Question Period Note: Overrepresentation of Specific Groups in Federal Institutions

The Correctional Investigator, Dr. Ivan Zinger, released new data that shows that the proportion of incarcerated Indigenous women is close to 50% of all federally sentenced women.

• The Government of Canada is concerned about the overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in our institutions and is working hard to address the systemic factors that have contributed to it.

• This includes the:
o Implementation of a National Indigenous Plan to streamline resources and services;
o Creation of Indigenous Interventions Centres to provide support at the start of a sentence;
o Enhanced opportunities for the active involvement of Elders for intensive healing;
o Culturally relevant programming for Indigenous offenders and Inuit men offenders as well as training for staff.

• Despite these efforts, we recognize there is more work to do.

• That is why we will continue to work with our partners to support the rehabilitation of Indigenous offenders and ensure they are provided the tools and services they need to successfully reintegrate into the community.

 
If Pressed – Progress

• As we have said, we remain concerned with the overrepresentation of Indigenous Peoples, especially women, in our federal institutions.

• From 2013-14 to 2020-21 there was a 15% increase in the percentage of discretionary releases for Indigenous offenders.

• From 2014-15 to 2019-20 the rate of Indigenous women offenders not re-admitted to federal custody within five years following Sentence Expiry increased by 9 per cent.

The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) continues to observe an increase in its total Indigenous offender population in general, and particularly, in its Indigenous women offender population.

Indigenous Offenders

CSC continues to see an increase in the proportion of federally sentenced Indigenous offenders. At the end of Fiscal year 2020-2021, Indigenous offenders represented 31.6% of the total in custody population and Indigenous women offenders represented 43.2% of the total in custody women population.

CSC is working to respond to the disproportionate representation of Indigenous peoples in custody, through a variety of programs such as:

• The National Indigenous Plan which includes streamlining existing Indigenous resources and services to ensure that those offenders choosing to access the Indigenous Continuum of Care interventions are prioritized for placement at specific sites.
• Indigenous Interventions Centres (IICs) are a key component of regional Indigenous action plans. The IICs integrate intake, programs and interventions, and engage Indigenous communities at the start of an Indigenous offender’s sentence, or at least two years before their first eligibility date.
• CSC has implemented the Pathways Initiative for offenders who are committed to following an intensive traditional path of healing which includes the active involvement of Elders. The Indigenous Women’s Pathways Continuum provides opportunities for Indigenous women to engage in intensive healing interventions supported by Elders through specific activities.
• CSC has implemented correctional programming for Indigenous offenders and Inuit men offenders, designed to meet their specific needs by including ceremonial sessions, culturally relevant materials and Elder involvement.
• CSC has developed and continues to deliver Indigenous Social History (ISH) training for staff. The focus of this training is the integration of ISH considerations in decision-making and increased responsiveness to the unique needs of Indigenous offenders in interventions.
• Responsivity resource kits were developed to provide correctional and education program staff with the tools needed to work and interact effectively with offenders with special needs and/or those that require special considerations in the program context, such as women and Indigenous offenders.
• In December 2019, CSC convened a Sub-Committee of our Executive Committee focused on Indigenous Corrections. This committee has identified eight priority areas that span not only the federal correctional continuum, but also CSC efforts to recruit and sustain an exemplary level of Indigenous staff, enhance Elder interventions, and collaborate across federal government departments as well as with provincial and territorial counterparts.
• The Sub-Committee will continue to provide strategic analysis, horizontal advice, and recommendations to EXCOM while ensuring a strong voice and action on Indigenous issues within CSC’s senior management team.
• The Connecting Spirits, Creating Opportunities (CSCO) initiative is a wellness and community-building initiative for Indigenous employees that will support the participants and their managers in career planning. Ultimately, the goal of the CSCO is to promote retention of culturally competent Indigenous employees in support of succession planning.

Decisions with respect to sentencing are outside of CSC’s control. CSC does, however, influence the time Indigenous offenders spend in custody by providing culturally responsive programs and interventions to address an Indigenous offender’s risk, provide effective rehabilitation and foster successful community reintegration. There has been a significant increase in the percentage of discretionary releases for Indigenous offenders, from 23.5% in fiscal year 2013-2014 to 38.6% in fiscal year 2020-2021. Additionally, CSC makes targeted efforts to recruit and retain Indigenous employees. CSC is one of the largest employers of Indigenous peoples in the core public administration.

The rate of Indigenous women offenders not re-admitted to federal custody within five years following Sentence Expiry Date has increased significantly between 2014-2015 and 2019-2020. It has continued to climb from 84.4 % in 2014-2015 to 93.8 % in 2019-2020. In 2019-2020, less than half a percentage point (.4) separated the rates for Indigenous and non-Indigenous women offenders.

Indigenous Women Offenders

CSC’s approach to working with Indigenous women is holistic, women-centred, and founded on the principles identified in the 1990 Creating Choices report, the 1997 National Strategy on Aboriginal Corrections, and the 2006-2011 Strategic Plan for Aboriginal Corrections. Creating Choices specifically advocated for the creation of a Healing Lodge for Indigenous women inmates that would focus on traditional healing practices in a culturally relevant environment. The opening of the Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge (OOHL) in 1995 was a major milestone towards meeting the healing and reintegration needs of this unique population. OOHL provides culturally appropriate programming and traditional healing practices, facilitated by Elders and Spiritual Advisors. To better meet the needs of Indigenous women, the capacity of OOHL was expanded from 44 to 60 beds in 2016.

A new Indigenous women’s Healing Lodge will open in Toronto, Ontario. The Thunder Women Healing Lodge will be a 10 bed facility with CSC seeking a contract for two Community Residential Facility beds with possibility for additional beds should there be a need.

Indigenous healing is facilitated at all women’s institutions through Elders and/or Spiritual Advisors, and is supported by both Indigenous Correctional Program Officers and Indigenous Liaison Officers.

Pathways Healing Units were established at Fraser Valley Institution, Edmonton Institution for Women and Grand Valley Institution to meet the healing and correctional needs of Indigenous women in preparation for either release to the community, or transfer to OOHL, or a section 81 healing lodge (i.e. Buffalo Sage Wellness Centre or Eagle Women’s Lodge). As of 2016, a full Women Offender Pathway Continuum was introduced at these three institutions to provide opportunities to women inmates at all three security levels to participate in the initiative. Also, in 2009, Nova Institution introduced an Aboriginal healing house that provides cultural interventions similar to those offered in Pathways Units.

The percentage of successful transfers to Healing Lodges, including Section 81s for Indigenous offenders, increased from 95.7% in 2014-2015 to 100.0% in 2019-2020. The transfer is considered successful if there is no reclassification to higher security within 120 days of the effective date of the original transfer to the Healing Lodge.

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