Statement by Howard Sapers on his
Annual Report 2005/06
October 20, 2006
The Annual Report 2005-06 of the Office of the Correctional
Investigator has received exceptional media coverage and has raised
public awareness on an important issue facing Canadians. Questions
have been raised regarding empirical evidence of systemic
discrimination. It is important to understand what is meant by
systemic discrimination and appreciate the issues that have been
raised for many years by this Office – the continued disadvantaged
position of Aboriginal offenders in terms of timely and safe
reintegration.
Discrimination can and does occur in situations where there is no
intent to treat someone unfairly. As indicated by the Canadian Human
Rights Commission (CHRC) in their December 2003 report entitled
Protecting Their Rights, “the defining feature of
discrimination is its effect”. The CHRC identifies systemic
discrimination as, “the creation, perpetuation or reinforcement of
persistent patterns of inequality among disadvantaged groups. It is
usually the result of seemingly neutral legislation, policies,
procedures, practices or organizational structures”.
The Report does not comment on the “intent” of
individual employees or the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC). On
the contrary, the Report begins with an opening statement regarding
the “high level of professionalism and competence” of the men and
women of the CSC.
The Report presents a detailing of a persistent pattern of
disadvantaged outcomes resulting from existing policies, procedures,
practices and organizational structures. The focus of this Report is
about inequitable results or outcomes from current CSC policies and
practices.
I wish to reaffirm my strong commitment to work collaboratively
with the Correctional Service of Canada on initiatives that will
close the outcome gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal
offenders. I would like to take this opportunity to indicate that my
staff will continue to work diligently to assist and support the
Correctional Service’s initiative that will remove barriers that
hinder the timely and safe reintegration of Aboriginal offenders.
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