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 | AGREEMENT PROVIDES NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR ABORIGINAL FEDERAL OFFENDERS |
| Immediate Release |
St-Alphonse-Rodriguez, Quebec, September 16, 2003 - The Government of Canada and the Waseskun Healing Centre have reinforced their joint commitment to building safe communities. On behalf of the Solicitor General of Canada, Mary Campbell, Acting Director General of the Corrections Directorate, along with Richard Watkins, Deputy Commissioner for the Quebec Region of the Correctional Service Canada and Barbara Malloch, Chairperson of the Waseskun Board of Directors, celebrated the signing of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act Section 81 Agreement with the Waseskun Healing Centre today. The Centre is located in St-Alphonse-Rodriguez, a small municipality located in Lanaudière, approximately one-hour's drive north of Montreal.
With a total of 34 beds, 23 of which are reserved for offenders under federal jurisdiction, the Centre serves a male clientele from Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, the Atlantic, Nunavut and Labrador. The programs offered at the Centre are based on principles of Aboriginal traditional holistic healing. The programs adhere to traditional Aboriginal spirituality, history and values.
"I would like to congratulate the Waseskun Healing Centre for their leadership and vision and I am delighted by the idea of pursuing our collaboration," has said Solicitor General Wayne Easter. "The centre represents an instrument of change for Aboriginal offenders who require culturally and spiritually-based interventions to become law-abiding citizens."
"Waseskun is a Cree word that means "the time at the end of a storm where the blue sky appears and the sun starts to seep through," stated the Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada Lucie McClung. "That imagery is perfectly accurate in my opinion. The offender who has committed a crime and broken ties with his community is now provided with an opportunity to heal and to mend those ties."
"This healing lodge is a tribute to the contribution of our Elders. We are here today thanks to their wisdom, teachings and advice. A number of measures have been taken to implement this project. Many others will be necessary to allow us to continue on the path to healing," said Stan Cudek, Director of the Waseskun Healing Centre.
The Waseskun Healing Centre is the eighth Aboriginal healing centre in the country for federal offenders and the only one east of Manitoba.
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For more information, contact Barbara Malloch, Chairperson of the Waseskun Board of Directors, or Bob Bourdon, Spiritual advisor at:
Waseskun
501 Marguerite d'Youville Boulevard
P.O Box 119
Saint-Alphonse-Rodriguez, Québec
J0K 1W0
Tel: (450) 883-2034
| Fact Sheet |
Waseskun Healing Centre
Origin of the name |
"Waseskun" is a Cree word meaning that time at the end of a storm with the dark clouds breaking, blue sky appearing and the sun just starting to seep through. |
Location |
Waseskun Healing Centre is located in the town of St-Alphonse-Rodriguez, approximately one hour by car from Montreal. Waseskun had been operating a community-based residential centre for Aboriginal people (CRC) in Montreal for 10 years when it was relocated to its current location in 1998. This site was chosen for its reasonable distance from the town, and benefits from both proximity to a large urban centre and the isolation and natural beauty of the site, which is favourable to healing. Although the Healing Centre is not located in an Aboriginal community, it is on land originally belonging to the Attikamek Nation. |
Security level |
Minimum |
Capacity |
Waseskun Healing Centre accepts federal and provincial offenders on day parole, full parole, statutory release (with residency requirement), as well as transferred offenders, in accordance with section 81 of the CCRA. Of the 34 available spaces, 8 are reserved for provincial offenders, 3 for private drug and alcohol treatment and 23 are reserved for federal offenders. Of those 23 spaces, 15 are reserved for transferred offenders, in accordance with section 81. The other 8 spaces belong to the CRC (Community Residential Centre) and are reserved for offenders on day parole, full parole or statutory release. There are two residential building: one has sixteen rooms, the other has eighteen rooms. Each resident has a private room. |
Clientele |
Waseskun Healing Centre receives male provincial and federal offenders from Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Atlantic, Nunavut and Labrador. |
Staff |
Approximately three-quarters of the staff are Aboriginal people from various communities. The other one-quarter are mainly from the St-Alphonse-Rodriguez community. The Healing Centre is managed by an executive director, an assistant director and an administrative support officer. There are three case managers, six program facilitators and spiritual helpers and two clinical supervisors in charge of the clinical and program staff, activities and program. The Centre also has facilitators who provide supervision, support and counselling to the residents, a case management clerk and a CSC Parole Officer, who acts as a liaison officer between the Healing Centre and CSC. Elders and spiritual guides are also regularly present at the Centre. All Healing Centre employees have been trained by CSC. |
Vision |
The Healing Centre's vision is essentially based on the firm belief in the participation of Aboriginal communities in the healing and reintegration process of Aboriginal offenders. Its mission is to help Aboriginal men find their life balance. |
Programs |
The programs offered at Waseskun Healing Centre are based on the principles of communal and holistic healing, inspired by traditional and Western methods. The programs adhere to traditional Aboriginal culture, spirituality, history and values. Services are offered in both French and English. |
Commitment to Aboriginal people |
Aboriginal people are overrepresented in federal institutions. In CSC institutions, 15% of inmates are Aboriginal, while only 2.8% of the Canadian population are Aboriginal. This percentage is even higher in the Prairies Region (which includes Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories and North West Ontario), where it is 39%. To resolve this problem and other related issues, CSC offers a range of programs for Aboriginal people through a network of Elders and Aboriginal Liaison Workers in institutions and area parole offices. Waseskun is the eighth centre to be created that offers an alternative form of incarceration that is adapted to cultural realities. Furthermore, in Saskatchewan, CSC reached an agreement for five rooms at the Prince Albert Grand Council Spiritual Healing Lodge. CSC will continue to work in cooperation with the Aboriginal community to find effective and innovative ways of ensuring the sound and successful reintegration of Aboriginal offenders. |
For more information, contact: |
Waseskun Healing Centre
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