Corrections in Canada: An Interactive Timeline
Test Your Knowledge
When did the first six inmates arrive at Kingston Penitentiary?
June 1, 1835
Toward the end of the 18th century, new ideas about corrections began to take shape. One of the most important was the concept of penitentiary houses: places where convicts could be kept away from other members of society, but where they could have a chance to think about their actions and—hopefully—reform their behaviour. The "Provincial Penitentiary of Upper Canada" at Kingston, Ontario was Canada's first institution of this kind, taking its first six inmates on June 1, 1835.
In its early years, the Kingston Penitentiary was something of a tourist attraction. What famous person described it as "well and wisely governed"?
Charles Dicken
However, Dickens and the rest of the public were deceived. Despite having being designed with the best intentions, the penitentiary was a place of violence and oppression.
Name one of the volunteer societies that formed in the 1930s to help Canadian offenders.
The John Howard Society
The Elizabeth Fry Society
In addition to the efforts of groups like the Salvation Army (which had been operating in Canadian prisons since 1882), a new organization emerged to help rehabilitate and reintegrate convicts: the John Howard Society, founded by Reverend J. Dinnage Hobden and named after the famous British prison reformer of the 19th century. Its creation was followed in 1939 by the first Canadian branch of the Elizabeth Fry Society for women inmates, named for another British prison reformer and advocate of inmates' rights.
In the 1930s, a Commission studied Canada's corrections system and suggested many changes. What was its name?
The Archambault Commission
Toward the end of the 1930s came further calls for prison reform. In 1936, a Royal Commission was struck to examine the penitentiary system in a comprehensive way. Its report, the Archambault Report, was released in 1938. Its many recommendations contributed to the creation of a revised Penitentiary Act. But events on the world stage would postpone those changes from being acted on for many years.
In what era did Canada's corrections officers begin to receive formal training?
1940 - 1959
After the war, the effort to change Canada's prisons resumed. As the country's first Prison Commissioner, Major-General R.B Gibson instituted more than 100 of the Archambault Report's recommendations. New penitentiaries were built, including separate facilities for young adult male offenders, and formal training of penitentiary officers became the norm.
When was the National Parole Board established?
1959
The Archambault report's criticisms of past and present approaches to corrections were supported by a new report in 1956: the Fauteux Report. A key recommendation of the report was to create a national board of parole—one whose reach would extend to all federal offenders. The notion was put into action almost at once. A new Parole Act was passed in 1959, and the National Parole Board was created.
Where did Canada's first gradual release program get started?
Collins Bay, Ontario
In the 1960s, new approaches to rehabilitation and reintegration were adopted to ease prisoners back into society. At Collins Bay near Kingston, a first ever gradual release program allowed inmates to work outside the prison and return to the facility in the evening. In 1969, an experimental living unit was opened at a medium-security institution in Springhill, Nova Scotia as part of a pilot community program to help prepare inmates for life "outside".
When did Canada get rid of the death penalty?
1976
The abolition of the death penalty in 1976 marked a significant development in the advancement of human rights—the right to life as enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
What was a major health concern in Canada's prisons during the 1980s?
HIV/AIDS
Hepatitis-C
Tuberculosis
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s health issues in the correctional system became a major area of focus and concern in Canada. The number of cases of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis-C virus (HCV) in federal and provincial prisons continued to increase throughout the 1990s. In federal prisons, reported cases of HIV/AIDS rose from 14 in January 1989 to 159 in March 1996-and to a startling 217 in December 2000. In 1998 one in every five offenders entering federal prisons was reported to be infected with Tuberculosis-a statistic that was considerably higher than the general population.
What are Okimaw Ohci and Pê Sâkâstêw?
Healing lodges for Aboriginal offenders
Okimaw OhciPê Sâkâstêw
What department today is responsible for the Correctional Service of Canada?
Public Safety Canada
Two years following the tragedy of September 11th, the Public Safety Canada came into existence, replacing the Solicitor General Department. Dedicated to securing the public's safety and security, the PS seeks to minimize risks to Canadians—everything from personal safety from crime or natural disasters to national security from terrorist threats.
What is it called when victims, offenders and communities come together to deal with the effects of crime?
Restorative Justice
In 2003 the Restorative Justice Program began, ushering in a new approach to criminal rehabilitation. Restorative justice puts the emphasis on the wrong done to a person as well as on the wrong done to the community. It recognizes that crime is both a violation of relationships between specific people and an offence against the community. Programs involve the voluntary participation of the victim of the crime and the offender and ideally members of the community, in discussions. The goal is to "restore" the relationship, fix the damage that has been done and prevent further crimes from occurring. Today there are various models or practices of restorative justice being practiced and adapted throughout the country.