Henry, Warden

Hi, I'm Henry Saulnier. I'm the Warden of Warkworth Institution.

So as a Warden, it's not just about one particular area of corrections as far as operations or interventions or management services. It's important for me to be a generalist, so to speak. I can't be, you know, an expert in everything but a generalist in the sense that, knowing what each department does, knowing their roles and knowing their responsibilities and then having the trust in the Management Team and the staff to be able to, you know, drive that vision and drive our plans and drive our priorities, and ensure that, we're always striving to achieve results.

Funny story actually: I was at, a laundromat in a small town near here, Frankford, and there happened to be a Correctional Officer there that I didn't know and was hanging up his uniforms. And I looked at the uniform and I asked him, I said, “Corrections Canada? So, you're in corrections?” And he said, “Yes.” I said, “Where do you work?” And he said, “Warkworth Institution.” I said, “What's that job like?” He said, “Oh, it's really, it's a cool job.” I said, “Oh, because I'm at Loyalist (College) trying to be a police officer, but they have a hiring freeze, maybe I'll look at that.” So, I decided the second year to take the corrections stream. And I had no family or friends in corrections. That was my introduction to corrections — just an Officer doing his laundry at a laundromat.

The story is interesting because, you know, to do student placement, plus start here as a Correctional Officer and then become the Warden. You know, as a Warden, sometimes you go to an institution, and it's the first time you've ever been to that institution. Where for me, I've worked every post that a Correctional Officer works here, and I know the area, super well. And it's home to me and it's the community and, you know, I love being here as the Warden for the staff here. And the staff love to hear the story of, you know, their Warden having worked here, especially Correctional Officers, enjoy it to know that, you know, at one time, I did their job, I worked the post that they work, and here I am today as Warden.

I think my biggest advice I would share is just, for staff, to take advantage of opportunities as they come. And, sometimes, you know, they happen quickly. Sometimes they happen over time. But be open-minded. Corrections has a lot of opportunities for people. And, you know, sometimes people get into positions that they never saw themselves getting into.

If I wrote a book about myself when I was younger, and this was the story and this was the ending of, you know, being able to come back here to the place I started as a Warden, it would be the perfect story, so to speak.