Public Safety Committee on Feb. 23rd, 2016

[Commr Bob Paulson]

I'll briefly add how we're recruiting.

A couple of years ago I set some very ambitious targets, against some advice that it probably was not a good idea. We're targeting for a 30% representation of females in the organization by 2020, I believe. It's very ambitious because of the numbers and the amount of intake. Nevertheless, we have targeted recruiting, bringing women into the organization, and those numbers are improving.

With respect to leadership roles, I agree with you. Right now we have a number of senior women in leadership roles. For example, we have a deputy commissioner in Alberta, we have an assistant commissioner who is the commanding officer in Saskatchewan, and I have a deputy commissioner here at headquarters who looks after contract and aboriginal policing.

While keeping that representation at that level is a challenge because of the difficulty in continuing to have people advance in rank, what we are doing there is employing a mentoring type of philosophy to look into the—forgive the term—feeder group of individuals. Women don't want to get promoted because they're women; they want to get promoted because they're good. We're looking at the women who are good, and we're bringing them along and attaching them to senior leaders, both men and women, in the organization to feed them.

We have succeeded in increasing our numbers in the executive ranks substantially in the last little while. I agree with you, and we're doing it.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

Are you changing anything in terms of the work environment itself, so that women are joining the RCMP? Certainly it's a challenge when—

[Commr Bob Paulson]

Certainly what we need to do is avoid the kind of public display of behaviours we've seen in this last week or two. To the extent that we have done a number of things, which I'm happy to enumerate, I thought we were advancing in that area. That's why I tried to put some context around your colleague's question earlier on, to isolate that behaviour at the Canadian Police College.

We have some very robust, respectful workplace initiatives across this country, with consultative groups that are formed by the people on the front line to advise on that, and our stats are going down.

Let me just add one other stat, because the CPC was referenced some time ago. In 2012 we had 219 harassment complaints, of which five were sexual harassment; in 2013, we had 189, of which five were sexual harassment. The CPC noted this, as well, in its review. It said, yes, it had a bullying problem—there's no question about that—and it's working on it. Recent events notwithstanding, I'm here to tell you that we're doing better.

However, it can't be understood as a sexual harassment problem. Sexual harassment has no place in the organization—don't get me wrong—but it's the culture of bullying, intimidation, and general harassment that I think needs everybody's focus and attention.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

Changing the subject a little bit, at our last meeting we were told that child sexual exploitation over the Internet is going up exponentially, as well as organized crime and its work on the Internet. I'm just wondering, with the additional demands that you were talking about and the fact that you never have enough money—

[Commr Bob Paulson]

Yes.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

—how you are dealing with the increase in those two crimes in particular.

[Commr Bob Paulson]

Well, they are going up exponentially. They are being facilitated and accelerated by technology.

What we are doing is partnering with non-governmental agencies that are very interested in seeing some results there. We have developed a centre here in Ottawa that is coordinating on child sexual exploitation.

We find it very difficult to sustain the workforce there, because it is soul-destroying work. However, it's also very rewarding work. We are building that capacity in partnership with other police agencies to try to bring to bear some technological support to counter what's going on.

I have a presentation that nobody wants to see. If you want to see it, I'll bring it here, but you will start crying in the middle of it and you'll get up and leave. I say that because it's the same phenomenon that happens in juries, when they hear about terrible murders. Nobody wants to see that.

I think we need to. Along with the centre for child exploitation in Winnipeg, I've embarked on a sort of socializing project to bring exactly what's going on out there into Canadian consciousness. It's a very difficult topic to share with the average Canadian—

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Thank you, Commissioner.

I suspect that we'll be back to you. I'm sorry for cutting you off, but we have a motion to deal with and we have to end your time with us.

I know you look forward to coming back.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

We will, I am sure, have several reasons to call upon you. Thank you very much for today.

We'll suspend for a few minutes while we change witnesses and then get back to work.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

We'll now reconvene.

Mr. Head and Mr. Cenaiko, thank you for joining us. I know that you especially look forward to coming to public safety and national security committee meetings. We'll hear from each of you for 10 minutes. Then the members will be able to question you at their will. We have 50 minutes for this round.

We'll begin with Mr. Head. He is still my model of a warden, having been the head of the Whitehorse Correctional Centre when I used to do chaplaincy services there. I know how jails are run; he's still doing it, and I'm not.

I'm glad you're here.

[Don Head, Commissioner, Correctional Service of Canada]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Every time I see you now, I'm not sure whether I should be giving testimony or giving a prayer.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

I pray more now, in politics.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[Don Head]

Mr. Chair and honourable members of the committee, good day, and thank you for allowing me to be here today. It really is a pleasure.

I am pleased to appear before the committee to provide an overview of the Correctional Service of Canada, or CSC, as we refer to it.

First I'd like to take a brief moment to formally introduce myself to this committee.

In my 38-year career, I've had the privilege to work with tens of thousands of dedicated and committed correctional service employees. I began my federal public service career as a correctional officer in 1978. I've held various operational, managerial, and executive positions while working in four federal penitentiaries, two regional headquarters, and national headquarters. Between 1995 and 2002, I accepted various positions within the territorial and provincial correctional systems in both Yukon and Saskatchewan. In 2002, I rejoined the Correctional Service of Canada as senior deputy commissioner and was appointed commissioner in 2008.

As the commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada, I've appeared many times before this and other parliamentary and Senate committees over the past eight years. It's been such a privilege to be given the opportunity to provide members of this House and the Senate with information on a broad range of matters concerning CSC as pieces of legislation make their way through Parliament or as committees undertake specific studies.

Most importantly, as the head of one of the Canada's public safety agencies, I believe that appearing in this type of public forum provides an opportunity for me to highlight the achievements and great work that my staff does every single day in the institutions and in the community.

CSC is a federal agency within the Government of Canada's public safety portfolio. Its responsibilities are derived from the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, as well as the Corrections and Conditional Release Regulations. In addition to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, approximately 70 other acts and regulations impact CSC.

The Corrections and Conditional Release Act—the CCRA—and the regulations direct CSC to contribute to public safety by administering court-imposed sentences of two years or more. This work involves managing institutions of various security levels, preparing inmates for safe and timely release, and supervising offenders under conditional release and long-term supervision orders in the community.

The CCRA also requires CSC to develop, implement, and monitor correctional policies, programs, and practices that respect gender, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic differences and are responsive to the specific needs of women, men, and indigenous offenders. As well, the guiding legislation requires that CSC provide essential health care services and reasonable access to non-essential mental health care that will contribute to offenders' rehabilitation and successful reintegration into the community. The act also mandates CSC to provide services to victims of crime, such as information sharing and awareness building, to support victims.

As commissioner, I'm supported by an executive committee composed of national and regional officials. I oversee the operation of 43 federal penitentiaries, 91 parole offices and parole sub-offices, and 15 community correctional centres. The CSC also manages four healing lodges and works in partnership with indigenous communities to support the reintegration of indigenous offenders back into the community. On a typical day, CSC is responsible for approximately 23,000 offenders, of which roughly 15,000 are incarcerated.

Since assuming the role of commissioner in 2008, I've witnessed significant changes in the offender population that have put pressures on CSC and its operations.

For instance, the number of women in federal custody has increased substantially over the last 10 years. As well, offenders now have more extensive histories of violence and are more likely to have mental health needs. Offenders continue to exhibit a high prevalence of substance abuse problems and infectious diseases. Furthermore, as offender populations age, the prevalence of physical health problems increases. Also, the admission of indigenous offenders to the deferral correctional system continues to impact their level of overrepresentation in the system.

These changes have required CSC to change how it operates to better respond to the offenders by enhancing intelligence and information systems, implementing population management and mental health strategies, and regularly reviewing and modernizing the delivery of penitentiary operations and rehabilitation programs.

Mr. Chair, as indicated in the 2015-16 supplementary estimates tabled in the House of Commons last December, CSC's budgetary authorities are approximately $2.4 billion. As with other government departments, CSC has faced significant funding reduction and pressures over the past several years. Budget 2012's economic action plan resulted in the reduction of $295 million. Further, the operating budget freeze announced as part of budget 2014 has generated an estimated $27 million financial pressure for 2015-16 that is expected to grow to $31 million for the next fiscal year and ongoing.

This is in addition to the budget 2010 operating budget freeze, which resulted in $55 million of ongoing financial pressure. Overall, since 2008-09 the total ongoing impact of funding reductions and pressures amounted to $400 million. To meet these budgetary reduction levels, CSC implemented a series of initiatives intended to achieve efficiencies and streamline operations. At this time, when you consider the cumulative impacts of government-wide and legislative initiatives that have had an impact on CSC, we're no longer in a position to absorb any other incremental costs without potential impacts on public safety.

The Correctional Service of Canada employs approximately 18,000 staff, 85% of whom work in institutions or in the parole offices in the community and 15% at our national or regional headquarters. CSC's workforce reflects the wide variety of skills needed to operate institutions and community offices. Our workforce includes correctional officers, parole officers, program delivery officers, health professionals, plumbers, electricians, food service staff, and the list goes on. These are staff who provide essential services both in the community and in the institutions. As well, staff provide corporate administrative functions at local, regional, and national levels.

Like many other federal organizations, CSC must manage the challenges associated with recruiting and retaining staff because of the government-wide aging workforce. That said, CSC is committed to creating and retaining a diverse workforce that is representative of Canadian society. A strong focus on fostering diversity has resulted in significant increases in the representation of women and visible minorities at CSC in the last three years. Given the high proportion of indigenous offenders, CSC has made targeted efforts to recruit and retain indigenous employees and as a result is the largest employer of indigenous peoples in the core public administration. Of note, 47% of CSC's staff are women, 9% are from visible minority groups, 5% are persons with disabilities, and just over 9% are indigenous in 2014-2015.

Mr. Chair, every day across the country CSC employees ensure the safety of our communities in one of the most challenging environments of the federal public service. CSC's contributions to public safety would not be possible without the passion and dedication of our staff.

Thank you once again for the opportunity to appear today. I'd be more than happy to respond to any questions that you have shortly.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Thank you, Commissioner.

We have representatives from the before and the after. Mr. Cenaiko, welcome.

[Harvey Cenaiko, Chairperson, Parole Board of Canada]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and members of the committee for inviting the Parole Board of Canada to appear before you today.

I welcome this opportunity to talk to you about the board's important public safety mandate and the work that we do.

The Parole Board of Canada is an independent administrative tribunal within the Public Safety portfolio. The chairperson of the board is its chief executive officer and reports to Parliament through the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. The board carries out its work through its national office located in the national capital and through offices in five regions, which include the Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, prairie, and Pacific regions.

Conditional release decision-making takes place in the board's regional offices, while appeal decisions and record suspension decision processes and clemency recommendations are made at the national office. The board has a complement of 89 full-time and part-time board members that is set in legislation. They are supported by a public service staff of 437 full-time employees. The board's budget for the current fiscal year is $45.9 million.

As a key component of the criminal justice system, the board makes independent, quality conditional release and record suspension decisions and clemency recommendations. The board contributes to the protection of society by facilitating, as appropriate, the timely reintegration of offenders as law-abiding citizens. The board has three key program areas: conditional release decisions, conditional release openness and accountability, and record suspension decisions and clemency recommendations. These are supported by a fourth program area, internal services.

The board's conditional release program accounts for fully 77% of our budget, while its record suspension program is funded under a cost-recovery model through a $631 applicant user fee. The board's conditional release mandate is prescribed by the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, or CCRA. The CCRA provides the legal framework for the board's composition, policies, training, and operations. The board's mandate in relation to record suspensions is prescribed under the Criminal Records Act, or CRA. The board's authority in relation to clemency and the royal prerogative of mercy is prescribed under the CCRA as well as the Criminal Code of Canada and the letters patent.

Board members are appointed by the Governor in Council—that is, by the Governor General—on the advice of the federal cabinet. Board members come from all walks of life, and their diverse backgrounds help to ensure that the board represents Canada's broad range of community values and views.

On appointment, all board members are provided with extensive training in risk assessment and interviewing techniques, as well as the legislation that governs the board's activities. Board members also receive ongoing training in their regions as well as annual training at the national level.

As I mentioned, the board's main program area is conditional release. Under the CCRA, the board has exclusive authority to determine whether and under what conditions federal offenders serving a sentence of two years or more may be released on parole. The board also makes decisions on parole for provincial offenders serving sentences of less than two years in all provinces except Ontario and Quebec, which have their own parole boards. Last year the board conducted 17,800 parole reviews.

The CCRA includes two key principles that guide the board in its conditional release decision-making: one, that the protection of society be the paramount consideration in the determination of any case; two, that the conditions we impose be necessary and proportionate to the purpose of the conditional release and consistent with the protection of society. Putting these principles into practice, the board looks at whether the offender will not, by reoffending, present an undue risk to society before the expiration of the sentence, and whether the release of the offender will contribute to the protection of society by facilitating their reintegration as a law-abiding citizen. The paramount consideration, in every board decision, is the protection of society.

In order to maintain the highest-quality decision-making possible, the board has developed a risk assessment framework that grounds all of its decisions in a sound analysis of risk-relevant information. When conducting reviews, board members assess risk by taking into account actuarial measures and by considering and weighing relevant components of the risk assessment framework. These components include the offenders' criminal and parole history, institutional behaviours, the offenders' change, and their release plan, as well as any factors specific to the situation.

Board members also consider information provided by the victim, including formal victim statements. Board members consider mitigating, neutral, and aggravating factors for all components and will take into account the information from the hearing or review in order to render a final decision. This includes factors specific to indigenous offenders—for example, the Supreme Court of Canada's decision on the Gladue principles in relation to attendance at residential schools, societal upbringing, and their own victimization.

The board is acutely aware that indigenous people are overrepresented in the male and female offender population. To address the needs of this group, the board provides alternative models of parole hearings, specifically elder-assisted and community-assisted hearings, which are responsive to the cultural values and traditions of indigenous peoples. In addition to this, the board has policies and specialized training that recognize the unique societal and cultural factors related to indigenous offenders, victims, and communities. The board also has an advisory committee known as the indigenous circle, which provides strategic advice to the board on ways it can improve its efficiency and effectiveness in meeting the needs of this community. The board also uses elders to assist in interviewing candidates for board member positions.

The board also believes that victims have an important role in the conditional release process and works hard to balance the rights of victims with those of offenders. Victims can receive information related to an offender's parole, they can attend and present victim statements at hearings, and they can receive written decisions. There are more than 8,000 victims registered with the board, receiving information on over 4,200 offenders.

Last year there were 231 victim statements presented at 128 hearings, and 27,191 contacts with victims. In terms of the board's parole outcomes, over the past two years we have seen these improve to their highest levels in more than a decade and a half. Last fiscal year, nearly 99% of federal day parole and 96% of federal full parole supervision periods for offenders serving determinate sentences were completed without reoffending, with a grant rate of 71% for day parole and 30% for full parole.

As well, last year all parole periods, both day and full, were successfully completed without a violent offence conviction. This reflects the board's work over the past few years in developing a more robust risk assessment framework.

Given its important public safety mandate, it is critical that the board be seen as open and accountable to the public it serves. The CCRA requires that the board's decisions be made available to the public upon request. Over the last five years, the board has released more than 31,700 decisions through its decision registry. In addition, members of the public may also request to observe a board hearing. Last fiscal year, there were 4,171 observers at board hearings across the country.

As I mentioned at the outset, the board is also responsible for making record suspension decisions under the Criminal Records Act, or CRA. A record suspension removes the stigma of a criminal record for people who, having been convicted of an offence, have satisfied all of their sentences and remained crime free for a specific period of time.

As per the CRA, the board needs to consider specific factors in deciding whether or not to order a record suspension, including whether it will provide a measurable benefit to the applicant, how it will help sustain his or her reintegration into society as a law-abiding citizen, and whether ordering a record suspension would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.

Since 1970, more than 490,000 individuals have received pardons and record suspensions. Of these, 95% remain in force, indicating that the vast majority of pardon and record suspension recipients remain crime free in the community. The board has also taken significant steps to address its backlog of pardon applications under the former Criminal Records Act. The board has reduced its backlog from more than 22,400 applications down to approximately 4,480.

Under the CCRA, the board is also authorized to make recommendations for the exercise of clemency through the royal prerogative of mercy. Clemency is granted in exceptional circumstances in deserving cases involving federal offences when no other remedy exists in law to reduce severe negative effects of criminal sanctions. The board reviews clemency applications, conducts investigations at the direction of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, and makes recommendations to the minister regarding whether to grant the clemency request.

I would like to thank you for the time. I would be more than happy to answer any questions you have.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Thank you.

Mr. Spengemann will begin.

[Sven Spengemann, Liberal, Mississauga—Lakeshore, ON]

Chairperson Cenaiko, thanks very much to you and your colleagues, first of all for your service to the nation and second for appearing in front of us to discuss some very important matters.

I'm glad that you both raised the plight of our first nations in your comments. This is an area that I would like to follow through on this afternoon.

Last week, on February 18, Maclean's magazine published an article entitled “Canada’s prisons are the ‘new residential schools' ”. The article is subtitled “A months-long investigation reveals that at every step, Canada’s justice system is set against Indigenous people”.

I want to bring one particular paragraph early on in the article to your attention to give colleagues some awareness of the numbers that we're talking about. The article reads:

While admissions of white adults to Canadian prisons declined through the last decade

—and this article specifically looks at the last decade—

indigenous incarceration rates were surging: Up 112 per cent for women. Already, 36 per cent of the women and 25 per cent of men sentenced to provincial and territorial custody in Canada are Indigenous—a group that makes up just four per cent of the national population. Add in federal prisons, and Indigenous inmates account for 22.8 per cent of the total incarcerated population.

That's almost a quarter, almost one in four people in our system.

I think we all agree that as a society, as Canadians, we are all measured and judged each and every day by how well we take care of our most vulnerable members, and I think this article disturbs and saddens many of us. The question around the table really is, how do we fix this? What's the systemic problem that's plaguing us, and what are the resources that we need to put in place to correct it?

I wanted to get your reactions to this article in particular, and to ask you the extent to which both of you were aware of this problem in your organizational context prior to the article's release.

[Don Head]

We're very aware of those numbers. We see them play out in our facilities and community parole offices on a day-to-day basis.

There is no question in my mind that just trying to deal with the overrepresentation of indigenous people in correctional facilities is an inadequate solution. If you really want to tackle this issue, we have to go back to some of the systemic societal issues. We need to look at issues in relation to education, employment, and housing. We need to talk about the engagement of my colleague Bob Paulson and his colleagues across the country. We need to talk about how the courts look at this situation differently before sentencing. Then we can talk about corrections.

We are unfortunately at the back end of this system, and we're expected to resolve all the problems that relate to indigenous people. In our legislation, we have a section that requires us to provide the spiritual and cultural programs and activities to support aboriginal people who want to pursue those paths, and we offer everything from elder services to sweat lodge ceremonies to aboriginally designed programs. We have, for example, aboriginal substance abuse programs and aboriginal violence prevention programs. We offer all these activities.

One of the challenges for us is how the gains that those offenders make while they're in our care get supported when they're released into the community. When individuals go back to the aboriginal communities, they often find that their communities don't have the support services or networks needed to carry on the good work that offenders commit to do. We need to look at how we bolster aboriginal communities to provide the support that returning individuals need.

[Sven Spengemann, Liberal, Mississauga—Lakeshore, ON]

Can you give the committee a thumbnail sketch of what the substance abuse and anti-violence programs look like inside your organization? What kind of steps do you take?

[Don Head]

These are programs that target what are called the criminogenic needs of offenders. This is based on evidence and research that's been done over decades. These programs run anywhere from eight to 16 weeks and target issues such as substance abuse or violence prevention. We have other programs as well. There is a spiritual and cultural component built into that, so an elder is part of the program delivery and ceremony is part of the program delivery.

One of the things that we hear from aboriginal offenders in the system is that they sometimes have to go to jail to get back in touch with their culture. This isn't right, and this is something that—

[Sven Spengemann, Liberal, Mississauga—Lakeshore, ON]

I'm sorry to cut you off. Time is limited.

Has either of your organizations conducted or commissioned any studies on this problem? If so, would you be able to share that work with the committee?

[Don Head]

We have some research reports that talk about the kinds of things that work effectively with aboriginal offenders when they are incarcerated.

In terms of the broader systemic issues, criminal justice system issues, we haven't commissioned any reports like that.

[Harvey Cenaiko]

In relation to the Parole Board, when we came to the board in 2009, the biggest issue we had was education.

I'm from western Canada. I grew up close to a first nations community, so my background and my knowledge is there, but many Canadians have never been involved with or lived close to those communities, and many of our board members who have been appointed or are appointed don't have that, so education of our board members is critical.

We have indigenous cultural awareness training twice a year, one in English and one in French. The French training is going on next week in Montreal.