Latest report from Correctional Investigator raises more issues in prisons

Post #251

1200 words; 6 minutes to read

La version française suit par la bénévole Rachel Cauver

Audio summary courtesy of volunteer Kimberly Duong.

The latest report from the Correctional Investigator highlights inadequate prisoner pay and systemic failures in addressing Indigenous issues within prisons. 

The Office of the Correctional Investigator (CI) of Canada does crucial work providing external oversight of conditions in Canada’s prisons. Posts on previous reports can be found here: 2021-22, 2020-2021, 2018-2019, 2017-2018, and a special report on youth in 2017).

These reports provide objective, detailed reviews of how the Correctional Service (CSC) deal with important issues in the prison system.  They also often provide a longitudinal perspective on how an issue has developed.  Every major institution, public and private, could benefit from this kind of external review, because where power is used without oversight, abuse is inevitable.

The 2022-23 report  covers a number of issues.  This post reviews two– pay for prisoners and the continued problems in how prisons deal with Aboriginal people.

Prisoner pay is completely inadequate

Current pay levels for prisoners were created in 1981.  They have not increased at all since then while compulsory deductions have increased and purchasing power has declined dramatically.

‘Some might ask why persons serving a sentence in a federal penitentiary should be paid at all… Providing work opportunities and adequate compensation provides incentive, helps develop skills and financial literacy, and productively uses time in the institution… Reducing the purchasing power of incarcerated persons removes their incentive to work, decreases their quality of life and negatively affects the institutional environment contributing to an underground economy rife with abuse, extortion, muscling and violence. This inevitably leads to spiraling, negative impacts on rehabilitation.’

In 1981 ‘the sliding wage scale … was linked to the daily disposable income of a single earner receiving the federal minimum wage’ which was then $3.50 per hour.‘  That is equivalent to $23.07 per now.  But the maximum pay in prisons remains as in 1981, $6.35 per day, while 95% of prisoners get less than that.

A decade or so ago the Conservative government started deducting a further 30% from prisoners’ pay for ‘room and board’, even though this was already included when the 1981 rates were calculated, which is why they were so low even then.

Does not match cost increases

Meanwhile costs of everything prisoners have to purchase, from additional food to clothing, recreational supplies and toiletries, have increased dramatically.  It would take a prisoner two weeks of pay ‘to cover the costs of shampoo and conditioner, and four weeks to cover the cost of men’s winter gloves’.  Very high phone costs that yield huge profits to companies and revenue to prisons are another big problem or prisoners.

As a result, ‘a system that was supposed to encourage participation in programs and other opportunities behind bars, to engage in core components of one’s correctional plan, has become its own singular disincentive to engagement.’

Low pay also affects the families of prisoners.  Originally it was thought that prisoners could even send some money to their families, or save for when they were released.  But now ‘the families of incarcerated persons, many of whom are struggling themselves financially, have been sending in more money to support their loved one behind bars… effectively nullifying any of the reintegrative, behavioural or vocational objectives.’

The system continues to fall short on Indigenous issues

The Correctional Investigator has comment on Indigenous issues in prisons many times.  ‘Increasing rates of Indigenous representation in federal prisons, the persistently high number of Indigenous peoples who only gain release from prison at mandatory or warrant expiry, and the overall disparate and distressing outcomes on nearly every measure of correctional performance affirms the very stubborn reality that Canada’s federal correctional system continues to fail Indigenous peoples’

This report takes up three specific aspects: the use of healing lodges, the Pathways program, and the use of elders.  In all of them, the CI finds that CSC falls far short of its own commitments let alone of what might be possible.

Healing Lodges

Previous reports found that ‘CSC had not met Parliament’s intent [for healing lodges] which in turn, had contributed to the deterioration of the correctional outcomes and increases in the over-representation of Indigenous peoples in federal prisons.’

Since then the situation has if anything worsened.  Only a tiny fraction of Indigenous prisoners ever spent time in a healing lodge, it is hard for prisoners to get transferred to a lodge, and the community-run lodges get about half as much money per prisoner as so the CSC run facilities.  Yet ‘Healing Lodge residents were more likely to complete correctional and other programs…. over the course of their sentence, residents from community-run lodges showed greater improvements in most need areas.’

‘Thirty years later, what can be learned from this is that the status quo has not, and will not, work to reverse this trend.’

Pathways

Pathways is a program intended to support Indigenous prisoners by providing programs and activities that go beyond regular CSC services, following a ‘Healing Plan’.  Participants are expected to maintain a high-level of engagement at all times in a program driven by Indigenous elders.  However there is no single guiding policy document for the program.

Fewer than 10% of Indigenous prisoners are in Pathways.  It is hard to get in, and many of the prisoners in the program are the least needy and would likely be successful without it.

The investigation found many problems with the program beyond low participation.  It does not fit well with many other rules and systems in the prisons; Elders are rarely leading the initiative; participants across all sites have experienced regular mistreatment by some operations staff ; CSC systematically deprioritizes or ignores Indigenous ways of being and knowing; healing plans may not fit with the official case management plans for prisoners, and participants experience significant disruptions in quality, and intensity of services upon release to the community.

Elders

Elders play a fundamental role in Indigenous communities and in working with Indigenous prisoners.  This report, like previous ones on the topic, documented serious problems in the way elders are allowed to work in prison, including workload and working conditions; treatment, respect and recognition; pay and compensation; self-care, wellness, safety and support.

‘Resolution of these issues is essential in creating a space of trust and confidence where an Elder driven approach to Indigenous Corrections could truly take root and flourish.’

‘No amount of effort to ensure proper support and management of Elder services within CSC will be successful in the absence of deciding how and where… these activities fit within the agency. Put more directly, if Elders are not given a seat at the table, if their Nations are not represented or welcomed as equal partners at CSC’s senior decision-making tables, if correctional expenditures continue to be detached from Indigenous representation rates, then there is every chance that Indigenous initiatives within CSC will never be Indigenous-led, much less Indigenous-driven.’

That has been the history of Indigenous initiatives of all kinds in CSC.

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La version française

Dans un rapport récent, des défaillances majeures sont mises en lumière au sein du système pénitentiaire fédéral du Canada, notamment en ce qui concerne la rémunération des détenus et le traitement des détenus autochtones. Établies en 1981, les rémunérations carcérales n’ont jamais été ajustées, se limitant à 6,35 $ par jour, alors que le pouvoir d’achat des prisonniers a considérablement diminué en raison de l’inflation et de l’augmentation des prélèvements obligatoires. Face à la hausse des coûts des produits de première nécessité, les détenus se retrouvent dans une précarité accrue, rendant presque inaccessibles des articles courants, y compris les appels téléphoniques. Cette situation compromet gravement les objectifs de réinsertion et, dans certains cas, favorise l’émergence d’une économie souterraine propice à la violence et à l’exploitation.

Les faibles rémunérations ont également des répercussions sur les familles des détenus, souvent contraintes de les soutenir financièrement, ce qui annule les objectifs de réinsertion initialement prévus. Par ailleurs, les détenus autochtones subissent des disparités particulièrement préoccupantes. Malgré des initiatives telles que les pavillons de ressourcement, les programmes Pathways et l’intervention des aînés, l’accès à ces ressources demeure restreint et notoirement sous-financé. Une très faible proportion de détenus autochtones est transférée vers des pavillons de ressourcement, où les financements alloués aux structures communautaires sont largement inférieurs à ceux des Établissements administrés par le Service correctionnel du Canada (SCC).

L’incapacité du système fédéral à répondre efficacement aux besoins des Autochtones aggrave leur surreprésentation dans les prisons canadiennes. Le rapport appelle à des réformes profondes, soulignant que de simples ajustements ne suffiront pas à corriger les carences structurelles qui entravent la réhabilitation et l’équité au sein des Établissements Pénitentiaires canadiens.