On meeting Donald Yeomans, the first impression one gets is of a quiet strength of character and authority that belies his having been retired for many years now. It’s not hard to believe he spearheaded the creation of the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) we know today – a world-class correctional service, with its own strengths derived from the very pillars we celebrate for its 30^th anniversary: pride, people and tradition.

Yeomans was initially appointed to lead the Penitentiary Service of Canada, owing to his skills with financial and operational management. Having served as an Assistant Deputy Minister in several departments, he was seen as an ideal choice for an organization attempting to reinvent itself following the McGuigan Report – the result of a Parliamentary inquiry struck to examine the operations of the Service following the riots at Kingston Penitentiary in 1971.

But while he ably oversaw many of the structural changes it recommended, such as strengthening the chain of command and reporting structures to better integrate regional operations, perhaps his most lasting legacy was an emphasis on the most important part of the organization: the people who worked there.

Yeomans sought to complement structural transformations with symbolic ones to help inspire staff, since they were the real arbiters of institutional change. A new cap badge and blazer crests graced staff uniforms, and a new crest and flag were designed. He even had a lectern cover emblazoned with the new colours for use at formal occasions, at which times all ranks were to wear full uniform. After all, “…people want to belong to a winning team, something they can be proud of…and part of that is looking sharp!”

The former Commissioner also saw the importance of recognizing those who went the extra mile in their roles, instituting a series of awards. The Citations for Bravery and Merit were to be presented personally by Yeomans, and CSC also started recommending candidates for the Governor General’s Bravery awards on behalf of staff deserving extra recognition, an honour which has bestowed upon several CSC staff over the years.

An interesting bit of trivia is that this effort even extended outside the Service. When Yeomans approached Government House to request that a CSC service medal be created, along the lines of those given to serving police officers, they swiftly agreed – with the condition that if correctional officers and police officers had service medals then so too should firefighters. So medals were created for firefighters as well, and one could say that they owe it to CSC!

But while inspiring current staff was one thing, the newly named CSC also faced a recruiting challenge. The solution proposed by Yeomans was to hire a private-sector company renowned for its staffing practices, to come to Ottawa to meet a hand-picked group of the best front-line supervisors from across the country. Their task was to detail the qualities found in outstanding correctional officers, which turned out to be care and compassion for others.

On an organizational level, the changes overseen by Yeomans were equally wide-ranging. Cascading security levels were introduced to replace the previous system, where wardens made transfer decisions themselves. Another watershed was the introduction of Private Family Visits (PFVs). These were controversial at first, at least until it was pointed out that the majority of PFVs were families visiting from distant locations. The overall goal, along with public safety, was “a humane, release-centric service”, something we still adhere to today.

The role that communities play also gained a new focus. It began with invitations for leading citizens in the community to visit institutions, to quell rumours about the “horrible things” that went on inside. Service clubs were invited for lunch with inmates, while Citizen Advisory Committees were created with the authority to go anywhere in CSC facilities at anytime.

These were just some of the achievements of which Yeomans is proud. By the end of his term the Service had become a much more professional organization, recognized by the Office of the Auditor General and the Office of the Comptroller General as a leader in financial and management controls. He ensured this legacy with the hiring of Ole Ingstrup as a Special Advisor. The former head of the Danish Correctional Services, Ingstrup was later to chair the National Parole Board before serving two terms himself as Commissioner of CSC.

When asked of his proudest memory though, former Commissioner Yeomans doesn’t skip a beat in referencing the increased participation of women at CSC during his tenure. “We didn’t do it for women’s rights. We believed that they had the right stuff for humane control, the conditioning to use their heads instead of their muscles.”

At the start of the 1970s there were few women in the Service aside from secretaries and nurses. The wife of a Correctional Officer at Warkworth Institution, Mary Dawson was first to break through this glass ceiling after starting as a secretary and swiftly working her way up to Deputy Warden. After acting as Warden several times and eventually being appointed to this position, Dawson showed her mettle. Yeomans explains: “It was a shock to the young inmates to see her walking down the ranges in her heels, but anybody who made a comment learned a quick lesson that she was not to be trifled with!”

Clearly, Commissioner Yeomans recognizes that CSC, as with any large organization, has to deal with its own unique challenges. But the bottom line “…is to recognize people for the job they do, and create a common bond and experience…a sense of belonging – past, present and future…to make things work you need good people with good leadership. They need to be recognized for a job well done, and be led by those who show that they care.”

A look back at CSC’s Commissioners over the past 30 years