News Releases

News Release

Communiqué

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ottawa, February 17, 2005 - The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) issued its responses to two reports today - the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) report entitled Protecting Their Rights, A Systemic Review of Human Rights in Correctional Services for Federally Sentenced Women and the Cross-Gender Monitor's Third and Final Annual Report, which examined the issue of hiring male front-line workers in women's institutions.

CSC received the Cross-Gender Monitor's report at the same time as the CHRC began its review into women's corrections. Given that the CHRC had identified cross-gender staffing as one of the issues to be examined, CSC decided to await its findings prior to responding to the Cross-Gender Monitor. The responses are therefore being released simultaneously.

CSC has closely studied and responded to all recommendations. Most of the recommendations from the CHRC Report have been accepted and an action plan has been established to implement change and monitor results.

"We recognize the challenges identified by the Canadian Human Rights Commission and by the Cross-Gender Monitor," said the Honourable Anne McLellan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. "We will ensure that corrections for women offenders evolve within a framework that respects the law, the dignity and rights of offenders while contributing to public safety."

"Human rights considerations are part of every decision, policy development and process within CSC," added Don Head, Acting Commissioner of the CSC. "We will continue to work in close collaboration with our stakeholders and partners to implement changes that will lead to more effective corrections for women offenders."

Women offenders account for 4% of the federal corrections population. This means that there are approximately 800 women offenders either in institutions or on conditional release at any given time. There are five regional federal correctional facilities for women offenders in Canada and one healing lodge.

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For further information, please contact:

Alex Swann
Director, Communications
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Public Safety and
Emergency Preparedness
(613) 991-2863

Michèle Pilon-Santilli
Director Media Relations
Communications and Citizen Engagement
Correctional Service of Canada
(613) 943-2573

The Correctional Service of Canada, as part of the criminal justice system and respecting the rule of law, contributes to the protection of society by actively encouraging and assisting offenders to become law-abiding citizens, while exercising reasonable, safe, secure and humane control. - Correctional Service of Canada Mission Statement

February 2005

In its responses to the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) and to the Cross-Gender Monitor, the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) addressed all recommendations comprehensively. CSC is committed to respecting the rule of law and upholding the dignity and rights of the offenders in its care. As such, CSC has accepted most of the recommendations made by the CHRC and has established an action plan to implement change and monitor results. In the few cases where recommendations were not accepted, CSC welcomes further discussion with the CHRC and with stakeholders and partners to identify alternate strategies to achieve the stated objectives.

The following are highlights of CSC's responses:

• CSC periodically reviews, validates and updates processes and tools using new research, consultation with experts and statistical reviews. CSC has agreed to work with external experts to develop a gender-informed approach to the initial security classification of women offenders. This includes developing a new tool for the initial security classification as well as finalizing the first "built from the ground-up" security reclassification tool specifically for women offenders. During the field testing phase, the reclassification tool has shown good reliability and validity for both Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal women offenders. CSC will be implementing the use of this tool in the next few months.

• CSC has put in place a number of initiatives to improve women offenders' employment skills and employability. To date, this has led to a 10% increase of employment opportunities in each of the women's facilities. CSC has also worked with the Conference Board of Canada to develop a gender-informed Employability Program designed to enhance the employability of women offenders through institutional work experience. A survey was recently completed to assess women offenders' work experience, training needs and skills in order to assist them in obtaining and maintaining meaningful work in the community. Results from this survey will lead to the development of a National Employment Strategy for Women Offenders, which is expected to be completed during fiscal year 2005-6.

• CSC will maintain its existing practices of employing male front-line staff in women's institutions. A number of measures are in place to ensure the privacy and dignity of women offenders. These include stringent selection standards for potential staff, clear operational policies and in-depth staff training for those working in women's institutions. CSC does not tolerate harassment or discriminatory behaviour. It will continue to monitor compliance with policies and standards.

• Implementation of some recommendations were not possible without legislative change. CSC must operate within the guidelines of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act. These recommendations include establishing an independent external redress body for offenders and independent adjudication for decisions related to involuntary segregation. CSC will continue to participate in discussions on these topics and will work toward identifying strategies that are within its power.

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