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Results: 76 - 90 of 488
Anthony Doob
View Anthony Doob Profile
Anthony Doob
2021-06-21 16:22
Whether they acknowledge it as such or whether they acknowledge the fact that the lengths of time do vary is at least a start.
At the moment, remember that we don't even have an acknowledgement that there are any problems whatsoever that are not caused by prisoners in the SIUs. I think it's important that we start by acknowledging what the problems are.
I do have some suggestions on where they might start. The variation that we see across institutions is a good place to start. It's not as if there are any institutions that are wonderful, but there are institutions that are much worse than others. If we could find that some institutions are doing things better, maybe we could learn from those differences and move on.
Remember, what we're looking for.... Jane Sprott and I are sitting in separate offices in Toronto working with CSC administrative data. I would have hoped, had there been proper oversight of the SIUs, that a panel like the one that I chaired and was unsuccessful in—
View Damien Kurek Profile
CPC (AB)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the witnesses for joining us here today.
Mr. Wilkins, I'm proud to represent a large region of east central Alberta that includes the Drumheller Institution. I've certainly worked with and heard from many correctional officers, so I've heard about some of the challenges related to COVID.
My question is specifically about vaccines and some of the concerns I've heard. At any point did the Correctional Service of Canada consult with the UCCO about their vaccination strategy?
Jeff Wilkins
View Jeff Wilkins Profile
Jeff Wilkins
2021-06-21 16:25
Absolutely. They did after they announced that they would be procuring vaccines for staff members in the institution. Since the beginning of the pandemic, what UCCO-SACC-CSN has been calling for is that once a vaccine was available, it should be offered in the institution for both the staff and the inmates because of our close-quarter working environments and the fact that we're a communal living facility. When we put the onus onto the provinces, we see differences across regions as to who is going to get vaccinated first.
Our members are performing as the first responder group of all occupations. We're firefighters, paramedics and police inside the institution. We're often in very close quarters with inmates and with each other. It was very important to us that our members were given priority.
We engaged on many fronts about being a priority. Finally we were consulted once vaccine had been procured for the institution and staff.
View Damien Kurek Profile
CPC (AB)
Thanks for that.
I think that one of the frustrations that I certainly heard from Correctional Service officers, members of the UCCO, is that they were in the precarious position of having to assist with the administration of vaccines to inmates and had seen nurses and other health care professionals who had received theirs, but they were not prioritized in the same way. Is that an accurate perception, from your point of view?
Jeff Wilkins
View Jeff Wilkins Profile
Jeff Wilkins
2021-06-21 16:27
Absolutely. That's because the initial vaccine rollout was conducted by each of the provinces, and the provinces made their determinations based on the NACI guidelines, and they were different, of course, and rightly so. Health care providers need to be given priority, but we're also providing health care in the institutions, so it was very confusing to us that we weren't listed under that communal living category and made priority number one in the provinces. Of course, with the influx of vaccines now, there have been vaccines in the institutions.
View Damien Kurek Profile
CPC (AB)
Although the final surplus was much delayed, I would suggest that it has certainly alleviated a lot of these challenges. However, I know from speaking to Correctional Service members that there's a great deal of frustration about both the work they were doing within the institution and also the perception of how things were being managed at the institution from the community. In many cases, officers live in the community or nearby. I'm paraphrasing, but one basically said, “The public information coming out of the institution is false. They're lying to us.” Those were the words I heard.
Now, that's specific to an institution that I represent. I've spoken to a number of colleagues who likewise represent other institutions. I was concerned to hear—
View Pam Damoff Profile
Lib. (ON)
Thank you.
One of the things that I found really frustrating as COVID first hit was that inmates in the institutions were being vaccinated by the federal government, but those who worked there were subject to provincial decisions, and unfortunately the provinces made the decision not to prioritize those who work in the institutions. I think it was frustrating for all of us, Mr. Wilkins, that you and all the others who work there weren't prioritized by the province.
I have a question for Dr. Doob. Have you had an opportunity to visit an SIU, and if so, what were...? I mean, COVID has obviously put restrictions on visitation. It was something that I had hoped to do and haven't been able to do, but I'm wondering if you have had an opportunity to visit them in person.
Anthony Doob
View Anthony Doob Profile
Anthony Doob
2021-06-21 16:29
The simple answer to that question is no, I haven't, and part of it was that I took seriously the plan that the panel I chaired had in place, which was that we were going to be looking at the data in the early days of the operation of the SIUs. Our plan was to look at it in early 2020. The Correctional Service of Canada was supposed to be giving us data in February 2020, and then we would learn from that administrative data the questions that we should be looking at within the institutions, because we, as a panel, always felt that the administrative data that Jane Sprott and I have been working on for the last 10 months or so was the starting point, not the end point; the starting point was that we would go into the institutions knowing what to look for and what we should be questioning people about.
We had two problems. One, obviously, was the COVID problem. The second problem was that we were delayed many, many months by Correctional Service of Canada's decision not to give us data until they were pressured to do so by the minister in the late summer of 2020.
View Pam Damoff Profile
Lib. (ON)
I see Ms. Latimer has her hand up.
Just before we go there, I know one of the concerns we heard was that inmates don't necessarily want to leave their SIU. One of the flags I had when we looked at Bill C‑83 was that it indicates a problem that needs to be reviewed, because there's a reason they don't want to leave, whether it's safety or mental health or whatever the reasons are. It doesn't indicate that it's right that they don't want to leave, and it may very well be true, but we need to get to the bottom of the reason.
You've only got about a minute, Catherine.
Catherine Latimer
View Catherine Latimer Profile
Catherine Latimer
2021-06-21 16:31
I had an opportunity to visit the structured intervention units in January. They had been up and running for a couple of months anyway, and they were pretty disorganized. I went to the one at Millhaven.
I'm happy to send you my notes. I'll send those to the clerk.
View Pam Damoff Profile
Lib. (ON)
Catherine Latimer
View Catherine Latimer Profile
Catherine Latimer
2021-06-21 16:32
Right.
I'd be happy to send my notes to you. You can see my initial observations.
Anne Kelly
View Anne Kelly Profile
Anne Kelly
2021-06-21 16:40
Mr. Chair and members of the committee, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today.
I would like to begin by highlighting that today is the National Indigenous Peoples Day. I like to take this opportunity to celebrate the contributions and rich culture of indigenous peoples, including those of our numerous indigenous employees who play an essential role in inmate rehabilitation.
With respect to COVID-19, I want to offer thanks to CSC staff for their tireless and dedicated efforts and recognize the ongoing collaboration of offenders in helping us manage the pandemic. I am pleased to report that we currently have zero active COVID-19 inmate cases across the country.
Before speaking about our vaccination program, I want to highlight what has worked in getting to that result.
Our partnership with our public health experts, our unions, and our stakeholders, including the Red Cross; completing infection prevention and control reviews at all of our 43 sites; developing an integrated risk management framework, with the help of our public health partners, unions and stakeholders; early on, developing a comprehensive testing strategy, and the adoption of rapid testing—to date, we have performed close to 52,000 tests; training over 250 of our own staff to do contact tracing; communicating weekly with staff and inmates and monthly with our partners; and having CORCAN quickly pivot during the pandemic and, along with a number of inmates, produce 850,000 masks.
I will turn to vaccines, which provide light at the end of this long tunnel.
As of June 17, over 75% of the inmate population had received at least one dose and 42% were fully vaccinated. We continue to run clinics and engage with inmates who have declined, in order to understand their concerns and work to address them.
Managing COVID, although not easy on anyone, has truly been a team effort. We are currently starting to plan for when we can safely resume activities and lift restrictions. This will continue to be a collaborative effort with public health and with what the data is telling us.
I would now like to turn to structured intervention units, or SIUs. As you know, SIUs were implemented on November 30, 2019, and represented a transformative change for CSC. Although COVID-19 has created unique challenges for everything we do, including SIUs, I am extremely committed to their successful operation.
SIUs are not about punishment or causing harm; it is quite the opposite. SIUs are meant as a temporary measure, and are about helping inmates by providing them with the opportunity to engage in targeted interventions and programs to support their safe return to a mainstream inmate population as soon as possible.
There are currently 186 inmates in SIUs, which represents roughly 1.5% of federal inmates in Canada. I should point out that there are 33 indigenous inmates, so 17%. This is in contrast to the former model, under which close to 800 inmates, or over 5%, were in administrative segregation in 2009-10. This points to a shift in mindset, whereby SIUs are being used as a last resort, with more being done proactively to manage situations within the mainstream population.
This 1.5% needs to be put in context. Inmates in SIUs present a profile that clearly distinguishes them from the mainstream population. A recent analysis shows that they are more impulsive, have low frustration tolerance, frequently act in an aggressive manner and are 14% more likely to hold attitudes that support goal-oriented violence.
SIUs are in place at 15 of our 43 institutions. Inmates can only be transferred to an SIU if they meet one of the three criteria in the Corrections and Conditional Release Act and there are no other reasonable alternatives to placement in an SIU.
Before transferring an inmate to an SIU, every possible alternative is explored, such as mediation or conflict resolution, transfer to a different unit or range in the institution, and involvement of the inmate committee or staff who have influence over the inmate, such as an elder, chaplain or volunteer.
It's important to note that support for inmates is not a one-size-fits-all approach. We deal with some difficult and complex situations. For example, we have over 250 separate gangs in our institutions, which makes it a challenge to find a safe space for some inmates. While some cases can resolve quickly, others take time and require ongoing care and steady work.
The law is clear that inmates who are transferred to an SIU must be provided with the opportunity to spend a minimum of four hours a day outside their cell, including two hours of meaningful interaction. The legislation recognizes that there are situations in which inmates may be held in their cell for longer—for example, if they refuse to leave. While it is their right, we continue to make active offers.
A key safeguard—
View Bob Bratina Profile
Lib. (ON)
Members of the committee, I see that we have quorum. Accordingly, I call this meeting to order.
We will start by acknowledging that in Ottawa, we meet on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin people.
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted on April 29, 2021, the committee is meeting to study the sex trafficking of indigenous peoples.
To ensure an orderly meeting, participants may speak and listen in the official language of their choice. At the bottom of your screen—this is important—you will see a globe. By clicking on that globe, you can select either “English” or “French”. When you are speaking, though, you won't have to change back and forth. If you are fluently bilingual, I applaud you, but you need to have the speaker selected on the globe. Speak slowly and clearly, please. When you're not speaking, your microphone should be on mute.
With us today for two hours are several expert witnesses. We have Coralee McGuire-Cyrette, executive director, Ontario Native Women's Association. Appearing as individuals, we have Courtney Sky, research fellow at the Yellowhead Institute, and Cherry Smiley, Ph.D. candidate at Concordia University. We also await Chris Stark, author and researcher.
Witnesses, we typically begin with your presentations of about six minutes, followed by rounds of questioning.
Ms. McGuire-Cyrette, would you like to start, please?
Welcome to the committee. Please go ahead. You have six minutes.
Coralee McGuire-Cyrette
View Coralee McGuire-Cyrette Profile
Coralee McGuire-Cyrette
2021-06-17 11:07
Good morning, Chair and committee members. My name is Coralee McGuire-Cyrette. I am the executive director of the Ontario Native Women's Association.
This year marks ONWA's 50th anniversary, making us the oldest and largest indigenous women's organization in Canada. With a mandate to address violence against indigenous women, ONWA works on such key safety issues as human trafficking, missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, and child welfare.
Before I begin, I want to acknowledge the bravery, wisdom and leadership of all survivors on this issue, as they are the experts. ONWA has been working with survivors for many years. This experience forms the basis of our recommendations. Survivors and knowledge-holders have reminded us that motherhood is the oldest profession, and this is what we must reclaim in our work.
I'll be framing my presentation today based on three key points. While I do not have the time today to explore them in depth, it's imperative that they are kept in mind while we continue.
First, in 2019 the United Nations released guidelines on combatting child sexual exploitation. They state that a child under the age of 18 can never consent to any form of their own sale, sexual exploitation or sexual abuse, and any presumed consent of a child to exploitative or sexual acts should be considered “null and void”. Additionally, article 35 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that the government has a responsibility to ensure that children are not abducted, sold or trafficked. ONWA advocates that both principles must, without exception, be adhered to.
Second, the impact of colonization has caused the fabric of strong, self-sustaining indigenous communities to be eroded. Indigenous trauma, together with more recent constructs, has fostered conditions of normalized violence towards indigenous women and girls. Direct links have been drawn between the rates of violence that indigenous women continue to face today and the paternalistic policies emerging from colonization. This systemic discrimination has not been addressed adequately in Canada. This leaves indigenous women and girls at a heightened vulnerability to experience victimization, including human trafficking.
Article 18 of the UNDRIP affirms that “Indigenous peoples have the right to participate in decision-making in matters...through representatives chosen by themselves” and to “maintain and develop their own...institutions”. From this, ONWA asserts that it is fundamental that indigenous women have the capacity to participate in a wide range of leadership efforts to support our communities, including leading the prevention, intervention and response to issues that we face.
Third, the COVID-19 pandemic has deepened pre-existing inequalities. By virtue of our gender and our race, we are, as indigenous women and girls, disproportionately experiencing the consequences of COVID-19. This results in an increased risk of indigenous women and girls being targeted for human trafficking, as well as worsening the situation for those already in trafficking situations. The pandemic has underscored that solutions to human trafficking must be part of an equitable COVID-19 recovery plan.
In 2017 we engaged with over 3,360 community members and service providers, including 250 indigenous human trafficking survivors. The storytelling that was heard resulted in the creation of a strategy, titled “Journey to Safe Spaces”, to address this issue.
Survivors taught us what trauma-informed care is and what systems need to be changed. Their intentions were clear. They wanted to protect other indigenous women and girls from trafficking. We also learned that there are often systemic failures that subject indigenous women and children to risk. The relationship between child welfare and human trafficking is complex. In our engagements with survivors, we heard many stories. In some instances, the abuse was not identified by any service provider, and children experienced horrific childhood exploitation. In other instances, sexual exploitation began after child welfare became involved.
Children must be protected from exploitation—period. This will involve systems working together to protect and ensure the safety of our children.
Our report provides clear recommendations for change. All changes must be underpinned by the fact that indigenous women have human rights. The recommendations from survivors provided the basis for our courage for change program, which provides the only long-term, intensive case management and support. Our program supported 176 indigenous women and girls to safely exit human trafficking from 2017 to 2019. Last year, in 2020, we saw a 37% increase in exits.
Before I conclude, I'll highlight five essential recommendations, many of which can be found in ONWA's “Reconciliation with Indigenous Women”. In this report, we recommend actions that are very specific and targeted to end human trafficking while supporting survivors. The missing and murdered indigenous women and girls national action plan does not include our report's recommendations sufficiently.
First, collaborative mechanisms must be put in place to allow for provincial and national data collection on the human trafficking of indigenous women that protects the privacy of survivors who access services with data collected by the legal reform.
Second, sustainable programs and services that address human trafficking survivor-specific needs, including wraparound support and 24-hour services for human trafficking in cities all across the country, must be implemented.
Third, specialized trauma-informed services for survivors who appear in court must be created. When charges are laid against a trafficker, survivor safety must be prioritized throughout the legal process.
Fourth, the federal government needs to clear the records of survivors of any criminal offences for prostitution-related offences and with debt forgiveness for student loans.
Fifth, additional funding is urgently required to address human trafficking well beyond the provision of funds for education-related activities only. This is to include comprehensive human trafficking exiting supports, such as mental health and addictions services, housing, specialized long-term healing and supportive services.
In closing, I encourage the committee to review our “Reconciliation with Indigenous Women” report and our “Journey to Safe Spaces” strategy in full, as they provide a road map to keep indigenous women and girls safe from human trafficking and to the supports needed to rebuild their lives.
Meegwetch.
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