Appendix - Consolidated List of Recommendations
1. CAEFS joins both the Office of the Correctional Investigator and the
Women's Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) in recommending that a commissioner
of women's corrections be appointed to govern all matters related to federally
sentenced women, including the supervision of the wardens of the new regional
prisons and the Kikawinaw of the Healing Lodge, and that such office be
independent of the current Correctional Service of Canada, by reporting
directly to the Solicitor General. CAEFS further recommends that the individual
appointed come from outside the ranks of CSC, and preferably be a woman
whose experience encompasses human service administration in areas that
could include social services, education and health services, as well as
the criminal justice system.
2. CAEFS further recommends that the head of women's corrections [or CSC,
in the unfortunate event that 1. is not recommended] be part of a mandatory
advisory body to be comprised minimally of individuals representing:
a) federally sentenced women, preferably at least
(i) two who are currently "serving prisoners",
possibly elected from the chairs of the Sisterhood groups and Prisoners'
Committees of the new prisons and the Healing Lodge, and
(ii) two who are formerly imprisoned federally sentenced women, these
individuals could be representatives of self-organized former prisoners,
such as Strength in Sisterhood (SIS) thereby being selected by former and/or
serving prisoners;
b) the Office of the Correctional Investigator;
c) the Native Women's Association of Canada;
d) the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies;
e) the Black, visible minority and immigrant women's community(ies)
(likely need more than one representative);
f) the Union of Solicitor General Employees.
3. CAEFS recommends that this Commission propose that s. 82 similarly apply
to the new national head of women's corrections, as well as the regional/institutional
heads; CAEFS further recommends that s. 77 of the CCRA be amended
to include a provision similar in principle to that of s. 82(1), whereby
the sort of advisory committee recommended above, as well as regional advisory
bodies, can be legislatively mandated, with a duty to report on a regular
basis and issue a written report annually to the Solicitor General and the
Parliamentary Standing Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs.
4. Pursuant to the foregoing, CAEFS further recommends that regional advisory
committees, similar in composition to that proposed for the national body,
be established for each of the new regional women's prisons, including the
National Healing Lodge and the Burnaby Correctional Centre for Women.
5. CAEFS accordingly supports the recommendations of the Correctional Investigator
with respect to the need for the wardens of the new regional prisons to
be held accountable for institutional adherence to the provisions of the
CCRA, and that rates of conditional release and availability of relevant
institutional and community programming to achieve successful community
integration, be included as key variables in the evaluative process.
6. CAEFS further recommends that, commencing with the Exchange of Service
Agreement (ESA) pertaining to the Burnaby Correctional Centre for Women,
all ESAs between the federal and provincial/territorial governments be reviewed
in order to ensure that the rights and entitlements of all federally sentenced
women are provided and protected thereunder.
7. CAEFS further recommends that our organization be provided with the mandate
and requisite resources, including the financial means, to conduct annual
audits of institutional adherence to governing legislation and policy within
each of the regional prisons for women, such audits to be submitted to the
Solicitor General and the Standing Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs.
8. CAEFS urges that the Commission recommend that correctional policy for
women prohibit the employment of men to work in front-line positions at
the Prison for Women and in the new regional prisons and that sexual harassment
policies be established for the new prisons.
9. CAEFS continues to recommend the abandonment of CSC's "Security
Management Model" and echoes the suggestion of the Correctional Investigator
that access to the Healing Lodge, as well as to programs both within the
regional prisons and the community, be determined based upon the individual
needs and circumstances of each woman, with those representing the greatest
need receiving priority access to same; also that all security classification,
risk assessment and case management practices for federally sentenced women
reflect the same priority.
10. CAEFS recommends that prisoners be encouraged in self-actualizing and
self-expression, and that institutional resources focus upon and promote
opportunities for prisoners to exercise choice and preference, whilst staff
simultaneously model and expect pro-social, humane and respectful interpersonal
interactions.
11. CAEFS further recommends that staff screening, selection, training and
professional development and advancement policies and practices reflect
the foregoing by encouraging and rewarding same.
12. CAEFS also recommends the development of non-punitive conflict resolution
training and support for prisoners and staff, as well as the abolition of
any rule prohibiting behaviour or which defines as institutional infractions,
attitudes as offences against the good order and discipline of the prison.
13. CAEFS recommends that the legislative and policy provisions pertaining
to the regional prisons and federally sentenced women be amended so as to:
a) eliminate the use of mace or any other weapons;
b) eliminate the use and prohibit the establishment of institutional
emergency response teams or police squads;
c) eliminate the use of arbitrary strip searching and restraints;
d) direct the use of dynamic and human interaction, as opposed to
segregation and other forms of "enhanced security"; encourage
the provision of immediate access to therapeutic/personal support in crisis
situations, as well as such other approaches as peer support, to assist
in diffusing and ultimately resolving situations; provide staff with additional
training with respect to women's issues, such as how to work with women
encountering flashbacks, et cetera;
e) prohibit the use of involuntary transfers;
f) mandate the establishment and monitoring of effective accountability
and grievance mechanisms for prisoners;
g) prohibit the development of a Special Handling Unit (SHU) for
women, in name or practice (ie. both, the establishment of a new SHU or
the continued use of B-Range at P4W, or the Enhanced Units in the regional
prisons and the Healing Lodge as separation units);
h) direct reform of the internal investigative process by ensuring
that investigators are external to the CSC, with at least one member of
each board of investigation examining issues involving federally sentenced
women being a nominee of CAEFS; and that such boards have the independence
to expand the scope of their investigations, the nature of evidence sought/collected,
the publicizing of findings, et cetera);
i) provide non-violent, women-directed and lesbian positive environments
that create healthy atmospheres for prisoners, including lesbian positive
staff who understand and support women who are dealing with a multiplicity
of issues, including past experiences of violence, separation from children,
et cetera;
j) mandate the provision of a mother-child and prisoner parenting
policy in each of the regional prisons and the national Healing Lodge, whereby
participation is voluntary and may only be interfered with by relevant child
welfare authorities;
k) mandate the provision of enhanced personal and professional development
opportunities in each of the regional prisons and the national Healing Lodge
for prisoners serving prison terms, particularly for those serving prison
sentences in excess of five years;
l) mandate the provision of mental health resources in each of the
regional prisons and the national Healing Lodge for women who desire/require
same, such services to be developed in conjunction with relevant community-based
mental health authorities;
m) provide training for prisoners and staff in non-violent crisis
intervention techniques, as well as crisis debriefing; also, provide and
promote professional support and on-going professional development in these
areas via the provision of a minimum 50 hour per year training requirement
for staff;
n) advance the protection of prisoners' rights and entitlements,
such as the access of prisoners to legal counsel;
o) direct the provision of mandatory staff and prisoner orientation
and ongoing educational programs designed to alert both to the obligations
of staff to protect the human rights of prisoners, in accordance with Canada's
agreement with the United Nations Minimum Standard Rules on the Treatment
of Prisoners, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Canadian Human
Rights legislation, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, as well
as provincial corrections legislation and regulations;
p) enhance the power of CAEFS and others whose mandate it is to promote
the dignity and autonomy of prisoners to positively intervene to support
and protect the rights and entitlements of women in Canadian prisons both
with respect to specific incidents as well as the more general administration
of the regional prisons, including the power to initiate appeals to the
regional and/or national advisory bodies contemplated in recommendations
2 and 4 above.
14. CAEFS recommends that the federal government immediately institute a
moratorium on the number of prison beds available for federally sentenced
women throughout Canada and limit the utilization of same by capping the
number of prison bed days available to each sentencing judge.
15. CAEFS further recommends that the federal government provide resources
to judicial education authorities to support the provision of educational
opportunities to enable members of the judiciary to gain a greater understanding
and assessment of the relative merits and long term effectiveness of sentencing
options.
16. CAEFS further recommends that the federal government actively support
the provision and use of such non-incarceral criminal sanctions as probation,
suspended sentences, attendance centre, educational and vocational programming
or training, therapeutic and self-help services, neighbourhood and community
service, restitution, compensation, mediation, and the variety of alternative
forms of residentially-based treatment and community supervision options
-- from halfway or quarterway houses to supported independent living and
satellite housing projects.
17. CAEFS further recommends that the federal government repeal all mandatory
minimum sentences and limits for parole eligibility.
18. CAEFS further recommends that the federal government de-institutionalize
as many women in prison as possible, ensuring that all "correctional"
resources attached to the incarceration of each woman follow her in to the
community for at least the period during which she would have otherwise
been in prison [CSC's 1992 figures indicate that the annual cost of incarcerating
each federally sentenced woman at the Prison for Women is approximately
$92,000], thereby ensuring that the needs of the women, as well as their
respective communities could be met -- even community-based security concerns
could be addressed by 24-hour support and supervision if necessary.
19. CAEFS further recommends that the federal government fund and promote
the access of women in prison to legal aid services to address issues related
to their conditions of imprisonment and conditional release, so that adequate
legal aid coverage is provided throughout the country and/or legal clinics
are established specifically for prisoners, preferably staffed by experienced
lawyers, as opposed to reliance upon student-staffed clinics alone.
20. CAEFS further recommends that the federal government promote public
access to and exposure to prison, with a view to facilitating public education
and dispelling myths with respect to the realities of the role, conditions
and ineffectiveness of our prisons.
21. Accordingly, CAEFS recommends that the Solicitor General publicly release
the report of this Commission immediately upon receipt thereof and that
the government develop an action plan in response thereto, by April 30,
1996.
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