QUESTION PERIOD — Public Safety
Correctional Service of Canada--Prison System
October 27, 2020
Honourable senators, my question is also for the Government Representative in the Senate.
Indigenous women now account for 44% and racialized women are more than half of women in federal penitentiaries. The report released today by the Office of the Correctional Investigator provides a horrific cross-section of the violation of human rights experienced by people in prisons. The Correctional Investigator has underscored that despite the failure of Correctional Service Canada to follow the minister’s direction to step up conditional release during this pandemic, the service instead has interfered with releases and subjected most prisoners to conditions of isolation.
In addition, today, the chair of the ministerial oversight panel for structured intervention units reports that not only was the panel prevented from carrying out its mandate, but the information they have received reveals that in 95% of all cases, CSC is failing to ensure the contact and time out of cell that Bill C-83 promised in order to prevent profoundly harmful and unconstitutional solitary confinement.
Also, consistent with the 2003 finding of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, CSC’s security classification system has recently been publicly exposed as discriminatory on the basis of race, sex and disability. All of this is as Canada’s expenditures on federal prisons has increased by 11% over the past year, Corrections reveals.
How much of this excessive spending will the government redirect to fund community-based alternatives?
Thank you for your question. You have raised a lot of issues in your remarks.
The government is aware of the disproportionate impact on racialized communities, women and Indigenous communities in our correctional system in general, prisons in particular. It is working with relevant partners and institutions to understand better why that’s so and, more importantly, to take steps to remedy that.
With regard to your last point regarding the apparent bias or discrimination embedded in some of the testing tools that are used in corrections that have resulted in disparate treatment for racialized communities, this is a matter that should preoccupy us all and is a matter of considerable concern to the government.
I notice as well that you have introduced a notice of motion in the Orders of the Day, Motion No. 31, to authorize our Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights to examine and report on issues relating to human rights in the prisons. I don’t want to read the whole motion, but it reads, in part:
. . . rights of federally sentenced persons in the correctional system . . . to examine the situation of marginalized or disadvantaged groups in federal prisons . . .
I look forward to seeing this chamber take that up and for the committee to weigh in on these important issues.
Thank you very much, Senator Gold.
All these egregious breaches reveal the need for an effective oversight mechanism. What measures is the government putting in place to put an end to the massive systemic injustices and inequalities that these various reports have laid bare? And when will we look at implementing the effective judicial oversight of corrections that we in this place recommended when we were looking at Bill C-83 and that many others for decades before us have called upon the government to implement?
Thank you for your question and for your ongoing commitment to and advocacy on these issues.
There is frustration — and the government understands this — with progress to date on the oversight in these matters. I am advised that Public Safety Minister Blair has asked his officials to work with Dr. Doob to help ensure the oversight panel gets the information and cooperation it needs to do its job to provide adequate oversight on our correctional system.
