QUESTION PERIOD — Public Safety
Correctional Service Canada
March 26, 2026
Senator Moreau, I stand with my colleagues on this anniversary of the Arbour report. I want to highlight one portion of the report’s recommendations:
. . . that in programming, priority be given to the development of work programs that (i) have a vocational training component; (ii) provide a pay incentive; or (iii) constitute a meaningful occupation;
and
. . . that the first priority . . . be the release and reintegration of women in custody.
Recently, as Correctional Service Canada is making cuts to its budget — to librarians, community employment coordinators and jobs for incarcerated people — we’re hearing that meaningful work opportunities at Grand Valley Institution for Women are being cut, specifically in their horticulture program.
Senator Moreau, I’m worried that, 30 years after the Arbour report, we’re still not adequately preparing women for reintegration. In fact, we’re moving away from methods that have been proven to work.
When are we going to get back to true rehabilitation?
Thank you for the question.
The government knows that federally sentenced women have unique needs and that impacts the way they respond to correctional programs.
The government provides a gender- and trauma-informed approach to address the specific needs of women, with programs focused on how an individual’s behaviour can influence situations and relationships. Correctional programming offers a continuum of care from admission to sentence expiry. The goal is for individuals to learn to live a crime-free life and successfully reintegrate into the community. Their reintegration is the fundamental goal of the correctional system, and the government remains committed to their successful reintegration into the community, for both the general women’s population and the Indigenous population as well.
Thank you, Senator Moreau.
