2015-2016 Departmental Performance Report

The Honourable Ralph Goodale, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Results highlights:

1. The rate of conviction for minor, serious and critical offences while an offender is under community supervision is declining.
2. A total of 89 percent of offenders with an identified need for correctional program completed a national recognized correctional program prior to warrant expiry date.
3. About 75 percent of offenders with an identified need for employment programs secured employment in the community prior to Warrant Expiry Date.
4. Percentage of double-bunking was 11 percent compared with 21 percent three years ago.
5. CSC has decreased the segregation population by 1/3 and reduced the median days in segregation from 15 in 2010–11 to 13 in 2015–16.

Minister: The Honourable Ralph Goodale, P.C., M.P.

Deputy Head: Don Head

Ministerial Portfolio: Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Enabling Instrument(s): Corrections and Conditional Release Act^{Endnote i} and Corrections and Conditional Release Regulations^{Endnote ii}

Year Established: 1979

Other: Correctional Service of Canada's Mission^{Endnote iii}

The purpose of the federal correctional system, as defined in law, is to contribute to the maintenance of a just, peaceful and safe society by carrying out sentences imposed by courts through the safe and humane custody and supervision of offenders, and by assisting the rehabilitation of offenders and their reintegration into the community as law-abiding citizens through the provision of programs in penitentiaries and in the community (Corrections and Conditional Release Act, s.3).

The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC), 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.

CSC's responsibilities are derived from the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA) and the Corrections and Conditional Release Regulations. The Act and Regulations direct CSC to be responsible for the care, custody and supervision of offenders; the provision of interventions; the preparation of offenders for release; the supervision of offenders on conditional release, legislated release, as well as those subject to long-term supervision orders; and public education about the operations of CSC. The Act also requires CSC to develop, implement and monitor correctional policies, programs and practices that respect gender, ethnic, cultural and linguistic differences and are responsive to the specific needs of women, men, Aboriginal peoples and other groups. As well, it requires that CSC provide essential health care services and reasonable access to non-essential mental health care that will contribute to inmates' rehabilitation and successful reintegration into the community. The Act mandates CSC to provide services to victims of crime, such as information sharing and awareness building to support victims.

On a typical day during 2015–16, CSC was responsible for 22,872 offenders, of whom 14,639 were in federal custody (including temporary detainees^{Footnote 1}) and 8,233 were supervised in the community. This represented a drop of 86 in the overall number of offenders under federal jurisdiction compared to 2014–15, with 404 fewer offenders incarcerated and 318 more on supervision in the community.

CSC is responsible for the management of 43 institutions (six maximum security, nine medium security, five minimum security, 12 multi-level security, 11 co-located institutions), 91 parole offices and sub-parole offices, and 15 community correctional centres. CSC has nine Healing Lodges to support the reintegration of Aboriginal offenders back into the community, four of which are managed by CSC in close collaboration with Aboriginal communities (included in the 43 institutions). The remaining five are managed by Aboriginal communities under Section 81 of the CCRA. As well, CSC operates six learning centres across the country and the CSC Training Academy in the Prairie region.

CSC is a large, decentralized organization that employs approximately 18,000 staff (or 17,466 FTEs) who work to ensure that institutions operate in a secure and safe manner, and that offenders are appropriately supervised on release. Comparable to the previous year, about 42 percent of CSC employees are in the Correctional Officer category and 14 percent are the Parole and Program Officers. CSC also employs nurses, psychologists, trades people, human resources advisors, financial advisors and others. During the reporting year, 47.5 percent of CSC staff were women, 9.1 percent were from visible minority groups, 5.2 percent were persons with disabilities and 9.5 percent were Aboriginal peoples^{Footnote 2}.

CSC advanced cooperative relationships with new and existing partners by coordinating official visits to CSC, engaging bilaterally with correctional jurisdictions, and responding to information requests. These engagements aim to strengthen correctional practices through international relationships and information exchange. Throughout 2015–2016, CSC engaged bilaterally with the Bahamas, Fiji, France, Haiti, Hong Kong, Israel Mexico, Namibia, Romania, Australia, and Switzerland.

CSC continued involvement with multilateral engagements by providing subject-matter expertise at international events led by the Inter-American Development Bank, Global Counter-Terrorism Forum, American Correctional Association, United Nations, International Corrections and Prisons Association, Asian-Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators, and the International Community Corrections Association.

CSC re-engaged in Haiti this year, in support of Canada's larger commitment to contribute to international peace and stability, through the promotion of good governance, the protection of human rights and support for democratization. From September 2015 to March 2016, three CSC Senior Correctional Advisors were deployed to advise Haiti's Prison Administration in the areas of strategic planning, health care and security.

Effective January 2015, Canada assumed a two-year role as Chair of the Group of Friends of Corrections in Peace Operations. CSC acts for Canada as subject matter expert for this Member State-driven initiative, providing expert advice, guidance and support on correctional issues to the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations. CSC contributed to United Nations Prison and Probation Officer Pre-deployment Training in Uganda and Senegal; the session in Senegal was the first in French session. In collaboration with the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations in New York, CSC organized an expert panel discussion on Countering Violent Extremism in Prisons within Post-Conflict Environments in January 2016. The event was attended by over 80 member states, non-governmental organizations, United Nations entities, and national correctional services.

CSC co-chairs the federal, provincial and territorial Heads of Corrections (HOC) meetings, a forum for sharing leadership practices and innovative ideas in the interest of enhancing public safety for Canadians. Two meetings were held in 2015–2016. In the November 2015 meeting, best practices as applied to the Truth and Reconciliation Recommendations were discussed. From those discussions, it was determined that HOC sub-committees would ensure that an Aboriginal lens is applied to all the work they put forward.

Jurisdictional scans were also completed upon request of provincial and territorial jurisdictions or other portfolio partners. This information is shared with each jurisdiction and maintained by Intergovernmental Relations to ensure appropriate distribution and repository. The completion of jurisdictional scans is a cost effective way of sharing best practices or soliciting input on a national level. Amongst others, jurisdictional scans were completed on the following topics in 2015–2016: the hourly rate for Correctional Officers and the hiring process at the management level.

Furthermore, CSC coordinated new common-expiry-date Exchange of Service Agreements (ESAs) between Canada and seven provinces/territories. These ESAs govern the exchange of services to support offenders across federal, provincial or territorial jurisdictions. The rationale for the collective start and expiry dates is to enhance consistency and equitability across agreements. These agreements will be valid for a five year period, with the option of extending the agreements for two additional five year terms.

Strategic Outcome: The custody, correctional interventions, and supervision of offenders in communities and in institutions, contribute to public safety

• Program: Custody
  • Sub-program: Institutional Management and Support
  • Sub-program: Institutional Security
    • Sub-sub-program: Intelligence and Supervision
    • Sub-sub-program: Drug Interdiction
  • Sub-program: Institutional Health Services
    • Sub-sub-program: Clinical and Public Health Services
    • Sub-sub-program: Mental Health Services
  • Sub-program: Institutional Services
    • Sub-sub-program: Food Services
    • Sub-sub-program: Accommodation Services
• Program: Correctional Interventions
  • Sub-program: Offender Case Management
  • Sub-program: Community Engagement
  • Sub-program: Spiritual Services
  • Sub-program: Correctional Reintegration Program
    • Sub-sub-program: Violence Prevention Program
    • Sub-sub-program: Substance Abuse Program
    • Sub-sub-program: Family Violence Prevention Program
    • Sub-sub-program: Sex Offender Program
    • Sub-sub-program: Maintenance Program
    • Sub-sub-program: Social Program
    • Sub-sub-program: Integrated Correctional Program Model
  • Sub-program: Offender Education
  • Sub-program: CORCAN Employment and Employability
• Program: Community Supervision
  • Sub-program: Community Management and Security
  • Sub-program: Community-Based Residential Facilities
    • Sub-sub-program: Community Residential Facilities
    • Sub-sub-program: Community Correctional Centres
  • Sub-program: Community Health Services
• Program: Internal Services

CSC's role in contributing to a safe and secure Canada is reflected in the organization's single Strategic Outcome "The custody, correctional interventions, and supervision of offenders in communities and institutions, contribute to public safety". Three broad programs are aligned to support this Strategic Outcome.

• Under "Custody", offenders are incarcerated in institutions in accordance with the terms of their sentences.
• Under "Correctional Interventions", offenders are provided with interventions to help them change the behaviours that contributed to their criminal activity so they become law-abiding citizens.
• Under "Community Supervision"^{Footnote 3}, offenders who become eligible and are granted conditional release are transferred to the community where they are supervised, including those on long-term supervision resulting from a court-imposed order at sentencing

A fourth component of the PAA, "Internal Services" encompasses all activities and resources that support the organization's needs, requirements, and corporate obligations.

The accurate identification and effective management of risk helps to articulate, manage and report on corporate priorities and achieve positive results. Risk management is a central part of daily business in all areas of CSC's large, decentralized work environment. Senior management oversees organizational-level risks, and medium and lower levels of risk are managed by operational managers and staff.

Challenges that impacted CSC in 2015–16 continued to include a diverse offender population with extensive histories of violence and violent crimes, security threat group affiliations, serious mental health disorders and diseases such as Hepatitis C and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Furthermore, new legislation and federal government expenditure reduction measures required CSC to continue the adaptation of its operations. Despite these challenges, CSC sustained its proactive efforts to identify and mitigate potential risks to ensure delivery of core business that contributes to public safety.

CSC's priorities stem from its mission, legislative framework and risk profile. Collectively, they serve as the foundation for the organization's direction, programs and initiatives. All priorities listed below are equally important.

CSC reviewed and updated its corporate priorities every year. Built on previous versions, CSC's current corporate priorities provide clarity of intervention, reflect CSC's operating environment, and position the organization for the future. CSC's organizational priorities for 2015–16 were:

The majority of offenders will be released into Canadian communities. This priority stresses the importance of safe and effective management of offenders as they prepare for release as well as while they are being supervised in the community.

Priority Type^{Footnote 4}

Ongoing

CSC is committed to maintaining a safe living and working environment in all CSC facilities, thereby ensuring the safety and security of victims, staff and offenders in its institutions and in the community during their interactions with offenders or time spent on CSC property. This corporate priority unequivocally identifies their safety and security as a central preoccupation for the organization.

Ongoing

Aboriginal offenders, who account for just over 22 percent of the overall CSC population, have specific cultural and spiritual needs that must be addressed to support their rehabilitation. This priority statement demonstrates the importance CSC places on actively providing support and resources that Aboriginal offenders need to return to and remain in their communities as law-abiding and contributing members of society.

Ongoing

CSC's offender population includes a higher proportion of individuals with mental health needs than in the general Canadian population. Offenders' ability to participate in and benefit from correctional interventions that target their specific criminogenic needs is enhanced when they receive care that addresses their mental health needs. This corporate priority reflects the five pillars of the Mental Health Action Plan for Federal Offenders: assessment, management, intervention, staff training, and oversight.

Ongoing

CSC operates in a continually changing environment that requires a high level of adaptability, flexibility and people skills. CSC's operations largely depend on its ability to anticipate and manage risk and to identify, develop, implement and assess innovative and practical ways to ensure the safety and security of staff, the public and offenders. As a high reliability organization, CSC must continuously develop, review and modernize its policies, programs and procedures to deliver on its mandate in the most effective, efficient and economic manner. CSC's management practices are anchored in the organization's Values Statement, thus supporting its workforce, workplace and strategic outcome

Ongoing

The majority of federal offenders will be released to Canadian communities, and will need assistance and support to adjust to living crime-free in society. Partners, stakeholders and community experts are essential in this endeavour. In the interest of the well-being of offenders and Canadian communities, CSC partners with victims' groups and with community-based organizations that reflect the diversity of the offender population in order to facilitate the safe return of offenders to communities.

Ongoing

For more information on organizational priorities, see the Minister's mandate letter.^{Endnote iv}

For the fiscal year 2015–16, CSC's actual spending exceeded planned spending by $7.3 million. This variance was mainly due to spending for paylist requirements of $24.5 million, such as severance payments, parental benefits and vacation credits, and workforce adjustments of $3.4 million, and new spending for the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights of $3.1 million, which was offset by a decrease in statutory adjustments mainly related to the contribution to employee benefit plans of $26.3 million.

To fund the above variance, CSC's total authorities available for use were increased by $106.9 million. Taking into consideration this increase, CSC's total authorities available for use were $2,457.4 million and the variance with the actual spending was $99.6 million. Of this variance, $23.8 million in operating funds and $45.6 million in capital funds were carried forward to 2016–17.

The net increase in authority of $106.9 million is due to the following:

• An increase in operating authority of $42.6 million carried forward from 2014–15 of which approximately $31.4 million was earmarked to cover pending collective agreements upon ratification;
• An increase in operating authority of $20.3 million due to the reimbursement of eligible paylist expenditures;
• An increase in operating authority of $1.8 million for the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights;
• An increase in capital authority of $51.7 million carried forward from 2014–15 for the implementation of projects, including the completion of new living units within existing institutions, inmate accommodation infrastructure replacement and improvements, and equipment replacement and upgrades;
• A further increase in capital authority of $11.1 million in Supplementary Estimates for Federal Infrastructure and proceeds from the sale of the Addictions Research Centre ($9.8 million), and the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights ($1.3 million);
• Other miscellaneous net increases in authority of $5.7 million (e.g. sales of surplus Crown assets and other adjustments); and
• A decrease in statutory authority of $26.3 million for the Contributions to employee benefit plans.

The variance between planned and actual FTEs of 778 is mostly due to the implementation of internal cost saving measures to achieve administrative efficiencies, including, as an example, the internal review of National Headquarters and Regional Headquarters organizational structures. Delays in staffing and unforeseen departures also contributed to this variance.

The detailed explanation for the variances between planned spending and the authorities can be found in Section III: Analysis of Program(s) and Internal Services.

The variance in actual spending between 2013–14 and 2014–15 (decrease of $175.1 million) is mainly attributable to:

• a net increase in salary expenditures of $5.6 million due to:
  • a reduction in salary expenditures of $46.4 million; and
  • an increase of $52.0 million due to the implementation of the salary payment in arrears by the Government of Canada.
• a reduction in capital investment of $177.8 million.

The variance in actual spending between 2014–15 and 2015–16 (decrease of $217.4 million) is mainly attributable to:

• a decrease in salary expenditures of $201.6 million due to:
  • a reduction of $91.3 million mainly related to the elimination of severance benefits for the Correctional Officer collective agreement and a reduction of $60.3 million due to the implementation of saving measures to achieve administrative efficiencies within National Headquarter and Regional Headquarters' organizational structures; and
  • a reduction of $50.0 million due to the implementation of the salary payment in arrears by the Government of Canada in 2014–15.
• a reduction in capital investment of $20 million due to the completion of projects; and
• an increased investment of $4.2 million mainly attributable to repairs and maintenance of capital assets.

For information on Correctional Service of Canada's organizational voted and statutory expenditures, consult the Public Accounts of Canada 2016.^{Endnote v}

Consolidated Financial Statements^{Endnote vii}

As reflected in the Consolidated Financial Statements, CSC's total expenses decreased by $96.3 million compared to 2014–15 mostly due to the net effect of the elimination of severance benefits under the ratification of collective agreements and a reduction related to the implementation of saving measures to achieve administrative efficiencies within National Headquarter and Regional Headquarters' organizational structures.

CSC's total revenues increased by $6.9 million compared to 2014–15 due to an increase in CORCAN's sales of goods and services.

Correctional Service of Canada

CSC's net liabilities included $232 million in accounts payable and accrued liabilities, $89.2 million in employee future benefits, $51.5 million in vacation pay and compensatory leave and $18.2 million in the inmate trust fund. The reduction in total net liabilities is mainly explained by the elimination of severance benefits in collective agreements.

The total net financial assets included $223.1 million in the Due from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, $38.8 million in accounts receivable, advances and loans and $11.8 million in inventory held for resale. The increase in total net financial assets is mainly attributed to an increase in accounts receivable with the Treasury Board Secretariat in relation to adjustments in costs for the Employee Benefit Plan.

The Custody Program contributes to public safety by providing for the day-to-day needs of offenders, including health and safety, food, clothing, mental health services, and physical health care. It also includes security measures within institutions such as drug interdiction, and appropriate control practices to prevent incidents.

CSC invested efforts and resources to maintain a safe, secure and humane environment for offenders in its custody, and address offenders' day-to-day institutional needs. Implementing CSC's Accommodation Plan and National Population Management Approach have successfully reduced the national double-bunking rate as offenders were placed in new living units. A User Guide was developed to assist staff to appropriately review risks when dealing with situations where single cell accommodation is not possible. Solutions and alternative ways including re-profiling institutions and ranges to maximize cell utilization were also used to reduce the need for double bunking.

CSC also built capacity to house women offenders, increasing the capacity of Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge and expanding the Secure Unit at Joliette. CSC emphasized the importance of effective, timely and proper cell assignment in order to support supervision strategies and thus reduce the number of institutional security incidents. This contributed to meeting performance expectations for the percentage of upheld inmate grievances for the reporting year. Alternative Dispute Resolution pilot projects also contributed to the reduction in grievances. The opening of the Psycho-geriatric Unit (RTC) at Pacific Institution was part of the refined model of mental health, this unique unit was designed to provide care to the aging offender population and is considered a national resource.

CSC met performance expectations and reduced critical and serious safety incidents^{Footnote 7} in federal institutions in the reporting year. Rates of critical and serious safety incidents were 0.68 and 8.62 respectively, improved from 1.01 and 9.98 respectively a year earlier. A higher than expected rate of minor/moderate safety incidents, in the context of a reduction in more serious ones, may be the result of successful safety management practices, which prevented the escalation of the incident type.

Performance results in Intelligence and Supervision exceeded expectations and were the best results in the past six years. These positive results were achieved due to the strengthened relationship with national, regional and local public safety partners, as well as enhanced capacity of preventive security and intelligence to respond to and prevent threats and risks that exist in operational settings. CSC undertook a wide range of activities related to security and intelligence in conjunction with external partners. For example, an Enhanced Principle Entrance Searching protocol involving Correctional Managers in performing searches at a randomized frequency was successfully implemented at Matsqui Institution.

Escapes from federal institutions remained comparable with previous years with 18 escapes or a rate of 1.23 per 1000 offenders during the reporting year. Two of these escapes occurred at medium security institutions, the rest all at minimum security institutions; all escapees were recaptured during the year.

Fiscal year 2015–2016 proved to be challenging in terms of Institutional Security. Performance results in this area did not meet expectations, with increased security incidents^{Footnote 8} at the critical, serious, and moderate/minor levels, compared to the results from the previous year. CSC recorded 27 non-natural deaths, including nine whose causes were still undetermined on March 31, 2016. Each of these cases is or was investigated and reviewed in order to prevent and reduce the occurrence of tragedies in the future. Findings and recommendations from investigations and reviews are used to help frontline staff to better understand and better react to comparable difficult situations. With five non-natural deaths that were drug-related, rate of critical drug-related incidents, although improved from the previous year, was higher than the anticipated result range. CSC conducted a thorough investigation on each critical drug-related incident and strengthened operational policies and procedures to eliminate the entry of illicit materials to reduce the trafficking and supply of drugs in institutions.

While critical drug-related incident results were higher than expected, two out of three performance results in the Drug Interdiction sub-sub-program level met or exceeded expectations. CSC convened a Commissioner's Roundtable to initiate and advance discussions around a comprehensive, strategic and integrated Contraband Control Strategy. It also started a review of policy related to the National Drug Strategy to ensure that appropriate measures are incorporated in offender correctional plans, and that these measures contribute to the reduction of drug-related incidents. Fentanyl continued to represent an increasing concern for CSC over the reporting period. To address this issue, CSC updated and re-programmed all Ion Mobility Spectrometry devices to assist in preventing Fentanyl and Acetyl Fentanyl from entering into federal institutions and informed offenders about the dangers and consequences of Fentanyl consumption through various means including the use of educational posters. CSC also collaborated with NAV Canada in strengthening procedures of security patrols and searches to prevent drug trafficking by drones and aircrafts.

CSC initiated pilot projects to adapt emerging security-related technologies to the evolving correctional environment. New technologies such as Life Sign monitoring, radio-frequency identification technology, life safety system and USB port blockers were introduced in institutions and are being evaluated to determine whether they may help enhance institutional security.

As part of CSC's commitment to use results from audits, investigations, coroners' inquiries, research reports and evaluations to assist management in making decisions related to institutional safety and security, CSC reviewed segregation and corresponding strategies and is committed to the constant monitoring, intervention and modification in this area. Flexibility in dealing with issues surrounding appropriate alleviation of segregation is essential as unanticipated issues arise, particularly population management issues, which may require systemic changes to facilitate appropriate alleviation of segregation.

CSC promulgated its Commissioner's Directive 709 – Administrative Segregation, in conjunction with its Segregation Renewal Framework. This directive identifies management responsibilities with respect to administrative segregation procedures and requires a Reintegration Action Plan which outlines what actions are to be taken to safely release inmates from administrative segregation at the earliest appropriate time, and how to monitor and support inmates in the time period immediately following release from administrative segregation. Other changes stemming from the directive include enhanced leadership and oversight, enhanced due diligence, and enhanced mental health assessment and intervention.

CSC continued to monitor the application of the health services framework to ensure that essential health care service to offenders conforms to professionally accepted standards, respects gender, cultural and linguistic differences, and is responsive to the special and specific needs of women, Aboriginal offenders and persons requiring mental health care. CSC has maintained its health accreditation status with Accreditation Canada. Achieving and maintaining accreditation ensures that health services are available to all offenders in institutions in accordance with professionally accepted standards which positively impacts CSC's efforts to recruit and retain health care professionals. CSC also revised its Health Services Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Framework.

In the Institutional Health Services sub-program, all performance results met or exceeded expectations.

Clinical and Public Health Services performance results are generally positive. CSC streamlined health screening at admission to improve efficiency and a total of 96.2 percent of newly admitted offenders voluntarily received infectious disease screening for bloodborne and sexually transmitted infections at intake. The percentage of inmates with HIV infection or HEP C who have been treated also exceeded the anticipated results. The number of offenders treated for latent Tuberculosis infection (LTBI) was slightly below the anticipated results. The lower number treated was related to increased precision in diagnosis of LTBI.

In 2015–16, CSC fully implemented its refined model of mental health care and completed a review of mental health programming and interventions provided in its intermediate mental health care and psychiatric hospital care with the goal of standardizing this programming. In addition, CSC continued to provide training to staff, including the 'Suicide and Self-injury Intervention' and the 'Fundamental of Mental Health' training to staff working in institutions and in community. CSC also provided targeted assessment and intervention to address the mental health needs of offenders who may be at risk of engaging in self-injury and/or suicidal behaviour. Mental Health Services performance results exceeded expectations. Of the inmates identified with mental health needs, 89 percent received follow-up services, and 43.1 percent of inmates received a institutional mental health service.

In an effort to address challenges in the area of security incidents in federal institutions, CSC enhanced dynamic security practices and strengthened security protocols, practices and measures. A greater focus was placed on rounds and counts. Sites are reviewing the quality and quantity of rounds and counts on a daily basis and taking corrective action where necessary.

Food Services performance results were mixed. CSC menus met Canada's Food Guide and Dietary Reference Intakes and the number of upheld grievances was the lowest of the recent five years, while the number of food premises inspections by food sanitation experts did not meet CSC's target. However of those sites that were inspected, 87 percent received positive results.

CSC maintained and improved the condition of its infrastructure. Its Investment Plan 2015–2020 contains two priorities for infrastructure investments, which are the completion of work stemming from building condition reviews and the investment of funds in improving and maintaining infrastructure. CSC continues to maintain sites and is up-to-date on infrastructure investments identified in its 5-year plan for Building Condition Report (BCR) work.

The variance between the actual spending and the planned spending is mainly due to in-year increases in authorities and internal budget adjustments between programs.

• An increase in operating authority of $25.9 million carried forward from 2014–15;
• An increase in authority of $11.3 million due to the reimbursement of eligible paylist expenditures (e.g. payment of severance benefits, parental benefits etc.);
• An increase in capital authority of $47.5 million carried forward from 2014–15 for the implementation of projects, including the completion of new living units within existing institutions, inmate accommodation infrastructure replacement and improvements, and equipment replacement and upgrades;
• An increase in capital authority of $9.8 million in Supplementary Estimates for Federal Infrastructure and for the reinvestment of proceeds from the sale of the Addictions Research Centre; and
• A decrease in statutory authority of $15.8 million for the Contributions to employee benefit plans.

The above variance analysis also explains the major variances at the sub-program and sub-sub-program levels under Program 1.0 Custody.

Taking into consideration the above adjustments, CSC's authorities available for use were $1,580.8 million and the variance with the actual spending was $61.1 million which was included in the carry forward to 2016–17.

*The range for the anticipated performance result is established through the statistical analysis of historical data and a review of factors within the operational context. The methodology ensures that what is anticipated as a performance range is objective and reflective of changes within the operational context.

The Correctional Interventions Program contributes to public safety through assessment activities and program interventions for federal offenders that are designed to assist their rehabilitation and facilitate their successful reintegration into the community as law-abiding citizens. The program engages Canadian citizens as partners in CSC's correctional mandate, and provides outreach to victims of crime.

Fiscal year 2015–16 continued to be a transitional year for CSC in terms of providing correctional interventions to offenders, including offender case management, community engagement, spiritual services, nationally recognized correctional programs, education programs, social programs, employment needs assessment and training and work experience. CSC is in the process of transitioning its traditional cadre of correctional programs for men offender to the Integrated Correctional Program Model (ICPM).

As part of CSC's commitment to develop and implement initiatives that target the criminogenic needs of offenders at intensity-levels commensurate with their risk-levels to reduce re-offending, CSC continued to implement the Integrated Correctional Program Model (ICPM), which consolidates multiple traditional correctional programs for men offenders to address their overlapping criminogenic needs. ICPM has demonstrated efficiencies and effectiveness in correctional program delivery at the appropriate time in an offender's sentence thus improving public safety results. By the end of the reporting year, CSC successfully implemented ICPM in the Pacific, Atlantic, Quebec and Ontario Regions. Pre-program implementation activities began in the Prairie Region in January 2016, and full implementation, including program model transition, training and program delivery, is anticipated to be completed by June 2017. With the transition process, ICPM performance results expectations are being set in order to provide comparable performance analysis in the coming years.

During the implementation and delivery of ICPM, CSC experienced some challenges related to the quality control and review requirements as well as certification of all Correctional Program Officers in the Regions. CSC is addressing these challenges through a pilot project involving video conference streaming, which allows for the uploading and immediate retrieval of recordings to provide feedback and certification more expeditiously.

In the reporting year, CSC also offered the Intake Release Readiness Program in order to motivate and engage offenders serving four years or less, and to prepare them for the consideration in advance of their Day Parole Eligibility Dates. To meet the unique needs of specific offender populations, CSC continued to deliver gender and culturally-responsive programs and monitor the implementation of these programs. Aboriginal Women Offender Correctional Programs (Circle of Care) and Women Offender Correctional Programs (Continuum of Care) continued to be successfully delivered in all women's institutions as well as in the community. Waiting periods for these programs were significantly reduced. For example, the median number of days from the date of first admission to federal custody to the start date of the Women's Engagement Program was 33 days, as compared to 186 days in 2009–10.

The performance results for Correctional Interventions was positive. Expected result for program completions prior to both full parole eligibility date and warrant expiry date were met or exceeded. The performance result of the median percentage of sentence served prior to release was slightly above the expected result of 64.5 percent, CSC maintained its reintegration efforts and, at 65.1 percent, recorded similar results in the median percentage of sentence served prior to first release as in the previous four years. It should be noted that this result is associated with the decisions made by the Parole Board of Canada. CSC will continue to work with partners to prepare offenders for safe release back into the community while concomitantly reducing the risk of re-offending.

All of CSC's institutional sites offered Social Programs. For example, CSC partnered with Alberta Health Services to deliver self-help workshops to inmates, focusing on parenting and anger control. In the Quebec region, Aboriginal Liaison Officers were trained to deliver the Community Integration Program in their respective institutions. CSC also created a national working group to review and develop a consistent approach to social programs to meet the needs of offenders as well as the security requirements of institutions.

CSC continued to explore ways to connect inmates with their families through innovative means. The implementation of Child-Link was completed during 2015–16, which allowed women inmates to communicate with their children in the community using video conferencing technology. CSC also initiated video conferencing to strengthen ties between Inuit offenders and their families in the North.

Offender Education Program performance results exceeded CSC's expectations. The Evaluation of Offender Education Programs and Services released in February 2015 concluded that:

• Offender participation in educational programming had an overall positive impact on public safety outcomes for medium and high risk offenders, particularly for those who completed more than 10 educational achievements^{Footnote 12};
• CSC's education programming and services are cost-effective given that education program participants typically recidivate at lower rates than non-participants thereby reducing the cost associated with re-incarceration of offenders who recidivated; and
• Higher risk offenders who participated in education programs had better conditional release outcomes than higher risk offenders who did not participate.

As it relates to employment and employability, CSC provided offenders with programs such as "learning to work", on-the-job skills development, and certified apprenticeship hours and vocational certificates through various partnerships to enhance their reintegration potential. Performance results in this area met or exceeded expectations. A total of 60.3 percent of offenders with an identified employment need completed vocational training prior to first release, while 74.7 percent of offenders secured employment in the community prior to Warrant Expiry Date.

CSC continued to align vocational training programs with labor market trends. To enhance apprenticeship opportunities for offenders, CSC worked closely and partnered with the governing body from each province. CSC also actively engaged case management teams to identify and address offenders' employment needs. The success of employment and employability initiatives such as on-the-job training, vocational training and apprenticeship programs demonstrates CSC's commitment to provide offenders with skills that assist their safe reintegration back into the community.

To prepare women offenders for the job market upon release, CSC enhanced the network of potential employers and partners in the community and worked with sites to increase volunteer capacity. Sites were able to offer several vocational and employability opportunities to women offenders. To address the employment needs of Aboriginal offenders, CSC strengthened partnerships and collaboration with Aboriginal organizations across the country. The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology has been a strong partner in supporting apprenticeship programs at Pê Sâkâstêw Centre. Its Facility Management division provided journeyman supervision to apprentices, which created work release opportunities, including voluntary work release, to help enhance the job skills offenders can use upon release.

As part of CSC's ongoing efforts to develop and manage correctional plans based on the risks and needs of offenders, CSC continued to implement the Structured Assessment and Intervention Framework (SAIF), an initiative designed to enhance Parole Officers' capacity to effectively assess and intervene with offenders, by identifying efficiencies within case management business processes and by leveraging information technology. Several key SAIF deliverables were implemented this year, including the online training modules as part of Parole Officer Continuous Development training on Electronic Monitoring, the Custody Rating Scale, and the Correctional Intervention Referral Criteria. Leveraging on Web 2.0 technology, the SAIF initiative had successfully launched POpedia, an interactive online resource and community for Parole Officers to foster teamwork, learning and innovation.

The efforts in correctional interventions have resulted in positive performance results for the Offender Case Management sub-program. Results for initial penitentiary placements uninterrupted and successful transitions to lower security both exceeded expectations. The percentage of Aboriginal offenders with CCRA section 84 release plans did not meet the expected result. CSC continues to work closely with Aboriginal communities to improve CSC policies, programs, initiatives and services in order to better respond to the needs of First Nations, Métis and Inuit offenders. CSC's National Aboriginal Advisory Committee focused on five priority areas: Elder vulnerability; employment and engagement; enhanced case management and community reintegration; Inuit offenders; and human rights and mental health.

CSC continued to focus on Pathways Initiatives as a key Aboriginal culturally-based environment for offenders. During the reporting year, there were 25 operational Pathways Initiatives across the country, representing all regions and all security levels for both men and women offenders. A Pathways continuum was developed specifically for women offenders. CSC also established an operational and performance framework to strengthen the integrity of Pathways Initiatives and enhance correctional results. At year-end of 2015–16, 87 percent of all Aboriginal inmates who identified an interest in Elder review had at least one review. CSC continued to implement the Strategic Plan for Aboriginal Corrections and the Anijaarniq – A Holistic Inuit Strategy through engaging sectors and regions, and working with community partners to improve results in Aboriginal corrections.

CSC worked with citizens' advisory groups, victim services, community chaplaincy organizations, and other partners to provide a continuum of care for offenders and to support victims of crime. Community Engagement results were mostly positive. CSC engaged more than 2,703 participants through its outreach initiatives. The number and percentage of offenders with registered victims also exceeded expectations. The number of operational units which engage citizens was less than anticipated, due to the consolidation and streamlining of some advisory groups.

CSC strengthened community engagement by sustaining existing partnerships and developing new and diverse ones with partners and stakeholders at local and national levels. As an example, CSC consulted Citizens Advisory Committees on key Commissioner Directives or policies and national strategies. A Joint Committee on Community Corrections continued to work with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to strengthen community engagement with municipal leaders. Thousands of volunteers continued to assist CSC in meeting its public safety results. CSC worked with the National Ethnocultural Advisory Committee and Regional Ethnocultural Advisory Committees as part of its efforts to engage ethnocultural communities and provide ethnocultural-specific initiatives in institutions and in the community.

CSC continued to engage victims of crime within the correctional process by providing notifications, raising awareness, receiving information about offenders, including their current sentencing, and taking into account the concerns of victims in the decision-making process. A national mail-out was completed and CSC's Internet site was also updated to raise awareness and inform victims of their new rights under the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights. CSC completed the development of the Victims Portal during fiscal year 2015–16 and launched it on June 1, 2016. CSC established a victim complaint mechanism. Seven complaints were received and all were addressed within the timelines outlined in policy.

Spiritual Services performance results in this area were mixed. The number of contacts with offenders by Institutional Chaplains exceeded the anticipated result. However, contacts with offenders by Faith-community reintegration partners did not meet expectations. Compliance with established standards for spiritual services was also below its anticipated result. Faith-community reintegration partners provided unique service to offenders, as they focused on developing and sustaining linkages with faith communities in support of successful reintegration. Their lower-than-expected result in contacts with offenders was partly a result of the implementation of a new model for Faith Community Reintegration Projects (FCRPs) in 2015–16. New contracts in all regions, and required administrative process associated with their work with offenders took time. Numerous FCRP contract start dates were significantly impacted by the lengthy security clearance process through Canadian Industrial Security Directorate. This, in turn, impacted the number of contacts with offenders in, or preparing to return to, the community. All FCRP organizations now have their security requirements in place; CSC does not anticipate further significant challenges in achieving compliance with service standards moving forward.

CSC continued to engage faith-based organizations, including the Interfaith Committee, faith-based community reintegration groups and volunteers from an increasingly diverse range of faith communities in order to respond to the diverse needs of offenders and to enhance and sustain offender support opportunities in institutions and in the community. CSC also implemented a new method to track institutional volunteer groups in order to determine the level of volunteer participation in diverse religious and spiritual services for offenders.

The variance between the actual spending and the planned spending is mainly due to in-year increases in authorities and internal budget adjustments between programs:

• An increase in operating authority of $8.0 million carried forward from 2014–15;
• An increase in authority of $5.0 million due to the reimbursement of eligible paylist expenditures (e.g. payment of severance benefits, parental benefits etc.);
• An increase in operating authority of $1.8 million and capital authority of $1.3 million for the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights;
• An increase in capital authority of $0.7 million carried forward from 2014–15;

An increase in miscellaneous authorities totalling $4.2 million; and

• A decrease in statutory authority of $5.4 million for the Contributions to employee benefits.

The above variance analysis also explains the major variances at the sub-program and sub-sub-program levels under Program 2.0 Correctional Interventions.

Taking into consideration the above adjustments, CSC's authorities available for use were $425.9 million and the variance with the actual spending was $27.7 million which was included in the carry forward to 2016–17.

*The range for the anticipated performance result is established through the statistical analysis of historical data and a review of factors within the operational context. The methodology ensures that what is anticipated as a performance range is objective and reflective of changes within the operational context.

The Community Supervision Program contributes to public safety through the administration of community operations, including the provision of accommodation options, establishment of community partnerships and provision of community health services as necessary. Community supervision provides the structure to assist offenders to safely and successfully reintegrate into society.

CSC strengthened community supervision with ongoing investments in the Federal Community Corrections Strategy as it identified and addressed specific targets to increase community capacity and enhance the safe reintegration of offenders under supervision in the community. CSC worked with community partners to provide offenders with safe accommodation, employment opportunities and necessary health services. Partnerships were established to enhance release planning for incarcerated women and Aboriginal offenders. Investments in the community supervision program resulted in very positive performance results for the reporting year. Offenders were employed for 64.0 percent of their entire time while under supervision compared to 61.0 percent six years ago. In addition, 56.5 percent of offenders on conditional release successfully reached warrant expiry without any revocation, charge or conviction, compared to 51.9 percent six years ago.

During the reporting year period, CSC implemented a national Electronic Monitoring Research Pilot. Electronic monitoring is a discretionary supervision tool that is available across the country to be utilized on high risk offenders in order to monitor compliance with a geographical condition of release while in the community. The purpose of the planned research is to advance the research knowledge with respect to the impact of its utilization on offender outcomes, determine operational relevance and increase CSC's understanding of possible effects of this technology on offenders, staff, stakeholders (e.g., police, Parole Board of Canada (PBC), Community Based Residential Facilities), community supervision and public safety.

As it relates to Community Management and Security, CSC implemented its Population Management approach - Community with a focus on the availability and adequacy of community accommodation for offenders on supervision. This approach has yielded positive results, having all met or exceeded CSC's anticipated performance ranges in this sub-program. It is worth noting that the rates of serious and minor/moderate convictions on supervision were the lowest of the recent six years, recorded at 28.1 and 166.0 respectively, compared to 53.5 and 227.2 in 2010–11.

As part of CSC's ongoing efforts to work closely with community partners to strengthen its capacity to ensure the safe transition of offenders into the community, CSC designed a number of products to engage community members in order to facilitate volunteer recruitment, enhance existing partnerships and develop new partnerships for reintegration services and employment. CSC also promulgated its Commissioner's Directive 714 – Community Correctional Centre Standards. This updated policy framework has provided guidance for staff and contractors involved in the supervision of offenders in Community Correctional Centres.

CSC is committed to developing an automated solution for community offender accommodation management. As part of this effort, CSC expanded the previous Community-based Residential Facility Capacity & Utilization initiative (now referred to as Offender Accommodation Management ) to include the continuum of accommodation options from institution to community. This initiative is scheduled to be completed in 2017–18, and is expected to provide real-time information on current and future utilization and availability, thus improving population management at the institutional level, and allowing for enhanced release planning and bed space forecasting at the community level. CSC continues to monitor the situation and work closely with partners to enhance the supervision and support of offenders.

CSC also continued work with community partners to standardize accommodation services provided by all the Community partners and implemented a revised generic Statement of Work for Private Home Placements. In addition, CSC has started to update the generic Statement of Work for Community Residential Facilities and Treatment Centres.

In an effort to alleviate pressure in Community Correctional Centres, maximize available space, and strategically disperse the high-risk population throughout the region, CSC worked closely with community partners in the development of an integrated financial framework in support of privately operated community-based residential accommodations, and the allocation of additional funding where required to ensure that partners have the capacity to manage higher risk offenders.

Through its Community-based Residential Facilities program, CSC enhanced community accommodation for offenders in conjunction with community partners to establish the most appropriate accommodation options for offenders who are on conditional release, particularly those with special needs and/or a residency requirement, and to respond to operational needs. However, performance results were mixed. The successful residency supervision periods in Community-based Residential Facilities exceeded expectations, however, the rate of incidents in Community-based Residential Facilities was higher than the results achieved in the previous year (388.4 in 2015–16 compared with 363.0 in 2014–15). Approximately 70 percent of all these incidents during the reporting year were "walkaway", "fail-to-report" and "fail-to-return". It is worth noting that part of the increase was due to the increase in medical emergency incidents, not to assaultive or disruptive behaviour or any other security-related incidents (e.g. security equipment checks) and disruptive behaviour.

Through its Community Health Services program, CSC provides mental health services to offenders who are under supervision in the community. Almost 20 percent of offenders received a community mental health service, which is slightly below the expected level, and can be partially explained by a decrease in Parole Board of Canada conditions for mental health services. It is worth noting that the current indicator reports exclusively on the number of mental health services actually provided and is, therefore, not a reflection of the proportion of offenders in need of service. This indicator was modified for future reporting so results will be more meaningful.

During the same period, CSC also continued to collaborate with Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), to identify activities that will improve the delivery of mental health and other health services to offenders who are veterans.

The variance between the actual spending and the planned spending is mainly due to in-year increases in authorities and internal budget adjustments between programs.

• An increase in operating authority of $2.6 million carried forward from 2014–15; and,
• A decrease in statutory authority of $0.3 million for the Contributions to employee benefits.

The above variance analysis also explains the major variances at the sub-program and sub-sub-program levels under Program 3.0 Community Supervision.

Taking into consideration the above adjustments, CSC's authorities available for use were $132.3 million and the variance with the actual spending was ($9.6) million. CSC realigned its budget to provide funding for expenditure requirements in real property, fleet and equipment maintenance.

*The range for the anticipated performance result is established through the statistical analysis of historical data and a review of factors within the operational context. The methodology ensures that what is anticipated as a performance range is objective and reflective of changes within the operational context.

Internal Services are groups of related activities and resources that are administered to support the needs of programs and other corporate obligations of an organization. Internal services include only those activities and resources that apply across an organization, and not those provided to a specific program. The groups of activities are Management and Oversight Services; Communications Services; Legal Services; Human Resources Management Services; Financial Management Services; Information Management Services; Information Technology Services; Real Property Services; Materiel Services; and Acquisition Services.

During the reporting period, CSC continued to work with partners inside and outside government to support the government to advance its agenda and deliver for Canadians.

CSC is committed to promoting the Values and Ethics (V&E) Code for the Public Sector and the CSC Values Statement. As part of this effort, CSC updated existing values and ethics training components embedded in various CSC learning programs and maintained specialized training in Values on an on-going basis. Special attention was given to the Correctional Training Program and in updating online materials, and to develop broad V&E scenarios to facilitate discussions with recruits. CSC updated the two-and-a-half-day Ethical Leadership Training Program for leaders and delivered training Further to commitments CSC made in response to the Coroner's inquest into the death of Ashley Smith, "What if...then what" training on values & ethics is in the process of being delivered to all staff who have contact with, or impact on, offenders.

CSC started implementing its Strategic Plan for Human Resource Management 2015–2018, including strategies that improve the well-being of all staff. A revised National Attendance Program was introduced, a steering committee for workplace mental health injuries was formed, and the Road to Mental Readiness (R2MR) Program coordinated by the Mental Health Commission of Canada was piloted. R2MR will become a national training standard for all employees in the near future. CSC continued implementing the transformation of Pay Administration initiative, involving the transfer of pay services from CSC to the Public Services Pay Centre in Miramichi, New Brunswick. It also involved the replacement of the legacy Regional Pay System (RPS) with the implementation of the new pay system, Phoenix.

CSC continued to implement the National Recruitment & Retention Action Plan for health professionals, and developed a number of national generic work descriptions for health-related professionals and increased recruitment efforts where gaps were identified.

The initial middle manager mentoring program was launched in 2015 and concluded in March 2016. Program results are being assessed to determine if changes are required before the next process is launched. CSC is planning to launch a new initiative during the next session for the recommended target group, newly appointed Deputy Wardens and Wardens.

CSC advanced its multi-year action plan to implement the Treasury Board Policy on Internal Control and continues to enhance processes to monitor, analyze, and report on the financial situation. During 2015–16, CSC achieved the state of on-going monitoring. To attain this milestone, CSC completed the first full cycle of design and operational effectiveness assessment which included a significant amount of work to improve the internal controls related to the recording of tangible capital assets.

Rigorous reviews of the Financial Situation Report were conducted throughout the fiscal year which included the monitoring, analysis, and reporting of the financial situation and its associated challenges on a regular basis. Frequent reviews of forecasted expenditures were completed and budget managers at all levels were required to review their financial situation with precision.

CSC engaged in numerous initiatives and activities in order to implement the CSC/Parole Board Canada IM/IT 2014–17 Business Plan. Key successes include the development of the Victims Applications Modernization, holding workshops with the user community and stakeholders to validate usability and functionality, and the development of business process documentation and mapping for the OMS Roadmap.

The variance between the actual spending and the planned spending is mainly due to in-year increases in authorities and internal budget adjustments between programs.

• An increase in authority of $3.8 million due to the reimbursement of eligible paylist expenditures (e.g. payment of severance benefits, parental benefits etc.);
• An increase in operating authority of $6.0 million carried forward from 2014–15;
• An increase in capital authority of $3.5 million carried forward from 2014–15; and
• A decrease in statutory authority of $3.8 million for the Contributions to employee benefits.

Taking into consideration the above adjustments, CSC's authorities available for use were $318.3 million and the variance with the actual spending was $20.3 million which was included in the carry forward to 2016–17.

Supporting information on lower-level programs is available on the CSC's website^{Endnote viii}.

The supplementary information tables listed in the 2015–16 Departmental Performance Report can be found on the CSC's website.

• Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy^{Endnote ix}
• Internal Audits and Evaluations^{Endnote x}
• User Fees Reporting^{Endnote xi}

The tax system can be used to achieve public policy objectives through the application of special measures such as low tax rates, exemptions, deductions, deferrals and credits. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures annually in the Report of Federal Tax Expenditures.^{Endnote xii} This report also provides detailed background information on tax expenditures, including descriptions, objectives, historical information and references to related federal spending programs. The tax measures presented in this report are the responsibility of the Minister of Finance.

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