Policy Bulletin

Why were the policies changed?

These CD have been revised to reflect the changes to the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA) and other recently passed legislation, to comply with the recommendations of the Policy Review Task Force, and to incorporate information from Case Management Bulletins.

What has changed?

Several technical modifications have been made to the layout of the documents. Extensive editing was done to remove extraneous details, to improve clarity of the direction and to focus on staff responsibilities.

The Policy Objectives and Responsibilities sections have all been updated and the Authorities section in all CD have been revised to reflect the changes to sections 3, 3.1, 4, 15.1 and 26 of the CCRA. As well, an Application section has been added and the cross-references and definitions have been moved to Annex A of the CD. Among other changes:

• CD 710 - Institutional Supervision Framework establishes the framework for the subsequent CDs of this series.
• In CD 710-1 - Progress Against the Correctional Plan, the timeframe for the completion of the Structured Casework Record has been changed from 30 days to 45 days. The purpose of the case conference was reviewed and an update to the Correctional Plan is now required annually.
• CD 710-2 has been renamed from "Transfer of Offenders" to "Transfer of Inmates". This policy and its Annexes have been thoroughly updated to better reflect the responsibilities of staff and the pertinent transfer procedures, including those for inter-regional and international transfers.
• CD 710-3 has been renamed from "Temporary Absences and Work Releases" to "Temporary Absences". Work releases are now discussed in the new CD 710-7 - Work Releases. UTA granted under CSC authority for personal development purposes to allow an inmate to participate in a specific personal development program may be renewed, without a return to custody, for periods of up to 60 days each. This does not apply to inmates serving a sentence for a Schedule I offence where the offence resulted in the death or serious harm to the victim or is a sexual offence involving a child and inmates serving a sentence for a Schedule II offence. Additionally, detained inmates are now eligible for administrative ETA.
• The English title of CD 710-4 has been changed from "Perimeter Work Clearance" to "Perimeter Security Clearance". Procedures for granting a perimeter security clearance were updated and linked to the Correctional Plan.
• CD 710-5 has been renamed from "Judicial Review" to "Judicial Review of Parole Ineligibility". The term "preliminary hearing" has been replaced with "application hearing". When an inmate does not apply for Judicial Review within the maximum time period allowed, the Parole Officer will, for registered victim notification purposes, inform the Victim Services Unit.
• CD 710-6 has been renamed from "Review of Offender Security Classification" to "Review of Inmate Security Classification". When a recommendation is supported by the Regional Deputy Commissioner, the Assistant Commissioner, Correctional Operations and Programs, is the final decision maker for the reclassification to medium security of an inmate serving a life sentence for first or second degree murder, or an inmate convicted of a terrorism offence punishable by life, who is currently classified as maximum security, prior to the first security classification review.
• CD 710-7 - Work Releases is a new CD and was previously part of CD 710-3 - Temporary Absences and Work Releases.
• CD 710-8 - Private Family Visits is a new CD and was previously part of CD 770 - Visits.

How were they developed?

These policies were updated by the former National Policy Review Team and were the subject of a national consultation. They were then revised collaboratively by the Strategic Policy Division and the Correctional Operations and Programs Sector.

Accountabilities?

Accountabilities are detailed in the CD.

Who will be affected by the policy?

All staff involved in institutional supervision and related case management activities.

Other impacts?

None.

Contact

Chris Hill
Director
Institutional Reintegration Operations Division
613-995-7954