Standing Committee on Public Accounts

Comité permanent des comptes publics

For immediate release

Ottawa, May 30, 2018 -

Correctional Service Canada (CSC) provided women offenders with correctional programs, such as mental health, employment and training services, but did not do so in a manner that adequately supported their timely and successful social reintegration, according to a report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts presented to the House of Commons today by the Hon. Kevin Sorenson, Chair of the Committee.

In the fall of 2017, the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG) released a performance audit whose objective was to determine whether CSC assigned and delivered correctional programs, interventions, and mental health services to women offenders in federal custody—including Indigenous women offenders—that responded appropriately to their unique needs and helped them successfully reintegrate into the community. The audit showed that CSC provided such programs, but that they were gaps in the preparation of women offenders for their parole hearing when they were first eligible; in particular, their correctional programs were often not completed in time for that hearing.

Specifically, CSC had not implemented initial security classification or appropriate program referral tools for women offenders. Moreover, it had not determined the type or level of resources needed for women offenders with mental health issues. In its report, the Committee made nine recommendations to ensure that CSC implement each of the OAG’s audit proposed corrective measures, in order to properly address the identified deficiencies.