Commissioner's Speeches

Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs with respect to Bill C-15

Remarks by:

Don Head, Commissioner, Correctional Service of Canada
November 19, 2009

Good morning Madame Chair and Committee members and thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today.

It is my pleasure to appear before you to respond to any questions you may have about the Correctional Service of Canada’s response to implementing Bill C-15.

As I mentioned to you during our last meeting in September, I have been the Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada since June 2008.

As you are aware, mandatory minimum sentencing can lead to an overall increase in the number of offenders, as well as longer sentences — at both the federal, provincial, and territorial levels.

Although CSC is mandated to administer sentences for offenders sentenced to two years or more, the Service also supervises provincial offenders granted parole in all provinces in which the National Parole Board is the decision-making authority.

As a result, CSC has been approved for funding of $23.3 million over five years to support an increase in case preparation workload for National Parole Board reviews and for the supervision of those offenders granted parole.

At this time, we do not have any data to assess whether there will be a direct impact on CSC’s population levels.

However, we are continually assessing the cumulative impact of all proposed legislation and adjusting our plans as required.

We also know that the introduction of mandatory minimum sentencing will increase the demand for offender programs and services relating to substance abuse.

Although 80 per cent of CSC’s offenders have been identified as demonstrating some difficulty with substance abuse, about 50 per cent have a direct link between their substance use and criminal behaviour.

As a result of investments through the budget process over the last three years, CSC continues to expand its capacity to deliver education, correctional programs, and other interventions to ensure we deliver the targeted public safety results.

CSC currently provides a range of substance abuse programs for specific populations and at various intensity levels to best match offenders to the most appropriate programming.

Substance abuse in the offender population can be a serious problem, and CSC is committed to maintaining safe and secure institutions and communities by addressing the challenges posed by the presence of illicit drugs.

In an effort to further combat the presence of illicit drugs in federal penitentiaries, CSC has in place an Anti-Drug Strategy.

This strategy focuses on three key elements:

• Prevention, which focuses on preventing illicit drug use by offenders in institutions and in the community;
• Intervention, which focuses on reducing the demand for illicit drugs by supporting innovative and effective approaches to treating and rehabilitating offenders with illicit drug addiction; and
• Enforcement, which focuses on reducing the supply of illicit drugs through various efforts to investigate and prosecute drug crimes.

The Anti-Drug Strategy emphasizes a more strategic use of existing interdiction tools; an awareness program to inform staff, contractors and visitors about the repercussions of smuggling drugs into penitentiaries; increased monitoring of those individuals potentially involved in the drug trade; increased disciplinary measures; and, a broadening of inmates’ awareness of substance abuse programs.

The Service is continuing to examine ways of strengthening drug interdiction monitoring activities.

Additionally, on August 29, 2008, the Minister of Public Safety announced $122 million in funding over five years to help eliminate drugs in federal institutions.

With this funding, and in line with the Government’s continued commitment to tackling crime, a more rigorous approach to drug interdiction is being implemented in order to create safe and secure environments where offenders can focus on rehabilitation. The funding supports:

• an increase in drug detectors dog teams;
• an increase in the security intelligence capacity in both institutions and communities;
• additional security equipment such as ION scanners, X-Ray machines, etc.;
• enhanced perimeter security through related technologies; and
• the reinforcement of search policies to better prevent drugs from entering prisons and ensure that children are not being used to traffic illicit substances into institutions.

Although Bill C-15 will introduce new challenges, I am confident that CSC will continue to fulfill its mandate and to ensure that we deliver good public safety results to Canadians.

Thank you and I welcome any questions you may have today.