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Response from the Correctional Service of Canada Response to the Annual Report of the Correctional Investigator 2005-2006

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ANNEX A
CSC’S MANDATE

The Corrections and Conditional Release Act, (CCRA) provides the legislative framework for CSC’s work. The mandate of the Correctional Service of Canada is to contribute to the maintenance of a just, peaceful and safe society by:

carrying out sentences imposed by courts through the safe and humane custody and supervision of offenders; and
assisting in the rehabilitation of offenders and their reintegration into the community as law-abiding citizens through the provision of programs in penitentiaries and in the community.

CSC is also guided by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and numerous Acts, regulations, policies, and international conventions in the delivery of its service. These help to ensure that CSC exercises reasonable, safe, secure and humane control of offenders, and, as well, demonstrate fiscal responsibility in carrying out its mandate.

Consistent with the CCRA, CSC’s Mission Statement reflects Canadians’ values, including respect for the rule of law and safe, secure and humane custody. The Mission speaks to openness and integrity in our accounts to the public, and supports CSC’s relationship with the CI, in general, and more specifically, CSC’s transparency and accountability to the Canadian public.

ANNEX B
LISTING OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR’S RECOMMENDATIONS AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICE CANADA’S RESPONSES

Correctional Investigator’s Recommendations

Recommendation 1:

I recommend that the Correctional Service demonstrate compliance with its legal obligation to provide every inmate with essential health care according to professionally accepted standards, and that all institutional health care sites be accredited within one year.

Recommendation 2:

I recommend that the Correctional Service demonstrate compliance with its legal obligation to provide every inmate with essential mental health care and reasonable access to non-essential mental health care according to professionally accepted standards, and that all mental health care units and regional treatment centres be accredited within one year.

Recommendation 3:

I again recommend that the Service take immediate steps to sensitize and train all front-line staff to appropriately identify disruptive mental health behaviour and respond accordingly.

Recommendation 4:

I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately implement a prison-based needle exchange to ensure that inmates and society at large are best protected from the spread of serious diseases.

Recommendation 5:

I recommend that, within one year, the Correctional Service:

significantly increase all women offenders’ access to meaningful employment and employability programming;
continue to significantly increase community accommodations and support services for women offenders in underserved areas;

review the daily operations and staffing of the women’s secure units with a view to eliminating "deadtime" and to significantly increasing timely access to treatment, spiritual, academic and work programs;

significantly increase the number of women offenders appearing before the National Parole Board at their earliest eligibility dates.
build capacity for and increase use of section 84 and section 81 agreements with Aboriginal communities;
significantly improve access to culturally sensitive programming and services for Aboriginal women who are currently imprisoned in the Atlantic, Quebec and Ontario region;

review use of force incidents at women’s facilities to ensure consistent compliance with policy;

establish firm targets ensuring all front-line staff receive refresher training in women-centered approaches in accordance with the recommendation of the Canadian Human Rights Commission; and
provide women-centered training to all community parole officers working with women offenders.

Recommendation 6:

I recommend that, in the next year, the Correctional Service:

implement a security classification process that ends the over-classification of Aboriginal offenders;

increase timely access to programs and services that will significantly reduce time spent in medium and maximum security institutions;

significantly increase the number of Aboriginal offenders housed at minimum security institutions;

significantly increase the use of unescorted temporary absences and work releases;
significantly increase the number of offenders appearing before the National Parole Board at their earliest eligibility dates; and,

build capacity for and increase use of section 84 and 81 agreements with Aboriginal communities.

Recommendation 7:

I recommend that the Correctional Service significantly improve (above the required employment equity level) the overall rate of its Aboriginal workforce at all levels in institutions where a majority of offenders are of Aboriginal ancestry.

Recommendation 8:

I recommend that the Correctional Service establish a timely approval process by its Executive Committee for the development of action plans in response to investigative reports into incidents of inmate deaths or major injuries. In no case should this process exceed 6 months.

Recommendation 9:

I recommend that the Correctional Service collect accurate information and conduct comprehensive analyses of all inmate injuries to significantly improve its ability to take appropriate action to limit inmate injuries and institutional violence and that this information is verified semi-annually as part of on-going internal audit.

Recommendation 10:

I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately comply with its legal obligations and establish "a procedure for fairly and expeditiously resolving all offenders’ grievances."

Recommendation 11:

I recommend that within one year the Correctional Service provide evidence that complaint and grievance statistics are being used to identify and address areas of systemic offender concerns.

Recommendation 12:

I recommend that, in the next year, the Correctional Service:

significantly increase the number of offenders appearing before the National Parole Board at their earliest eligibility dates;
significantly reduce waiting lists for programs included in Correctional Plans to maximize safe and timely reintegration.

increase timely access to programs and services that will significantly reduce the time spent in medium and maximum security institutions;

CSC's Response>

significantly increase the number of unescorted temporary absences and work releases, which have drastically declined in recent years and yet have a very high success rate.

Recommendation 13:

I recommend that, in the coming year, the Correctional Service:

proactively implement least restrictive options and significantly reduce the overall number of placements in administrative segregation;
significantly reduce the average length of stay in administrative segregation; and,
significantly reduce the time to affect intra- and inter-regional transfers.

Recommendation 14:

I recommend that Correctional Service immediately implement reasonable procedural safeguards for any offender confined in any situation that is not within the general inmate population, and ensure legal compliance with offenders’ rights, entitlements, and access to programs.

Recommendation 15:

I recommend that the Minister play a leadership role by requesting the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security examine the implementation of independent adjudication of administrative segregation decisions when it considers other amendments of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act.

Recommendation 16:

I recommend that, within one year, the Correctional Service:

develop and implement new policies, programs and services specifically to meet the unique needs of offenders 20 and younger that will significantly reduce their time spent in maximum and medium-security institutions, and in administrative segregation; and,
develop and implement programs and services designed to meet the unique needs of offenders 20 and younger that will significantly increase their timely and safe reintegration into the community.

Recommendation 17:

I recommend that Correctional Service respond to the special needs of elderly offenders and significantly improve key areas including accommodation, program development, palliative care, and reintegration options.

Recommendation 18:

I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately increase inmate allowances for work and program participation. I further recommend that from this time forward inmate pay be indexed to the rate of inflation.

Recommendation 19:

I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately:

amend its policy requiring that inmates choose between either visiting a dying member of their immediate family or other persons with whom inmates have a close personal relationship or attending their funeral; and,
expedite the consideration of requests for compassionate temporary absences, and allow for a visit to the gravesite or with family members should circumstances make attendance at the funeral impossible.

Recommendation 20:

I recommend that the Correctional Service immediately subject all federally sentenced offenders to an individualized security classification process as required by law and regulations.

Recommendation 21:

I recommend that the Correctional Service:

establish a reasonable ratio of computers to inmates in designated areas outside-cells available for inmate use; and
allow inmates to have computers for in-cell use.

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