Commissioner's update for correctional employees: March 11 , 2024
This content is a message to Correctional Service Canada (CSC) staff from CSC's Commissioner.
Our Mission: The Correctional Service of Canada, as part of the criminal justice system and respecting the rule of law, contributes to public safety by actively encouraging and assisting offenders to become law-abiding citizens, while exercising reasonable, safe, secure and humane control.
I would like to wish a happy and peaceful Ramadan to all Muslims observing this sacred month. Ramadan is a time of fasting, prayer, and charitable giving. This month, families and friends will gather to devote themselves to their faith.
This is also a time to remember the many contributions Muslims have made to our communities. To all celebrating, Ramadan Mubarak.
Agriculture Safety Week
Agriculture Safety Week is March 10 to 16. The focus this year is on encouraging farm safety every day. As spring planting season approaches, rural communities across Canada are getting farm equipment ready, and preparing for another successful year. This includes some of our CSC institutions that offer the CORCAN Agriculture program.
I want to acknowledge and thank the staff operating the CORCAN farms at Collins Bay Institution and Joyceville Institution. They ensure that the offenders involved in the program understand the importance of farm safety. I am also happy to share that 642 agriculture-related certificates were completed by offenders this year alone.
To staff working on the agriculture sites, thank you for being aware and alert to keep yourself and others around you safe.
Black Social History Questionnaire
In 2016, Black employees at CSC from the Central Ontario District initiated the Black Social History pilot project, to address the over-representation of Black offenders in the criminal justice system.
Faces of CSC
Amber Rayner is a Correctional nurse at Beaver Creek Institution in the Ontario Region.
Watch the Lift Me Up video about how Amber dispels the misconceptions people have about being a nurse in a prison. She shares what it is really like being in an environment supported by an amazing team.
This week, CSC’s Research Branch launched a questionnaire related to the Black Social History pilot project across the Ontario Region. All community and institutional Parole Officers in the region will receive an email with a link to the survey. It will be open for five weeks.
Black offenders in the Ontario Region are also being invited to complete a separate questionnaire. I encourage employees in institutions and parole offices across the region to help in the process and support the offenders in participating.
The questionnaire will be used to understand the impact of the Black Social History pilot project in Ontario and to share with other regions as we are looking to potentially expand this initiative. The results from this questionnaire will help us address the needs and improve the experiences of offenders who self-identify as Black, both in custody and under community supervision.
At this time, the Black Social History pilot is for Black male offenders only. It will be adapted and rolled out for women in 2024 to 2025. Thank you to the Black Social History Committee and the employees who contributed to this important initiative. Your efforts are seen and appreciated.
Social Worker Month
This month we celebrate Social Worker Month. Social workers play an important role on our health services teams. Their professional autonomy, clinical independence and interprofessional collaboration helps us improve the social abilities of the people under our care. They offer essential services, such as developing continuity of care plans and services.
Their commitment remains an essential component to our overall approach. Thank you to CSC’s social workers for your contributions and continued commitment to your patients at CSC.
Pharmacy Appreciation Month
March is also Pharmacy Appreciation Month. CSC’s pharmacy staff, including pharmacists, technicians, and assistants, are an important part of our multidisciplinary health services teams.
I want to thank you for your advice, guidance and knowledge regarding patient care in institutions and the community. Your work and dedication have a significant impact every day on the individuals in our care and custody.
Ethnocultural Calendar
I am pleased to announce that CSC’s 2024 Ethnocultural Calendar was a success! Earlier this year, the Reintegration Services Division created and distributed calendars featuring offender art and poetry under the theme of “Better Together.”
Its purpose was to provide offenders with the opportunity to share and raise awareness of their lived experiences of racism and discrimination using artwork and poetry.
Given its popularity, Reintegration Services has made the calendar available on the Hub. I encourage you all to take a look at the results of this innovative project. You can print the individual months and post them at your workstations.
- 2024 Ethnocultural Calendar (internal resource)
Thank you for the work you do each and every day.
Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence.
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