FORUM on Corrections Research

Making Correctional Service of Canada facilities accessible

The Construction Policy and Services Branch is responsible for all planning, design and construction of all Correctional Service of Canada facilities, as well as for subsequent retrofit or redevelopment. The branch strictly complies with the Treasury Board policy on accessibility and has developed Service guidelines on accessibility to help implement this policy.

We continually evaluate every Correctional Service of Canada facility to ensure that the guidelines on accessibility are met. Small changes, such as modifying washrooms, are made as quickly as possible; major changes, such as installing elevators, are made as part of regularly scheduled renovations.

Fortunately, many of the older facilities (which are usually the furthest from meeting accessibility guidelines) are undergoing major retrofits. All recently built facilities meet federal accessibility guidelines. The goal of the Construction Policy and Services Branch is to have most Correctional Service of Canada facilities meet the accessibility guidelines by the Treasury Board's deadline of March 1995.

Accessibility is very difficult to actually measure, so the accessibility of our institutions, or areas within them, may be debated. But, there are clearly accessible areas in every institution - it is merely a question of degree.

I am very comfortable with our progress in making Correctional Service of Canada facilities fully accessible, and I am proud that we have been able to coordinate these changes with regularly scheduled renovations, keeping costs down.