2023-24 Reporting on the Calls for Justice 14.1 to 14.13: Calls for Correctional Service Canada

Correctional Service of Canada recognizes that through Call for Justice 14.1, a focus on providing safe, secure, and culturally relevant housing and treatment is imperative for the successful reintegration of Indigenous women.

Recognizing the profile of women entering the federal correctional system has evolved over time, in December 2023, Correctional Service of Canada completed a Research Report on the Regional Profiles of the Canadian In-Custody Women Federal Offender Population. The results will help to inform discussions and planning regarding future capacity and infrastructure requirements for women's Institutions.

Through the EXCOM Indigenous Sub-Committee, a Director General Working Group has been implemented with the goal of reviewing and addressing the disproportionate number of Indigenous women offenders being suspended or revoked within the community. An Alternative to Suspension Reference Tool is being developed to assist Parole Officers in finding alternatives to suspension when risk can be mitigated.

To ensure that Correctional Service of Canada is optimizing the opportunities available to women classified as minimum security, Correctional Service of Canada has commenced conduct a review of the Minimum-Security Units, specifically in view of exploring whether current resources are sufficient to ensure more timely access to programs and services in preparation for release. This review is scheduled to be completed by December 2024.

Lead Department: Correctional Service of Canada
Funding Amount: Existing funding
Funding Source: Existing funding mechanisms
Partners: Indigenous leaders and organizations; Federal departments; Correctional Service of Canada district directors; Community-based partners; Internal Correctional Service of Canada partners
Related Calls for Miskotahâ: N/A
Related Calls for Justice: 14.8

Correctional Service of Canada recognizes the need to examine its classification and assessment tools to ensure they remain culturally and gender sensitive/relevant, to best address Call to Justice 14.4.

A Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Regina was established in 2019 to conceptualize, from the ground up, a risk assessment process for security classification, for both women and men inmates, that is culturally based and infused with Indigenous voices. Consultations with Indigenous communities. Consideration will be given on how to broaden these to incorporate the Pan-Canadian context. External academic partners will begin to contemplate how to embed the findings of the consultations into the development of a security risk assessment tool and process for Indigenous Offenders in federal institutions. The Memorandum of Understanding project is ongoing and the current Service Exchange Agreement is in effect until the end of the current fiscal year. The research team is working on the three areas of focus: a synthesis of work to date; preliminary consultations with Elders; and national level consultations.

Lead Department: Correctional Service of Canada
Funding Amount: Existing funding
Funding Source: Existing funding mechanisms
Partners: External academics; Independent researchers at the University of Regina; Elders council
Related Calls for Miskotahâ: N/A
Related Calls for Justice: N/A

Correctional Service of Canada has updated Women-Centred Training to include a comprehensive session on working with women offenders in a trauma informed approach. Implementation is anticipated in May 2024. This training will ensure staff have a clear understanding of how trauma impacts offender’s lives as well as how staff can support the offender.

Lead Department: Correctional Service of Canada
Funding Amount: Existing funding
Funding Source: Existing funding mechanisms
Partners: CSC sectors/regions; National Indigenous Organizations; Advisory bodies such as the National Indigenous Advisory Committee; Indigenous communities and governing bodies
Related Calls for Miskotahâ: N/A
Related Calls for Justice: N/A

Indigenous Community Corrections Initiative responds to Call for Justice 14.6 by supporting targeted proposals (e.g., Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+) that respond to underlying causes of offending, including mental health, addictions, and trauma services, as part of the reintegration process. These services will be accessible to Indigenous Community Corrections Initiative participants on an as-needed basis for the duration of the project; the services will not be tied to the duration of the justice-involved Indigenous person’s sentence or period of incarceration.

Lead Department: Public Safety
Funding Amount: $56.01M/5 years
Funding Source: Budget 2022 (off-cycle)
Partners: Public Safety Regional Offices; Federal, Provincial and Territorial government departments responsible for corrections; Canadian universities; Indigenous communities, organizations; local governments, and service providers
Related Calls for Miskotahâ: 23, 41, 44
Related Calls for Justice: N/A

The resource allocation model review was completed and was deemed inconclusive. It was determined that Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge has the resources to fund their needs from within. Women Offender Sector is undertaking a Strategic Review of all women offender institutions, inclusive of Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge to determine if with the changing inmate population, an updated funding model is required.

Lead Department: Correctional Service of Canada
Funding Amount: Existing funding
Funding Source: Existing funding mechanisms
Partners: Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge, in conjunction with the Nekaneet First Nation in Saskatchewan
Related Calls for Miskotahâ: N/A
Related Calls for Justice: N/A

The work on correctional programming responds to Call for Justice 14.8 by recognizing the unique and complex needs of Indigenous women offenders. Correctional Service of Canada is in the process of revising and will be implementing a suite of new programming for Indigenous women offenders. These programs will provide Indigenous women offenders an immersive cultural environment through which they will address their primary risk factors for crime.

In March 2023, Correctional Service of Canada changed the definition of Mother for the Mother-Child Program, to be further responsive of different cultural realities and various family structures, intergenerational parenting, and kinship supports. Under this program, mothers are to be defined as offenders who are a biological parent, adoptive parent, legal guardian, caregiver, co-parent, extended family, have kinship bonds, or can be a person who stands in place of a child's parent or guardian.

In 2020 and 2021, Prairie Region Health Services committed to improving their capacity to address the health needs of Indigenous offenders in a culturally sensitive manner.

Correctional Service of Canada's Health Services, Indigenous Initiative Sector, Women Offender Sector, and the Nekaneet First Nation and Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge have worked together on this innovative project.

To move the project forward, a request was made for a two-year demonstration project to incorporate medicine men and women into the service delivery model at Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge. This project recognized and acknowledged the practices and approaches of traditional medicine and its contribution to health and well-being while being delivered in collaboration with Correctional Service of Canada Health Services and Correctional Service of Canada Indigenous Initiatives.

Through this patient-centered and voluntary program, Traditional Healers support and treat residents through cultural activities and traditional healing practices. The Traditional Healer Program is intended to:

• advance the residents' healing path
• promote the overall health and wellness of Indigenous individuals, and
• contribute to successful community reintegration

On June 21, 2023, an Accreditation Canada surveyor visited Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge to assess the health services being delivered at the site as part of the continuous Qmentum Accreditation cycle. During this visit, the surveyor had an opportunity to review the project. The surveyor commended Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge for all of the great work and successes and recommended that the region consider submitting the project to Accreditation Canada to be considered for a Leading Practice. The region is now in the initial stage of preparing a submission to Accreditation Canada for their consideration.

Lead Department: Correctional Service of Canada
Funding Amount: Existing funding
Funding Source: Existing funding mechanisms
Partners: Indigenous leaders and organizations; Federal departments; Correctional Service of Canada district directors; Community-based partners; Internal Correctional Service of Canada partners
Related Calls for Miskotahâ: N/A
Related Calls for Justice: 14.1