Statement from the Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) on CSC’s Policy Review of Transfers to Multi-level Healing Lodges

From: Correctional Service Canada

November 07, 2018 – Ottawa, Ontario – Correctional Service Canada

Anne Kelly, Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada issued the following statement today:

“On September 26, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness asked me to undertake a complete review of the facts surrounding the case of an offender who was transferred to a healing lodge as well as a review of the long-standing policies which led to her transfer. The reviews are now complete, and we have received policy direction from the Minister.

Based on this direction, we will strengthen the role of the Deputy Commissioner for Women in the decision-making process of transfers of offenders to healing lodges. In addition, we will ensure that Indigenous communities are engaged in transfer recommendations, as part of an interdisciplinary case management approach.

Further, we are making changes that will improve our case management decision-making and better align our transfer and security classification policies.

These revised policies will ensure more structured sentence planning for medium-security offenders serving long-term sentences before a transfer decision is made to a multi-level healing lodge, which has a defined but not directly controlled perimeter. We will consider the following factors in the transfer policy for such offenders:

• the length of an inmate’s sentence;
• the time remaining before an inmate is eligible for an Unescorted Temporary Absence (UTA); and,
• the requirement that long term offenders be in the  “preparation for release” or “reintegration into the community” phase of their Correctional Plan.

These changes highlight how committed I am to a culture of ongoing self-reflection and ensuring that our policies and practices are evidence-based and are responsive to an evolving environment. I believe that change can be influenced from both within the organization and through the feedback and support from victims, partners and stakeholders. The cornerstone of our public safety mandate is to ensure that offenders are safely managed both in our institutions and during their eventual release to the community as law-abiding citizens.”

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Contacts

Media Relations
Correctional Service Canada
613-992-7711
media@csc-scc.gc.ca

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