COVID-19 update for correctional employees: July 23, 2021

This content is a message to Correctional Service Canada (CSC) staff from CSC's Commissioner.

I am pleased to share that approximately 70% of inmates are now fully vaccinated, with two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Epidemiology and public health experts highly recommend everyone be vaccinated in order to curb the pandemic. Having more people vaccinated means fewer COVID-19 infections in the community. And, they reduce the risk of:

• serious illness;
• hospitalization; and
• death from COVID-19

The vaccine is one of the most effective ways to protect yourself, your family and those you work with. We still need to be diligent in keeping up our other layers of protection.

So, please continue to:

• wear you mask
• wash/sanitize your hands often, and
• practice physical distancing

until further notice.

Posting inmate testing data

In March 2020, CSC’s Health Services, Communications and Web teams worked together to develop the Inmate testing and case summary table to post the daily number of active cases of COVID-19 among inmates on our external website:

• Testing of inmates in federal correctional institutions for COVID-19

Since we began posting daily numbers, we have had approximately 215,000 visits to the page. This shows how valuable the information was to inmate family members, the media, and others interested in knowing the status of COVID-19 among the inmate population in our institutions. With no new cases for the past six weeks, we will now be updating the numbers once a week instead of every day.

Also on our website is up-to-date data on:

• Vaccines administered to inmates in the federal correctional system
• Visiting status of federal correctional institutions

Kudos to all staff who have worked on this important project.

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Since 2013, September 30 has been recognized as orange shirt day to create awareness of and educate Canadians about the Indian residential school system. Recently, the Government of Canada passed legislation to make September 30 a federal statutory holiday called the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The government is committed to reconciliation and ensuring that the tragic history and ongoing legacy of residential schools is never forgotten. Beginning this September, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation will be a designated paid holiday to give employees and all Canadians the opportunity to learn about a dark chapter in our history and to commemorate:

• the survivors
• their families, and
• their communities

as called for by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. I encourage staff to take this as a day of reflection or join in on community events.

World Hepatitis Day

World Hepatitis Day, on July 28, raises awareness of hepatitis-related illness, which causes inflammation of the liver.

Along with the public health community in Canada, CSC is continuing efforts to:

• detect
• manage
• prevent, and
• treat

patients with Hepatitis C Virus (HCV).

I am pleased to note that our treatment and prevention efforts have resulted in a dramatic decrease in the prevalence of hepatitis C in our institutions from 18.2% to 5.6% over five years. Thanks are due to the efforts of our health services staff for this.

World Nature Conservation Day

July 28 is also World Nature Conservation Day, which encourages us to recognize a healthy environment is necessary for a stable and productive society.

Everyone on the planet depends on natural resources:

• water
• air
• soil
• minerals
• trees
• animals
• food to live

For the well-being of people today and for future generations, we all must do our best to:

• protect
• conserve, and
• sustainably manage

our precious natural resources.

CSC is making efforts in conserving the environment. We implemented:

• the 2020-23 Sustainable Development Strategy and are making headway on meeting our commitment

To date, we:

• installed LED lighting at Matsqui Institution
• purchased electric vehicles at Pacific Regional Headquarters
• created and started the implementation of a national solid waste reduction plan, for:
  • recycling
  • reusing, and
  • composting
• stopped purchasing single-use plastics, such as disposable cups and food containers

We can all make a conscious effort to conserve our natural environment.

Thank you for your ongoing hard work and dedication.