Public Safety Committee on May 31st, 2016

[Larry Miller, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

That's all I need: is it true or false?

[Howard Sapers]

—certainly examples of employees of the Correctional Service of Canada, of people under contract to the Correctional Service of Canada, and of visitors and others who have legal reasons to be in the institution. There have been examples over the years of all members of those categories of individuals bringing contraband into prisons.

[Larry Miller, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Are they dealt with harshly?

[Howard Sapers]

Typically they are.

[Larry Miller, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Okay.

Next, with regard to aboriginals in prisons, you talk about overrepresentation. We have the Gladue option, and I guess, with the rates this high, the obvious statement would be that it's not working, but what do you do? If someone commits a crime, whether they're aboriginal or not, do you overlook it because they're aboriginal?

I realize the numbers are there, but it's like the missing aboriginal women: it's a terrible thing that happens in Canada, but we also know that more than 70% of those crimes are committed by family members or someone they know. How do you deal with this and correct the problem at the same time?

[Howard Sapers]

The Correctional Service of Canada of course doesn't have any control over who the courts send to them. The decisions about who to police, who to charge, who to prosecute, and who to sentence are all made outside of corrections, and certainly they're all outside of the mandate of a correctional investigator.

There has been significant commentary on all of that, most recently by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. Study after study has come to pretty much the same conclusion, which is that there is disadvantage rooted in the social and cultural history of Canada's indigenous peoples. My focus is on that disadvantage when it follows them inside a penitentiary and what the Correctional Service of Canada can do to mitigate that disadvantage and prepare people for safe and timely release.

There is lots of room for improvement there. Certainly the ten recommendations we made in 2013, in the “Spirit Matters” report, still stand. That was only the second special report my office ever tabled in Parliament. Those recommendations were not fully responded to. We made very specific recommendations around the use of elders, about better engagement with the aboriginal community, about better cultural training, and a host of things the Correctional Service of Canada can do, and I think needs to do, in a more focused and effective way.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Thank you.

I will now give the floor to Mr. Dubé.

[Matthew Dubé, NDP, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Sapers, Ms. Kingsley, thank you for being here with us today.

I would like to quickly quote a passage from the mandate letter of the Minister of Justice. I may be reading it somewhat out of context but I hope this will not change the meaning. It has to do with the implementation of recommendations from the inquest into the death of Ashley Smith.

You talked about five main recommendations that have not yet been implemented. Do you feel that the new government is willing to go ahead and implement those five main recommendations, especially since they seem to be part of the mandate of the Minister of Justice?

[Howard Sapers]

Thank you for your question about that.

I did note that the Ashley Smith coroner's inquest recommendations were noted specifically in the mandate letter, and I was encouraged by that. Ashley Smith died in her segregation cell at Grand Valley Institution in October of 2007. The coroner's inquest was completed late in the fall of 2013.

In December 2014, the response from the Government of Canada was provided, and there were a series of commitments made. Some of those commitments have yet to be realized. The areas that I addressed are the most outstanding in terms of dealing with the mental health needs of federally sentenced offenders and how those offenders are managed.

I think we can look forward to some work from Correctional Service of Canada when it comes to a different strategy for the use of segregation, but I think we've waited too long for some of the other issues to be addressed, such as some of the issues around contracting for more forensic bed space. The only movement has been two beds in a hospital in Ontario. It's been since 2007. We made the recommendation that that process accelerate back in 2008, so I think we've waited long enough.

[Matthew Dubé, NDP, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Thank you.

Furthermore, your report mentions the ceiling of no more than 30 continuous days when using solitary confinement or administrative segregation. The UN Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council talked about torture and other cruel treatment and punishment. He said that solitary confinement should not exceed 15 days.

Could you tell us how you came to the conclusion that 30 days is an acceptable limit compared to 15 days, the limit proposed by the United Nations?

[Howard Sapers]

Thank you.

I think the important element is what those recommendations share, which is that there needs to be a hard cap. Long-term or indefinite segregation has to become a thing of the past. Operationally, 15 days, 30 days, 25 days.... There are different and varying opinions. There are also varying and different experiences of what segregation or solitary confinement is.

The UN special rapporteur, to some extent, was reflecting on his own experiences of being kept in truly dungeon-like, sensory-deprived, windowless, lightless, airless environments. Segregation in Canada does not reflect those conditions, but the conditions are austere enough. Space is as small as five metres square. There's a policy that requires one hour of fresh-air exercise, but sometimes that's not always achieved. The lack of human contact and deprivation of stimulus, etc., are all very detrimental to health and functioning.

Of course, we've looked at the UN report and the 15 days. Operationally we've specified 30 days, but the important thing is that there be a cap and that any continued segregation placements be subject to external review or adjudication.

[Matthew Dubé, NDP, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

I’m sorry to interrupt you, but my time is limited.

In closing, I wanted to ask you one last question about our current study.

We are in the process of finalizing a study on the post-traumatic stress of first responders, public safety officers in particular. In relation to your mandate, we are talking about correctional officers. We are talking about the risks facing those officers because of the violence that may be caused by solitary confinement or double bunking, which is sometimes an issue, as you mentioned before.

Could you tell us about the impact this may have on correctional officers? We're often told that the intent is to protect offenders and so on, but there's more to it than that. People working in prisons are also at risk because of those practices. Perhaps you could tell us more about it as we wrap up.

[Howard Sapers]

Yes, of course, crowded and chaotic correctional institutions are not just bad environments for inmates and their chances for rehabilitation; they are also bad environments to work in. We know that a safe environment for prisoners is a safe environment for correctional staff.

If you take a look over the years, particularly at the correctional officers—the CXs, the security officers—you see that they have a very high usage of sick leave, of long-term disability claims, and of bringing occupational health and safety concerns to management. It is a very stressful job. It is very important that their conditions be respected, but their preparation for the job and the training and support they receive are also important. This starts with the executive committee and goes down through the regions to the local site administration, wardens, etc., providing the right guidance, support, and leadership to ensure that the principles and values that the Correctional Service of Canada publishes as the things that guide its work are reflected in the day-to-day operations of the institutions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Thank you. Actually, you have two seconds left.

Mr. Erskine-Smith, go ahead.

[Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

Thank you very much, Mr. Sapers.

You mentioned the importance of mental health, and my friend Mr. Miller mentioned drugs. I would like to draw the connection between the two. Your report suggests that 52.5% of inmates have an addiction history. On page 34 of your report, you write,

A better and more cost-effective way to prevent future crime and reduce substance misuse is to put more of our limited resources into treatment, prevention and harm reduction measures....

In January 2016, there was a report called “On Point: Recommendations for Prison-Based Needle and Syringe Programs in Canada”. The author concludes:

International evidence and experience have consistently demonstrated that such programs are effective at reducing the negative health consequences associated with injection drug use, do not increase violence inside prisons, and can be implemented in a variety of forms within different prison settings so as to best support different prisoner populations.... Our research supports these findings....

I wonder, Mr. Sapers, if you could speak to the prison-based needle exchange in your experience, in your research, and how we might move in that direction.

[Howard Sapers]

Harm reduction is a critically important part of the approach to drug use and misuse in society and in prisons. The law requires that the Correctional Service of Canada provide health care to professional standards to reflect what is available in the community. A variety of harm reduction measures are available outside prison walls, and some of them are already available inside penitentiaries.

In the 1990s—I think it was 1999—the health advisory committee for the Correctional Service of Canada looked at the issue of prison-based needle exchange and reflected that this would be something worth pursuing in the Canadian context. My office issued a recommendation to support exploration of prison-based needle exchange back in 2003-04, in our annual report that year. The Public Health Agency of Canada was engaged by a study in 2005 or 2006 to look at prison-based needle exchange around the world and looked at some that were in operation.

The biggest concerns voiced have been around staff safety—that if syringes were more available inside an institution, perhaps they could be used as weapons, or staff might be subject to more needle-stick injuries. The worldwide experience is the opposite. Well-managed prison-based needle exchanges tend to reduce the chances of being accidentally injured by a needle during a cell search, etc. There has been a lot of exploration around prison-based needle exchange, and certainly it has been demonstrated to be an effective harm reduction measure.

[Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

Are there other harm reduction measures that you have seen implemented internationally that you think would be a good idea to implement domestically?

[Howard Sapers]

We have had some of our own experience with piloting harm reduction measures. A few years ago, there was a safer tattooing initiative piloted by the Correctional Service of Canada whereby inmates were trained how to properly use hygienic tattoo equipment. Then the inmates would pay for the use of that equipment and would pay the costs of being tattooed. The idea behind this was not to promote body art but to promote public health.

In those days, inside a federal penitentiary you could expect 30% of the population to be hepatitis C-positive. HIV rates are much higher inside prisons than they are outside prisons. The early evaluation of the safer tattooing initiative was that it was very positive. It was nonetheless cancelled.

[Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

Mr. Sapers, you've noted in your report that over the last 10 years, day parole has decreased by 15% and full parole has decreased by 40%. In your remarks today, you noted that the slowing rate of offenders returned to the community is leading to higher and avoidable custody costs without a measurable contribution to reducing crime or reoffending rates. You've mentioned in your report the U.S. experience with medical parole provisions.

I wonder if you could speak to how we might increase parole and save costs, and if we can measure the costs that we're currently spending for what appears to be no reason at all.

[Howard Sapers]

We all know that supervising offenders in the community costs a fraction of what it costs to house them in a federal penitentiary. Moving people down through the system and out into the community under structured, supervised release is not only safe: it is also cheap.

We know that there were some significant changes to the principles and purposes of the CCRA back a few years, in Bill C-10. We know that this bill also changed eligibility criteria and the policy around things like unescorted temporary absences, escorted temporary absences, day parole, and full parole. I really think it's time to take a look at those changes to see whether or not they've had desired or undesired effects. If they've had undesired effects on release rates and grant rates, then address them.

[Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

With respect to education, you've noted over 60% of the prison population has a formal education of grade 8 or less. When we talk about reintegration, that seems to me to be a serious concern.

What resources are required to bring to bear on this problem that haven't been brought to bear? Is there a way forward that other jurisdictions are pursuing that we have ignored?

[Howard Sapers]

Correctional Service of Canada is to be credited. It does a very good job of assessing need and screening for a variety of things, including educational attainment and intellectual capacity. Matching program interventions to that need is now really the trick, but it's more than just providing educational opportunity and it's more than simply raising numeracy and literacy levels from perhaps grade 8 to grade 10 or grade 12. We're also in an increasingly digital age. Other jurisdictions are well ahead of Canada in terms of embracing digital technology in corrections and education, in contact with the outside world, etc.

We've made these observations in the past and we've made recommendations to the Correctional Service of Canada. It's all part of a larger strategic approach that's needed that includes not only access to digital technology but also to basic library materials and ensuring that the money that CSC does spend on basic education gives the best return on investment. That's achieved through how and when offenders who need that kind of support can access that kind of support. It has to do with the timing of assessments and access to programs, etc.

[Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

Thank you very much, Mr. Sapers.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Mr. Blaney is next.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Welcome, Mr. Sapers and Ms. Kingsley. Congratulations on renewing your mandate. I am sure that you will continue to do a good job, as you have done in the past, specifically in terms of mental health, the area in which we had more opportunities to work together.

Before I ask my question, I would like to tell you that I very much appreciated that you talked about indigenous communities and prison overcrowding. Some people have criminal convictions and they have to serve their sentences. You said that employability, job creation, economic development and education are important for those communities since indigenous inmates have a low level of education. I think you have identified some useful solutions.

Mr. Sapers, I would like to hear your thoughts on the follow-up of a mental health pilot project. We don’t think that people with mental health issues should be in prison, and I’m sure that you agree. However, in practice, those with mental health problems are in our penitentiaries.

Could you elaborate on the pilot project? Space in hospitals has been used, including in the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. We have also looked at other institutions in Ontario and Atlantic Canada. How could we specifically follow up on this pilot project, in which those with the most serious mental health issues had been placed in hospitals?

More generally speaking, how should we follow up on the correctional service report prepared in response to the recommendations from the Ontario government investigation?