called
for reforms previously recommended by the Office in
our annual reports to Parliament. These
recommendations include introducing independent
adjudication for administrative segregation; improving
the Correctional Service’s inmate grievance process to
ensure fair and timely resolution of offender
complaints; improving access to programming and
services specifically designed to meet the needs of
women, Aboriginal people and offenders with mental
health concerns; and encouraging Canada to sign and
ratify the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention
against Torture to strengthen external oversight
mechanisms.

We would like to report on two additional
undertakings of our Office. First, the Office was
selected to be the lead partner on an important
project, fully funded by the Canadian International
Development Agency, with the prison administration
of China. The Jail Supervision Division of the
Penitentiary Administration Bureau of the Chinese
Public Security Ministry (JSD) openly acknowledged
significant human rights challenges in its prisons and
demonstrated an interest in responding to a recent
report of the UN Special Rapporteur against Torture.
The UN report was critical of Chinese authorities’
treatment of their prisoners. This project is unique
because the JSD is partnering directly with our
Office, whose statutory mandate includes making
recommendations on human rights compliance. The
Office was specifically selected for this project because
of its unique mandate and its established expertise in
human rights in correctional settings.
Second, in April 2006, the Canadian Journal of
Criminology and Criminal Justice released a special
issue entitled “Prison Oversight and Human Rights,”
an evaluation of prisoners’ human rights in Canada

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

27

Conclusion
We are looking forward to working collaboratively
with the Correctional Service on its five key priorities
and to addressing the 12 public safety barriers we have
identified in this year’s Annual Report 2006/07. We
acknowledge that none of the issues will be easy to
resolve. However, we sincerely hope that the
Correctional Service will respond not only to our
specific recommendations but also to the issues
themselves, by setting the bar high and committing
itself to addressing these longstanding offender
concerns in a reasonable and timely way. Canadians
deserve nothing less than the best correctional system
in return for their significant investment.
As for next year, the Office will focus on the
Correctional Service’s progress in addressing its five
key priorities as they relate to offender concerns and
on its ongoing response to the Deaths in Custody
Study. We will continue to work with various
stakeholders, and to increase our Office’s citizen
engagement and its information program for
offenders.
As we move forward, confident of having addressed
the Auditor General’s recommendations, we are
committed to building upon our investigative and
policy capacity. Following a successful OCI
organizational retreat and staff consultation, we have
initiated concrete steps to review and enhance several
internal OCI processes, including communications,
investigation procedures, career development and staff
training.
We look forward to the coming year and the obvious
challenges it will present. We are confident, as
indicated in the introduction, that the underlying
issues detailed in this report can be resolved. The
Office will continue to work with the Correctional
Service in an open and cooperative fashion to assist in
addressing areas of offender concern and to contribute
to public safety.

28

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

ANNEX A: STATISTICS

ANNEX A: STATISTICS
Complaints - see Glossary (1)
Internal Response - see Glossary (2)
Investigation - see Glossary (3)

Table A: Complaints By Category
(1)

CATEGORY

I/R (2)

INV (3)

TOTAL

Administrative Segregation
Conditions
Placement/Review
Total

25
87
112

118
223
341

143
310
453

Case Preparation
Conditional Release
Post Suspension
Temporary Absence
Transfer
Total

66
28
12
64
170

123
28
39
69
259

189
56
51
133
429

Cell Effects
Cell Placement

246
55

440
73

686
128

17
21
38

11
33
44

28
54
82

7
117
43
7
36

15
257
67
9
34

22
374
110
16
70

Diet
Medical
Religious
Total

6
11
17

39
19
58

45
30
75

Discipline
Independent Chairperson (ICP) Decisions
Minor Court Decisions
Procedures
Total

6
17
24
47

6
14
27
47

12
31
51
94

Discrimination
Employment

12
54

17
92

29
146

70
115
185

87
71
158

157
186
343

Claims Against the Crown
Decisions
Processing
Total
Community Programs/Supervision
Conditions of Confinement
Correspondence
Death or Serious Injury
Decisions (General) - Implementation

File Information
Access - Disclosure
Correction
Total

Continued next page

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

31

Table A: Complaints(1) By Category (cont.)
CATEGORY

I/R (2)

INV (3)

TOTAL

46
58
104

67
77
144

113
135
248

27
77
25
5
9

46
219
36
5
7

73
296
61
10
16

85
117
18
220

372
238
86
696

457
355
104
916

Mental Health
Access
Programs
Total

9
5
14

49
6
55

58
11
69

Methadone
Official Languages
Operation/Decisions of the OCI

9
4
28

43
4
15

52
8
43

Programs
Access
Quality/Content
Total

68
25
93

121
25
146

189
50
239

Release Procedures
Safety/Security of Offender(s)
Search and Seizure
Security Classification
Sentence Administration
Staff Performance
Telephone
Temporary Absence Decision

27
50
13
63
21
236
44
36

45
117
28
130
37
216
136
58

72
167
41
193
58
452
180
94

Transfer
Implementation
Involuntary
Pen Placement
Voluntary
Total

35
62
25
45
167

131
146
55
111
443

166
208
80
156
610

12
14

11
23

23
37

Financial Matters
Access
Pay
Total
Food Services
Grievance Procedure
Harassment
Health and Safety - Worksite
Ion Scan/Drug Dog
Health Care
Access
Decisions
Dental
Total

Urinalysis
Use of Force

Continued next page

32

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

Table A: Complaints(1) By Category (cont.)
CATEGORY

I/R (2)

INV (3)

TOTAL

Visits
General
Private Family Visits
Total

33
73
106

73
178
251

106
251
357

Outside Terms of Reference
Parole Process/Decisions
Other Issues

133
63

61
33

194
96

2746

4916

7662

Grand Total

Glossary
Complaint:

Complaints may be made by an offender or a party action on behalf of an offender by
telephone, facsimile, letter and/or during interviews held by the OCI’s investigative staff at
federal correctional facilities.
The legislation also allows the OCI to commence an investigation at the request of the Minister
or on the OCI’s own initiative.

Internal Response: A response provided to a complainant that does not require consultation with any sources of
information outside the OCI.
Investigation:

A contact where an inquiry is made to the Correctional Service and/or documentation is
reviewed/analyzed by the OCI's investigative staff before the information or assistance sought by
the offender is provided.
Investigations vary considerably in terms of their scope, complexity, duration and resources
required. While some issues may be addressed relatively quickly, others require a comprehensive
review of documentation, numerous interviews and extensive correspondence with the various
levels of management at the Correctional Service of Canada prior to being finalized.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

33

Table B: Complaints by Institution
REGION/INSTITUTION

Number of
Complaints

Number of
Interviews

Number of Days
Spent in Institution

WOMEN’S FACILITIES
Edmonton Women's Facility
Fraser Valley
Grand Valley
Isabel McNeill House
Joliette
Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge
Nova
Regional Psychiatric Centre
Total

73
107
134
17
55
19
30
17
452

21
60
55
7
30
11
14
8
206

3
5
10
1
6
2
4
2
33

ATLANTIC
Atlantic
Dorchester
Shepody Healing Centre
Springhill
Westmorland
Region Total

123
296
30
115
29
593

45
92
14
46
15
212

8
10.5
2.5
8
2.5
31.5

ONTARIO
Bath
Beaver Creek
Collins Bay
Fenbrook
Frontenac
Joyceville
Kingston Penitentiary
Millhaven
Pittsburgh
Regional Treatment Centre
Warkworth
Region Total

131
58
101
282
33
166
714
232
16
126
339
2198

62
17
51
96
17
55
129
46
10
34
110
627

8.5
4
7
13
3
12
14
10
2
8
11.5
93

PACIFIC
Ferndale
Kent
Kwikwèxwelhp
Matsqui
Mission
Mountain
Pacific
Regional Treatment Centre
William Head
Region Total

21
199
16
161
157
175
150
126
16
1021

11
69
4
62
100
75
91
42
9
463

2
13
3
8
11
14.5
5.5
4
1.5
62.5
Continued next page

34

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

Table B: Complaints by Institution (cont.)
REGION/INSTITUTION

Number of
Complaints

Number of
Interviews

Number of Days
Spent in Institution

PRAIRIE
Bowden
Drumheller
Edmonton
Grande Cache
Pê Sâkâstêw Centre
Regional Psychiatric Centre
Riverbend
Rockwood
Saskatchewan Penitentiary
Stan Daniels
Stony Mountain
Region Total

217
151
385
92
12
147
12
8
299
12
276
1611

75
54
90
36
4
34
4
3
77
5
112
494

15
16
13
3.5
2
6.5
1.5
3
16.5
2
13
92

QUEBEC
Archambault
Centre Régional Santé Mentale
Cowansville
Donnacona
Drummond
Federal Training Centre
La Macaza
Leclerc
Montée St-François
Port Cartier
Regional Reception Centre
Special Handling Unit
Ste-Anne des Plaines
Region Total

126
76
131
223
160
60
121
150
35
329
94
66
31
1602

60
37
61
109
65
15
67
35
19
146
31
34
20
699

6
4
9
17
9.5
2.5
12
7
3
12
3.5
8
2
95.5

(*)7477

2701

407.5

GRAND TOTAL
(*)

Excludes 154 complaints from federal offenders in the community and 31 complaints from federal
offenders in provincial institutions.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

35

Table C: Complaints and Inmate Population - By Region
REGION
Atlantic
Quebec
Ontario
Prairie
Pacific
Women’s Facilities

TOTAL
(*)

Total Number
of Complaints (*)

Inmate
Population (**)

593
1602
2198
1611
1021
452

1366
3301
3677
3364
1964
546

7477

14218

Excludes 154 complaints from federal offenders in the community and 31 complaints from federal offenders in
provincial institutions.

(**) As of June 2007, according to the Correctional Service of Canada's Corporate Reporting System.

Table D: Disposition of Complaints by Action
ACTION
Internal Response

Disposition
Information given
Referral
Not supported
Withdrawn

Total
Investigation

Information given
Not supported
Pending
Referral
Recommendation/Resolution Facilitated
Withdrawn

GRAND TOTAL

36

1959
616
52
119
2746

Total

(*)

Number of Complaints

1542
329
102
1255
1474
214
4916

(*) 7622

Includes 154 complaints from federal offenders in the community and 31 complaints from federal offenders in
provincial institutions.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

Table E: Areas of Concern Most Frequently Identified by
Offenders
TOTAL OFFENDER POPULATION
Health Care
Cell Effects
Transfer
Administrative Segregation
Staff Performance
Case Preparation
Conditions of Confinement
Visits and Private Family Visits
Information – Access and Correction
Grievance Procedure

916
686
610
453
452
429
374
357
343
296

ABORIGINAL OFFENDERS
Health Care
Cell Effects
Administrative Segregation
Staff Performance
Case Preparation
Program Access and Content
Information – Access and Correction
Conditions of Confinement
Visits and Private Family Visits
Telephone

92
77
73
73
70
57
49
48
45
29

WOMEN OFFENDERS
Health Care
Staff Performance
Administrative Segregation
Temporary Absence Decision
Cell Effects
Security Classification
Case Preparation
Safety/Security of Offender
Cell Placement
Program Access and Content

63
36
33
28
24
23
21
21
20
20

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

37

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

Response of the Correctional Service
of Canada to the 34th Annual Report
of the Office of the Correctional
Investigator 2006-2007

INTRODUCTION

Challenges and Way
Forward

The goal of the Canadian criminal justice system is to
contribute to the maintenance of a just, peaceful and
safe society. Through its legislated mandate1, the
Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) plays an
important role in contributing to public safety by:

For several years CSC has experienced increasing
challenges due to shortfalls in funding, an
infrastructure that is dated and rusting out, and an
offender population that has become more complex
and difficult to manage. The profile changes include
higher numbers of extensive histories of violence,
organized crime backgrounds, gang affiliations,
infectious diseases and serious mental disorders, as
well as a growing proportion of the population with
Aboriginal ancestries.

•

•

carrying out sentences imposed by courts
through the reasonable, safe, secure and
humane control of offenders in institutions,
and effective supervision of offenders in
communities
assisting the rehabilitation of offenders and
their reintegration into the community as lawabiding citizens, through the provision of
programs and other interventions in institutions
and communities.

At the end of the 2005-2006 fiscal year, CSC was
responsible for approximately 12,700 federally
incarcerated offenders (excluding 1,200 offenders
temporarily detained while on conditional release to
the community) and 6,800 offenders actively
supervised in the community. Over the course of the
year, including all admissions and releases, CSC
managed a flow-through of 25,500 different
offenders.

Priorities
In order to deliver the best possible public safety
results, CSC is continuing to focus on the same
priorities identified in the previous year:
1. Safe transition of eligible offenders into the
community;
2. Safety and security for staff and offenders in
our institutions;
3. Enhanced capacities to provide effective
interventions for First Nations, Métis and Inuit
offenders;
4. Improved capacities to address mental health
needs of offenders; and
5. Strengthened management practices.

In the 2007 Budget, the Government addressed the
current challenges by putting in place a two-part
scenario. First, two-year funding was provided to
enable CSC to address its most urgent issues,
specifically to:
• meet requirements for corrective maintenance
in our institutions
• sustain security and safety of our staff and
offenders
• meet basic legal and policy requirements,
including information management and
technology support
• provide additional capacity directly related to
the changing offender profile.
Secondly, an independent review of corrections was
launched. This review is currently being conducted by
an independent panel which is examining CSC’s
operational priorities, strategies and business plans.
The panel has been asked to provide an assessment of
the efficiency and effectiveness of CSC’s contributions
to public safety and to provide advice on how they
might be strengthened. It is expected that this review
will help set the stage for a clear, long-term direction
for the federal corrections system as well as for
sustainable resourcing levels. The panel will provide
its report to the Minister by October 31, 2007, and,
as announced by the Minister, it will be made public.

1. Annex A details our legislative mandate.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

41

Response to CI’s report
CSC’s response to the recommendations of the
Correctional Investigator this year must be
understood in the context of the two-part scenario
outlined above. Longer-term approaches can only be
fully established once the independent review is
completed and the Government has responded to it.
In addition, some of the Correctional Investigator's
recommendations this year touch on areas where CSC
already has taken action or launched a process to deal
with the issue. As a result, those responses are framed
in terms of CSC's ongoing progress.

SAFE TRANSITION OF
ELIGIBLE OFFENDERS INTO
THE COMMUNITY

To address gaps brought about by the changing
offender profile related to programming, national
implementation has begun for a moderate intensity
violence prevention program, an Alternatives,
Associates and Attitudes program, an Aboriginal Basic
Healing program, as well as expansion of the
Aboriginal Offender Substance Abuse program. With
respect to women offender programming, work is
near completion for a women's violence prevention
program.
In terms of securing additional funding to support
further enhancement of its capacity in these areas,
CSC is awaiting the results of the independent review
that is currently underway. Assessing CSC’s capacity
to do effective programming and assessment are an
important aspect of the panel’s mandate.
CSC will continue to strive for improvement in these
areas.

Recommendation #2:
Recommendation #1:
I recommend that the Correctional Service
secure and commit adequate funding to
improve its capacity to provide the required
assessments and programming in advance
of the offender’s scheduled parole hearing
dates.
With respect to assessment capacity, the following
tools are currently under development:
• security reclassification scale for Aboriginal
offenders
• Inuit-specific risk prediction scale
• revised dynamic factors identification and
analysis component of the Offender Intake
Assessment
• computerized mental health intake assessment
• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder screening
protocol
• initial custody assessment for women
• dynamic risk assessment tool for women
• computerized assessment of substance abuse for
women.

42

I recommend that the Correctional Service
establish as a priority the timely preparation
of cases to appear before the National Parole
Board, as per policy. Performance in this
key area should be closely monitored and
measured on an ongoing basis through
increased reporting.
With respect to the timely preparation of parole cases
appearing before the National Parole Board, CSC
continues to monitor compliance with policy and
measure performance on an ongoing basis. CSC
conducts monthly reviews of our statistics via our
Corporate Monitoring Tool and does a comparative
analysis against the statistics kept and provided by
NPB.
All CSC regions and operational sites have automated
access to these performance measures for selfassessment and ongoing management improvement.
In addition, National Headquarters regularly bring
variances to the attention of senior administrators for
corrective action.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

CSC will continue its efforts to improve its
performance in this area.

SAFETY AND SECURITY FOR
STAFF AND OFFENDERS IN
OUR INSTITUTIONS
Recommendation #3:
I recommend that the Correctional Service
establish a timely approval process whereby
its Executive Committee approves the
development of action plans in response to
investigative reports into inmate deaths or
major injuries. In no case should this process
last longer than six months from the date of
the incident.
Our current practice already requires Executive
Committee members to review, amend and approve
all action plans for closure of these national
investigations. While an action plan is under
development, interim measures are initiated if
required.
CSC has already put in place procedures to ensure
that all routine investigations are completed within six
months. For more complex investigations, the process
may extend beyond the timeframe but only with the
specific approval of the Senior Deputy Commissioner.
In addition, CSC resources were re-profiled during
2006-07 to improve timeliness. Increased tracking
and accountability processes are also being established.

Recommendation #4:
I recommend that the Correctional Service
develop an action plan on the steps it will
take to establish a new process to ensure
consistent and timely implementation, as
well as regular follow-ups, of its
recommendations and those of Coroners
and Medical Examiners.

The procedure that has been in place for several years
requires that recommendations from both CSC
investigations and from external bodies be reviewed
by national and/or region Health Services officials
against evidence-based medical and health standards.
All recommendations are seriously considered and,
when a recommendation is deemed appropriate and
feasible, an action plan is put in place. Follow-up is
conducted to verify that the required action has been
implemented.
As a process is already in place, CSC believes it is not
necessary to establish a new one. Nevertheless, CSC
recognizes that improvements to the discipline around
the existing process are required. CSC is developing a
number of different strategies to increase and support
its capacity for a more rigorous and timely analysis of
the information contained in investigation reports, as
well as those of Coroners’ and Medical Examiners.
In addition, greater focus will be placed on
communicating “lessons learned” to the operational
sites.
Resources within the Correctional Operations and
Programs Sector are also being re-profiled to increase
CSC’s capacity to monitor the progress on action
plans and support their implementation.
CSC is progressively moving toward a more
disciplined regime in which the implementation of
action plans are effectively tracked, and lessons
learned are integrated and communicated across CSC
in a timely fashion.

Recommendation #5:
I recommend that the Correctional Service:
(1) Establish a consistent framework for
reporting and recording attempted suicides,
self-inflicted injuries and overdoses.
CSC is currently reviewing Commissioner’s Directive
568-1, Recording and Reporting of Security Incidents, to
more accurately define and report self-inflicted
injuries, overdose incidents, and attempted suicides.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

43

It is anticipated that the revised definitions and
process, along with corresponding changes to the
Commissioner’s Directive 568-1, will be completed by
fall of 2007.
(2) Provide for the systemic review of the
circumstances of these injuries in order to
ensure that these cases are subject to
appropriate review and to investigate, where
required by law.
Following the promulgation of CD 568-1 (see above),
these inmate injuries will be reviewed on a quarterly
basis by National Headquarters. This will be an
important refinement to the review and investigative
process that currently exists.
(3) Take corrective actions to prevent the
recurrence of accidents and of wilful acts
involving injuries.
In March 2001, through communications from the
National and Regional Joint Occupational Safety and
Health (NJOSH) Committees, the local Joint
Occupational Safety and Health (JOSH) committees
were reminded of this obligation to conduct reviews
of the circumstances associated with all staff and
inmate injuries of an accidental nature and to take
specific timely corrective action when appropriate. As
well, senior officials in the regions have been
reminded of their obligation to ensure that all local
committees continue to track and review all staff and
inmate injuries of an accidental nature. As a result,
CSC’s discipline in this area has significantly
improved.
CSC is exploring options to analyse and report
nationally on staff injuries. The options will be
discussed with the NJOSH Committee at their fall
2007 meeting and the selected option will be
implemented fully by spring 2008. In addition, CSC
will incorporate inmate accidental injuries into the
national reporting process.

44

Recommendation #6:
I recommend that the Correctional Service
evaluate the effectiveness and adequacy of its
harm reduction strategies in consultation
with its Health Care Advisory Committee.
The Health Care Advisory Committee has committed
to providing CSC with their advice by fall 2007 on
potential options related to the prevention of
transmission of infectious diseases (including harm
reduction) that might be implemented in CSC.

ENHANCED CAPACITIES TO
PROVIDE EFFECTIVE
INTERVENTIONS FOR FIRST
NATIONS, MÉTIS AND INUIT
OFFENDERS
Recommendation #7:
I recommend that the Correctional Service
reconsider its decision not to appoint a
Deputy Commissioner for Aboriginal
Offenders with the authority to implement
the Service’s Strategic Plan for Aboriginal
Corrections.
CSC’s work in this important area is driven by the
Strategic Plan for Aboriginal Corrections, which was
extensively reviewed and discussed by Executive
Committee prior to its formal approval. The Strategic
Plan is a corporate priority and is integrated as such in
CSC’s Report on Plan and Priorities. This
management accountability process publicly
demonstrates our corporate ownership of the Strategic
Plan.
The Senior Deputy Commissioner is responsible for
the effective implementation of CSC’s Strategic Plan
for Aboriginal Corrections, and has been and
continues to be a strong and effective voice at
Executive Committee.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR

The Strategic Plan for Aboriginal Corrections clearly
articulates the accountabilities of the Assistant
Commissioner, Correctional Operations and
Programs and the Deputy Commissioner for Women
to ensure there is a corporate emphasis on
implementing the specific initiatives in an integrated
manner. In addition, every Regional Deputy
Commissioner is responsible and accountable for
improving results for Aboriginal offenders. This
accountability acknowledges the fact that Aboriginal
offenders are located in all institutions and on almost
all parole office caseloads across the country.
In support of the Strategic Plan, a national
implementation plan, with the appropriate
involvement of Regions and NHQ Sectors, is in place
and progress on implementation is reported twice
annually. CSC believes this action is sufficient to
ensure appropriate action and monitoring of results.
Aboriginal corrections is a major focus of the
independent review panel. This focus includes
programming and interventions, employment and
capacity issues with respect to Aboriginal corrections.
The Government’s response to the recommendations
of the panel could therefore involve some significant
adjustments to the Strategic Plan as a result of the
review panel’s comments. Should changes to the
current governance structure be needed to deliver on
these adjustments, CSC will consider them at that
time.

Report (DPR). CSC uses the DPR to report on
progress toward the goals of the National Action Plan
on Aboriginal Offenders.
In addition, CSC contributes significantly to the
Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics’ Adult
Correctional Services in Canada report and Public
Safety Canada’s Corrections and Conditional Release
Overview. Both are annual statistical publications
which contain information on Aboriginal offenders.
CSC is in the early stages of developing its own
annual statistical report. The report will include
information on the total offender population,
including Aboriginal and women offenders.

Recommendation #9:
I recommend that the Correctional Service
immediately re-establish the National
Aboriginal Advisory Committee, as required
by law.
Work to select new members for the National
Aboriginal Advisory Committee is underway.

IMPROVED CAPACITIES TO
ADDRESS MENTAL HEALTH
NEEDS OF OFFENDERS
Recommendation #10:

Recommendation #8:
I recommend that the Correctional Service
publicly report, on an annual basis, its
progress in implementing its Strategic Plan
for Aboriginal Corrections. The report
should include progress on key correctional
performance indicators, including transfers,
segregation, discipline, temporary absences
and work releases, detention referrals,
delayed parole reviews, and suspension and
revocation of conditional release.
CSC produces an annual Report on Plans and Priorities
(RPP) and reports on the results achieved against
these plans in its annual Departmental Performance

I recommend that the Minister make
securing adequate and permanent funding
for the full implementation of the
Correctional Service’s Mental Health
Strategy a key portfolio priority.
During this past year, CSC has worked very closely
with the Minister to secure funding for
implementation of the Mental Health Strategy.
Consistent with the two-part scenario outlined in the
introduction, CSC has been provided with funding
for 2007/08 and 2008/09 so that it can move ahead
with three elements of the strategy:

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1) mental health intake screening and assessment
2) mental health primary care at selected sites and
3) some enhancements to the services provided at
Regional Treatment Centres.
This investment is sufficient to move in the right
direction for fiscal years 2007/2008 and 2008/2009.
Mental Health is a major focus for the independent
review panel. Resourcing levels for CSC’s mental
health capacity beyond 2008/2009 will be determined
by the Government’s response to the
recommendations of the panel.

Recommendation #11:
I recommend that the Correctional Service
fast track its training initiatives to ensure
that all front-line employees are trained in
dealing with mentally ill offenders.
CSC recognizes the importance of training for staff
required to work with mentally disordered offenders.
CSC’s Mental Health Strategy includes additional
training for all staff and CSC has already begun to
implement the first two years of this Strategy.
As part of the implementation plan for the elements
of the Strategy for which CSC has received funding,
training programs that were developed for the
Community Mental Health Initiative are being
adapted for use in institutions and will be piloted this
fiscal year. The two-year funding received includes
funds for the training of front-line staff, and CSC will
provide as much training as possible given the
resources available during this period of time.

STRENGTHENED
MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
Recommendation #12:
I recommend that the Correctional Service
immediately audit its operations to ensure it
meets its legislative requirement to resolve
offenders’ complaints and grievances fairly
and expeditiously. This audit should
examine the use of grievance information
and trend analysis to implement strategies to
prevent future complaints and systematically
address areas of offender concern.
An audit of the Offender Complaint and Grievance
System has already been scheduled for next fiscal year
(2008-2009). This timing was approved by CSC’s
Audit Committee as the most appropriate juncture for
reviewing progress on the initiatives that have already
been launched in this area.
The objective of this audit will be to assess the overall
management control framework for the efficient
management of offender complaints and grievances
and to ensure compliance with relevant legislation,
policy and procedures, including applicable
Commissioner’s Directives. The audit will also seek
to identify opportunities for improvement, including
the potential for CSC to identify and share best
practices that have been implemented in specific
regions or institutions.

Recommendation #13:
I recommend that the Correctional Service
significantly increase (above the required
employment equity level) the overall rate of
representation of Aboriginal employees in its
workforce at all levels in institutions where
a majority of offenders are of Aboriginal
ancestry.

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CSC has developed a Strategic Plan for Human
Resource Management that has prioritized our
activities and initiatives for the next three years.
Among these priorities is the development of a
Departmental National Recruitment Strategy that will
include Aboriginal recruitment as a focal point for
recruitment activities and work began in summer
2007.

Recruitment/staffing mechanisms under the new
Public Service Employment Act have been identified
and will be further utilized to increase recruitment
flexibilities. Work has also started to identify systemic
barriers to remove any unnecessary
recruitment/staffing impediments.

ANNEX A: CSC's MANDATE
The Corrections and Conditional Release Act, (CCRA) is the legislative framework for CSC. The mandate of the
Correctional Service of Canada is to contribute to the maintenance of a just, peaceful and safe society by:
•
•

carrying out sentences imposed by courts through the safe and humane custody and supervision of offenders;
and
assisting in the rehabilitation of offenders and their reintegration into the community as law-abiding citizens
through the provision of programs in penitentiaries and in the community.

Consistent with the CCRA, CSC’s Mission reflects Canadians’ values, including respect for the rule of law, safe,
secure and humane custody of offenders and underlines our commitment to public safety.
Delivery of correctional services is also framed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and numerous Acts,
regulations, policies, and international conventions.

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