Commissioner's update for offenders and their families: February 24, 2025

As we continue to celebrate Black History Month, it is a great opportunity to explore new books that reflect the resiliency and achievement of Black culture. In addition to your institutional library, many sites offer ethnocultural book clubs. Most sites also offer book clubs through the community-based organization, Book Clubs for Inmates, which has a diverse range of books. If you are interested, please reach out to your Social Program Officer or case management team to get more information. Happy reading!

Pink Shirt Day is celebrated on Wednesday, February 26. This day is dedicated to the fight against bullying. It presents an opportunity to reflect on the harm caused by bullying and violence and the importance of kindness and empathy.  It’s also a time to remember a simple rule in life: If you wouldn't like it done to you, don't do it to others.

It is fantastic to see the training and experience that the offenders gain while working on CORCAN housing construction projects across the country.

The CORCAN Construction program has many shops from coast to coast that offer offenders training in framing, plumbing, electrical, carpentry, masonry, roofings, siding, and other skills that are valuable for a workplace. For every home that is built through this program, offenders can receive up to 1,000 combined hours of on-the-job training.

Many offenders join a CORCAN project with no construction experience and by the end, they have the technical skills, hands on experience and certifications to help them gain future employment upon their release.

If you want to learn more about these meaningful projects and what opportunities might be available to you, ask your case management team about CORCAN.