Careers - Diversity @ Work

Contact Us

Les Seaweed

Changing one world at a time

When he joined the Correctional Service of Canada in 1992, Les Seaweed was sure he would change the world. "I guess I was like a lot of young people," he says today. "I believed I could change the life of every offender I met."

When he realized that not everyone wanted to be helped-at least not at the moment-Les made the decision that guides him today. "Instead of trying to change the whole world, I thought maybe I could do something to change one person's world." Making a small difference many times, Les decided, could mean eventually making a big difference once in a while.

Today, Les is showing others how they can also make a difference. Since the beginning of 2002, he has been an instructor at the Regional Correctional Staff College, teaching new CSC recruits about the many issues he's been dealing with for more than 10 years. "They learn about security, case management and unit management," he explains. "And they learn about the very important role that every CSC employee can play in achieving the overall goals of rehabilitation and reintegration."

They also learn a lot about themselves, just like Les has over the years. "I admit it," he says, "I get a lot of personal satisfaction from being able to share my experiences with others." He especially appreciates being singled out for advice from individual recruits, like one of the male Aboriginal recruits who wanted Les's insight into number of work-related issues. "I'm just flattered to be here in the first place," he says simply.

In fact, Les expects to be at the college for only a short time. He recently agreed to accept the position of Correctional Supervisor at the minimum-security Ferndale Institution. He was asked to delay that appointment for a couple of years so he could continue to share his experiences with new recruits at the college.

"I actually came to the college to take on the newly created position of acting Regional Aboriginal Career Manager," Les explains. "The position was created to address the high percentage of Aboriginal offenders in the system." Working out of the recruitment department, Les sought and worked with Aboriginal applicants in an attempt to increase Aboriginal representation in all CSC positions.

Now he's teaching the same people he once recruited. For Les Seaweed, it's just another way of making a small difference a lot of times.