Commissioner's update for correctional employees: July 2, 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 hope you enjoyed the Canada Day weekend. A big shout out to all those who worked over the weekend, in service to Canada.

As we head into summer, many of our employees continue to be impacted by extreme weather events, such as wildfires across the country. I encourage you to keep being supportive of each other as many colleagues may be dealing with these challenges or have family members in an impacted area.

Update on Port-Cartier Institution

As you know, the forest fire situation around the City of Port-Cartier, Quebec, led to the evacuation of Port-Cartier Institution where inmates were relocated to other federal institutions.

I want to, again, thank everyone involved in this effort and underscore how extremely proud I am of you and your hard work. I know the long hours you put in and your overall dedication to making sure this was done successfully. Also, staff at receiving institutions had to pivot on short notice to accommodate an influx of new inmates. Thank you for your continued efforts to support their integration.

While the evacuation order for the city was lifted, the state of emergency continues to be in place. The safety of our employees, inmates, and the public remains our top priority. That is why, for now, we are maintaining the status quo and our Port-Cartier Institution will remain temporarily closed. We are working closely with our partners at the City of Port-Cartier and Public Safety Quebec and Canada to determine when we will be able to safely return and reopen. We will continue to update our staff as we know more.

You, your family, or someone you know may be impacted by the wildfires, or perhaps the unprecedented evacuation at Port-Cartier. Just a reminder that these events can affect us in different ways. There are resources available if you need to work through a situation or seek help.

If you wish to speak to someone, Employee Assistance Program (EAP) referral agents are available to listen and help you find appropriate, helpful resources to support you.

Telus Health is also available not only to all employees, but also to eligible family members 24 hours a day, seven days a week:

EAP referral agents (accessible only on the Government of Canada network)
Employee Assistance Program / Telus Health (accessible only on the Government of Canada network)

Faces of CSC

Valentina Khattab is Assistant Warden of Interventions at Edmonton Institution. Watch her Lift Me Up video, where she shares how as a community parole officer, she loved her job because every day offered something new, each intervention and case was different.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day

Last Thursday, June 27, was National Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day. Various life events, as well as the work we do, can be challenging and affect us in different ways. It is important to recognize that many of you work on the frontlines and deal with challenging circumstances.

There are resources available to support you, in addition to the links above, including:

If you, or someone you know, is experiencing psychological distress, you can call the 24/7 helpline at 1-833-456-4566. If you live in Quebec, dial 1-866-277-3553: https://988.ca/
PSPNET offers therapy for correctional workers:
- 1-833-317-7233 | www.pspnet.ca
Office of the Ombuds for Workplace Well-being helps prevent and resolve workplace issues:
- 1-844-234-3583 | ombuds.gen-nat@csc-scc.gc.ca

Please reach out and know that you are not alone.

Penitentiary Museum 60th Momentum

In May, Canada’s Penitentiary Museum in Kingston, Ontario, opened its doors for its 60th season. It is great to see it being celebrated around the city.

For those unable to visit the museum this summer, you can watch a new video series on our social media accounts called Museum Minutes. In these shorts, our museum Curator Dave St. Onge takes us behind the scenes to learn about fascinating and important points of history in Canadian federal corrections. New episodes will be posted on social media throughout the summer. In the latest episode, we learn a brief history about the CSC badge. You can watch it here:

VIDEO: Museum Minutes – The CSC Badge

Commemorative Dates: July

In addition to Canada Day, other notable dates in July are:

July 9: Nunavut Day
July 17: World Day for International Justice
July 18: Nelson Mandela International Day
July 28: World Hepatitis Day
July 28: Day of Commemoration of the Great Upheaval

You can find a more complete list of important dates recognized by the Government of Canada at Canadian Heritage. You may also visit the Prime Minister’s page to read statements on these commemorative dates.

My thanks to each of you for the work you do every day – your service and dedication are valued and appreciated.

Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence.

Page details

Date modified:: 2024-07-03

Language selection

Search

Commissioner's update for correctional employees: July 2, 2024

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day

Penitentiary Museum 60th Momentum

Commemorative Dates: July

Page details