Take Correctional Services Canada. In the last few years, there has been something called “redeployment”. This involves redeployment measures that affect staff and the organization. This is a sector that is overcrowded, and where legislation and philosophies come and go. Staff cannot cope anymore. Staff has been pushed to the limit. In short, the way the department is run, including all of its internal resources, has to change.
I have with me petitions signed by Correctional Services of Canada staff, and which were sent to the Treasury Board Secretariat and to the Treasury Board. These petitions call for a complete reorganization of Correctional Services Canada. In fact, the staff does not feel safe anymore, nor do the inmates. You might say that Correctional Services Canada has just received a budget increase, but the fact remains that the damage has been done. The extra money will only temporarily fix the problems experienced by employees.
What will the Treasury Board Secretariat do to hold the deputy minister, or former deputy ministers, to account, since this mess happened under their watch in the past few years? There is a safety issue at some CSC facilities today, and which must be internally addressed.
I see that Alister Smith is nodding his head. How can we fix the problems with this department?