2024 - 2025 Departmental Plan

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada,
as represented by the Minister of Public Safety,
Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs, 2024

From the Minister

CSC supports the Government of Canada's efforts to address systemic racism and the overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples, Black, and racialized Canadians in the justice system. This fiscal year, CSC has plans to launch its Black Offender Strategy, identify the most successful projects, and begin incorporating them into national policy and practice.

CSC continues to expand culturally responsive approaches and to improve outcomes for Indigenous peoples. CSC appointed its first-ever Deputy Commissioner for Indigenous Corrections (DCIC), Kathy Neil, a Métis woman, on May 1, 2023. The DCIC will seek opportunities to expand relationships with Indigenous community partners critical to delivering culturally responsive interventions and services. CSC continues to work with criminal justice partners and Indigenous communities to support the safe and successful reintegration of Indigenous offenders.

The Service continues to foster relationships and partnerships with Indigenous organizations and communities, other orders of government, agencies, and other community stakeholders, and is addressing the issues and recommendations raised in the Office of the Correctional Investigator Annual Report 2022 to 2023.

I commend CSC staff, Elders, volunteers and partners for their dedication and professionalism, and I am proud to support them in their important work. I invite all Canadians to read more about CSC’s plans and priorities, and its critical contributions to public safety, which are detailed in this report.

Sincerely,
The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, P.C., K.C., M.P.
Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs

Plans to deliver on core responsibilities and internal services

Core responsibilities and internal services:

• Care and Custody
• Correctional Interventions
• Community Supervision
• Internal Services

Care and Custody

In this section

• Description
• Quality of life impacts
• Results and targets
• Plans to achieve results
• Key risks
• Snapshot of planned resources in 2024 to 2025
• Related government priorities
• Program inventory

Description

CSC provides for the safety, security and humane care of inmates, including day-to-day needs of inmates such as food, clothing, accommodation, 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.

Results and targets

The following tables show, for each departmental result related to Care and Custody, the indicators, the results from the three most recently reported fiscal years, the targets and target dates approved for 2024 to 2025.

Table 1: Indicators, results and targets for departmental result: institutions are safe and secure.

Table 2: Indicators, results and targets for departmental result: inmates are managed in a humane manner.

The financial, human resources and performance information for CSC’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Plans to achieve results

Unless otherwise specified, all plans identified in this Departmental Plan will be implemented in 2024 to 2025.

CSC will work to ensure that federal correctional institutions are safe, humane and healthy environments, free from violence and sexual harassment. A particular focus in this reporting period is the monitoring of compliance with Commissioner’s Directive 574, Sexual Coercion and Violence (SCV) in CSC institutions. This will be accomplished with targeted staff training using the most current research and information available. CSC will also review results from the SCV study led by Public Safety Canada, to determine the most appropriate way to integrate results into CSC’s policy, procedures, and guidelines.

To effectively support population management, CSC will implement a national framework on population management to facilitate the comprehensive management of population management pressures. CSC will track changes in institutional capacity, utilization of institutional beds, and construction projects that impact on capacity using the National Rated Capacity and Utilization Report. CSC will coordinate inter-regional and intra-regional transfers as needed to alleviate population pressures and address population dynamics.

CSC will work to complete the Joint Audit and Evaluation of the Structured Intervention Units (SIUs). The objectives of this audit include providing assurance that CSC is complying with relevant legislation and policies related to SIUs and that a management framework is in place to support SIUs. The evaluation component will be assessing the program’s relevance, effectiveness/performance, and its efficiency.

The implementation of the behavioural skills framework and the finalization of the training modules and national training standards for existing and future behavioural skills coach (BSC) staffing is ongoing. Additionally, CSC will extend behaviour management and skills development training for BSCs working with inmates transitioning from a SIU to the mainstream institutional population.

CSC will maintain and evaluate the SIU framework to improve decision-making and strengthen oversight. This will include exploring the use of a composite index to measure the performance of SIUs and allow CSC to both monitor the effects of SIU transfers on individual inmates and compare those impacts across regions and over time.

CSC will roll out an improved national dashboard for SIU performance indicators that can be disaggregated by sex, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, race, region, and institution. SIU data will be updated and analyzed monthly to determine best practices, and improvement opportunities. Additionally, access to real time data that includes types of activities offered and/or used, end of day compliance, and site level activity is available to SIU and executive management staff daily.

CSC will finalize its pilot on body scanner use in institutions, and based on results, will implement, and monitor their use in institutions. CSC will also reinforce and formalize key public safety partnerships at the national, regional, and local levels to assess the impact of relevant technologies on CSC operations and policy, including those related to unmanned aerial vehicles, and adjust policy instruments where appropriate.

CSC will develop a National Security Threat Group (STG) strategy that will support sites by providing them with a framework to assist in the safe management of offenders affiliated to an STG, and to address barriers and promote rehabilitation. The draft strategy is currently built around four pillars (priority areas): Identification, Management, Prevention, and Disengagement and Reintegration. The STG strategy working group is currently engaged in extensive consultations with both internal and external stakeholders to ensure that the strategy addresses relevant challenges and barriers for these offenders, as well as to ensure responsivity to the unique needs of different groups, such as Black and Indigenous Peoples. These consultations include CSC front-line staff members, offenders, law enforcement, and grassroots organizations across the country.

CSC will provide inmates with integrated, person-centered health care. This includes implementing a patient advocacy framework, as well as the Person Health Care Home Model, and the Professional Practice Leadership Model. CSC will maintain continuity of care including key points of transition from the institution to release to the community. CSC will also ensure implementation of infection prevention and control (IPAC) initiatives which include, education for staff and offenders while the implementation of institutional IPAC committees is ongoing. CSC will continue timely access to health services, including opioid agonist treatment and dental services.

CSC will reconceptualize its national drugs and substances policy framework to align with the revised Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy. To achieve this goal, a multi-disciplinary working group has been struck to undertake this work and promulgation is anticipated to occur in 2024. The policy revision will ensure that CSC promotes the health and safety of CSC staff, inmates, and the public by preventing and minimizing harm related to individual substance use and to recognize the harm associated with the introduction, trafficking, financing, and distribution of contraband within CSC facilities.

CSC will continue to look for opportunities to support the needs of older persons in custody, including exploring a corrections-specific geriatric intake assessment tool. CSC will also explore and strengthen community partnerships regarding appropriate housing options (e.g., long-term care homes) that support older offenders’ transition into the community.

CSC will review recommendations from the stakeholder and expert roundtable on Medical Assistance in Dying in federal corrections and align CSC policy accordingly.

CSC will ensure ongoing implementation of the 2020 to 2025 Accommodation Plan along with continued development of major initiatives, within budgetary constraints. This includes advancing or completing at least ten master plans, and eight building condition reports before fiscal year end, as well as the development of over 30 capital projects.

CSC will work to modernize its Real Property information system and tools, including the initial implementation of the Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS), onboarding electronic security systems to CMMS, and implementing corrective and preventative maintenance. As well, CSC will implement the space management, real property information, lease management, and building condition management application modules, and will determine how to integrate the real property and financial data between different applications.

CSC is committed to implementing its Sustainable Development Strategy in line with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Greening Government Strategy goals, while carrying out other environmental initiatives and remaining accountable to all sustainable development reporting requirements. To this end, CSC will conduct facility waste audits and report the annual rate of diversion of non-hazardous operational waste from landfills and will reduce CSC's greenhouse gas emissions from facilities by implementing strategic energy performance contracts, and critical infrastructure renewal projects, as a result of energy audit reports.

Key risks

Snapshot of planned resources in 2024 to 2025

• Planned spending: $2,017,486,581
• Planned full-time resources: 10,989

Related government priorities

Gender-based analysis plus

CSC collects performance data, which are disaggregated, where applicable, by sex, and other intersecting identity factors (e.g., race), thereby enabling identification of impacts of programs or initiatives on specific groups of male and female offenders. (Please refer to the Gender-based analysis plus Supplementary Information Table for information on program impacts on gender and diversity.)

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy 2023 to 2027

Since 1997, CSC has voluntarily published a Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy (DSDS) every three years. The ninth edition of the strategy, which covers the period 2023 to 2027, was published on November 2, 2023. It aligns with the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) 2022 to 2026, as required in the Federal Sustainable Development Act (FSDA).

The FSDS supports the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The chapters of the FSDS correspond exactly to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

CSC’s DSDS 2023 to 2027 proposes 17 departmental measures and 13 planned initiatives that contribute to the following three objectives of the FSDS:

• Goal 10: Advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and take steps to reduce inequalities.
• Goal 12: Reduce waste and transition to zero-emission vehicles.
• Goal 13: Take action on climate change and its impacts.

Thus, CSC contributes indirectly to the United Nations 2030 Agenda through its DSDS.

Program inventory

Care and Custody is supported by the following programs:

• Institutional Management and Support
• Supervision
• Preventive Security and Intelligence
• Drug Enforcement
• Clinical Services and Public Health
• Mental Health Services
• Food Services
• Accommodation Services

Supporting information on planned expenditures, human resources, and results related to CSC’s program inventory is available on GC Infobase.

Correctional Interventions

In this section

• Description
• Quality of life impacts
• Results and targets
• Plans to achieve results
• Key risks
• Snapshot of planned resources in 2024 to 2025
• Program inventory

Description

CSC conducts assessment activities and program interventions to support federal offenders’ rehabilitation and facilitate their reintegration into the community as law-abiding citizens. CSC also engages Canadian citizens as partners in its correctional mandate, and provides services to victims of crime.

Quality of life impacts

Results and targets

The following tables show, for each departmental result related to Correctional Interventions, the indicators, the results from the three most recently reported fiscal years, the targets and target dates approved for 2024 to 2025.

Table 3: Indicators, results and targets for departmental result: offenders are prepared for their release from CSC’s jurisdiction as law-abiding citizens.

The financial, human resources and performance information for CSC’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Plans to achieve results

Unless otherwise specified, all plans identified in this Departmental Plan will be implemented in 2024 to 2025.

CSC will monitor the impact of Indigenous Intervention Centres (IIC) on Indigenous offenders and adjust where necessary, referencing the Indigenous Correctional Accountability Framework annual results. As well, CSC will complete the development of a handbook for staff to both strengthen the implementation of IICs and improve reintegration results of those offenders who participate in the IIC process.

CSC will identify internal and external operational pressures that contribute to the high rates of suspension and revocation for Indigenous offenders and will address them through the development of a case management reference tool that promotes consideration of culturally-appropriate interventions, and by emphasizing alternatives to suspension and revocation for Indigenous offenders. CSC will work with the Parole Board of Canada on improving suspension and revocation rates for Indigenous offenders and will finalize and implement a Section 81 action plan that includes a provision for Section 81 agreements and Healing Lodges to temporarily house offenders who have breached conditions of release.

CSC will monitor and evaluate the impact of actuarial tools for case management and security reviews of Indigenous offenders, including results specific to security classifications. To further that goal, work with the University of Regina is ongoing to complete the development of an Indigenous-informed security classification process to incorporate within CSC’s case management decision-making framework.

CSC will confirm treaty requirements, and will work with Indigenous communities and Indigenous partners across the country to effectively respond to the needs of Indigenous offenders, particularly those that express interest in establishing either Section 81 agreements or Section 84 release plans.

To increase capacities for Indigenous organizations and governing bodies to develop and deliver services, CSC will streamline the contracting process to fund eligible projects to respond to the needs of Indigenous offenders in CSC institutions, IICs, and in the community.

CSC will review the current Elder contracting model and explore alternative options for service provision to ensure that the approach is culturally-appropriate, effective, and efficient. CSC will strengthen Elder access for all Indigenous offenders including those in SIUs. CSC will ensure Elder assessments and reviews are considered in decisions for transfer and/or discretionary release, and monitor the percentage of offenders who receive an Elder review from among those who identify an interest in following the healing path.

CSC will continue to deliver correctional programs to address offenders' risks and needs in an effective and efficient manner by implementing revised programs, training content and quality review processes. Specific to the delivery of Indigenous correctional programs, CSC will examine enrolment and completion data, which will be used to create new resource indicators to report on performance results.

CSC will also track the frequency of correctional programs offered in Section 81 facilities, their offender participation rates, and which dynamic factor needs they address. This information will help case management teams incorporate offender progress in correctional plan updates, risk assessments, and progress reporting used for decision-making.

CSC will continue to monitor time to first program results and will identify and resolve any barriers to timely correctional program enrolment as necessary. CSC will also monitor enrolment-specific results in culturally-specific programs and advance recruitment and retention efforts for Indigenous correctional program officers.

CSC will ensure ongoing implementation of the CORCAN Indigenous Offender Employment Initiative by expanding partnerships with government departments, educational facilities, and Indigenous communities and organizations to provide additional employment opportunities and increase the participation of Indigenous women in on-the-job and vocational training.

CSC will continue to implement the Enhancing Community Success project at selected sites in the Prairie, Ontario, and Quebec regions to facilitate continuity of care and successful reintegration for Indigenous offenders upon release, and will report on findings from the first year of the two-year project. CSC will leverage horizontal initiatives to explore opportunities for additional reintegration support programs as part of the Government of Canada’s Indigenous reconciliation agenda which includes responses to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Calls for Justice, the Indigenous Justice Strategy, and the Federal Framework to Reduce Recidivism.

Through its ongoing implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding with Indigenous Services Canada, CSC will continue to enhance discharge planning and support, with a view to facilitating continuity of care and successful reintegration for Indigenous offenders upon release.

Recognizing its particular responsibility to Indigenous offenders and communities, CSC will ensure ongoing consultation with the National Indigenous Advisory Committee to improve correctional results for Indigenous offenders. CSC will work with community partners to meet the needs of federally incarcerated Inuit offenders and fully implement the principles and goals of the Anijaarniq Holistic Inuit Strategy.

CSC will increase community supports through the launch of a national community stakeholder registry, thereby augmenting opportunities for all offenders to interact with others, and additionally, for those in SIUs to spend time outside their cells. CSC will implement consistent community support in institutions to promote equal access to services in SIUs nationally.

CSC will launch its Black Offender Strategy and monitor the results of the pilot projects, with indicators developed to assist in identifying next steps to make the most successful pilots into national policy and practice.

CSC will seek opportunities to engage Indigenous, Black, and other racialized or marginalized communities to raise awareness of CSC’s National Victim Services Program (NSVP), share information about the program, and learn more about victim needs in those communities as well as how best to reach them. CSC will work to improve its Victim Services’ National Stakeholder Registry by identifying the services and populations that it serves, and by maintaining ongoing collaboration and communication with existing partners and stakeholders to obtain guidance on targeted outreach. CSC will identify new organizations to work with, including potential advisory bodies.

CSC will advance the Communications and Outreach Strategy for victims launched in 2019 in collaboration with other federal partners and will deliver victim-offender mediation services to address serious crime through CSC’s Restorative Opportunities program. CSC will strengthen the NSVP policy framework to improve service delivery to victims and support CSC’s capacity to uphold its mandate pursuant to the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights. CSC will also improve the NSVP management and learning development frameworks to better measure and report compliance within established legislative and policy timeframes for victim notification.

CSC will work closely with its partners as it considers input from all CSC advisory committees and stakeholders on the needs of all offenders, including the particular needs of women, gender diverse, Indigenous, and Black and other racialized offenders to inform changes in policy and operations. In addition, CSC will provide committee members with opportunities to increase knowledge on key initiatives, policy, programs, and operational matters. CSC will advance the involvement of the public through Citizen Advisory Committees and implement its associated strategic plan for 2020 to 2025.

CSC will foster engagement with stakeholders on the CSC Stakeholder Collaboration Hub, and enhance use of the volunteer management application, the CSC Speakers Bureau, and educational resources to better leverage virtual platforms and support the public education program. CSC will improve and support the administration and management of the National Volunteer Program.

CSC will continue to offer institutional chaplaincy services and monitor deliverables from the evaluation of institutional chaplaincy services and continue to engage stakeholders on the implementation of a system to assess and certify core competencies for institutional chaplains.

CSC will provide community support via faith-based reintegration projects to ensure that offenders have access to religious and spiritual services throughout the continuum. Further to the review of the effectiveness of faith community reintegration projects, CSC will explore the development and procurement of contracts for service providers to ensure effective response to the increasingly diverse nature of the religious and spiritual practices of offenders under supervision in the community.

CSC will continue to develop and implement a modern, virtual approach to delivering correctional programs and will monitor and evaluate the Virtual Correctional Program Delivery Pilot, identifying benefits and challenges experienced while delivering correctional programs via video conferencing. CSC will define a clear vision, strategic objectives, and a set of outcomes to achieve for the next iteration of virtual program delivery.

CSC will provide offenders with the basic literacy, academic, and personal development skills needed for safe reintegration into the community and will modernize its education programs and increase offenders’ access to digital education.

CSC will provide offenders with employment and employability skills in institutions and the community, services to find and maintain employment in the community and will build new horizontal collaborations with other federal government departments, as well as other levels of government and non-governmental organizations to support those efforts. CSC will identify and implement investment opportunities to introduce, upgrade or add new equipment in its CORCAN program to expand the types of on-the-job technical skills development offered to offenders.

CSC will review and enhance its employment and employability program to address the needs of various population groups, including women, Indigenous, and ethnocultural offenders, and those with health needs as it monitors the number of supervised offenders employed in the community. CSC will also explore new employment training opportunities for offenders in maximum-security-units and treatment centres, including aging offenders and those with health needs.

CSC will continue to develop the penitentiary agriculture program and agreements with educational facilities and organizations that support the provision of industry-recognized vocational training for offenders that can effectively prepare offenders for job opportunities. CSC will build ongoing partnerships with educational facilities, including St. Lawrence College, the University of Guelph, and governmental and non-governmental organizations, to incorporate additional activities and research into the penitentiary agriculture program and identify new incubator and micro-initiatives related to agriculture at select CSC sites.

CSC will leverage the Ethnocultural Action Framework to improve CSC’s capacity to meet the needs of ethnocultural offenders. In the reporting period, this will include promoting and reporting on day parole ‘Other Location’ releases for ethnocultural offenders, updating the ethnocultural offenders resource kit on a regular basis to ensure its resources and tools are current and relevant, and supporting site level activities, services, and interventions specific to ethnocultural offenders. CSC will increase its inventory of community supports offering services to Black and other racialized offenders. CSC will leverage its Regional Ethnocultural Advisory Committees in cases where observations, advice, and liaising is deemed relevant, including in the area of overrepresentation of Black offenders.

CSC will focus efforts on opportunities that promote stability and continuity for the mother-child relationship, and opportunities for contact with family and support persons using secure and controlled technology, with a view to expanding the program through non-residential contact participation and resourcing. CSC will review the parenting skills program as well as the roles and responsibilities of mother-child coordinators. CSC will improve tracking capabilities for participation in video visits, private family visits, and beyond. CSC will also complete a review of program admission criteria and engage with child welfare agencies to explore ways to improve collaboration and facilitate access to the program without compromising child safety.

Key risks

Snapshot of planned resources in 2024 to 2025

• Planned spending: $516,908,819
• Planned full-time resources: 4,493

Program inventory

Correctional Interventions is supported by the following programs:

• Offender Case Management
• Community Engagement
• Chaplaincy
• Elder Services
• Correctional Programs
• Offender Education
• CORCAN Employment and Employability
• Social Program

Supporting information on planned expenditures, human resources, and results related to CSC’s program inventory is available on GC Infobase.

Community Supervision

In this section

• Description
• Quality of life impacts
• Results and targets
• Plans to achieve results
• Key risks
• Snapshot of planned resources in 2024 to 2025
• Program inventory

Description

CSC supervises offenders in the community and provides structure and services to support their safe and successful reintegration into the community. Services include accommodation options, community health services, and the establishment of community partnerships. CSC manages offenders on parole, statutory release, and long-term supervision orders.

Quality of life impacts

Results and targets

The following tables show, for each departmental result related to Community Supervision, the indicators, the results from the three most recently reported fiscal years, the targets and target dates approved for 2024 to 2025.

Table 4: Indicators, results and targets for departmental result: offenders are law-abiding citizens while under
community supervision.

The financial, human resources and performance information for CSC’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Plans to achieve results

Unless otherwise specified, all plans identified in this Departmental Plan will be implemented in 2024 to 2025.

CSC will enhance electronic monitoring (EM) services to augment its ability to monitor high risk offenders’ compliance with special condition(s) that include a geographical restriction and will update EM program policy instruments to reflect the current operational environment. CSC will also deliver EM training as part of the Parole Officer Continuous Development curriculum to broaden parole officers’ knowledge of the program and the tool’s capabilities.

In tandem with the Offender Management System modernization project (OMS-M), CSC will review community performance measures for data quality, validity, and accuracy to ensure any related issues can be addressed through OMS-M.

CSC will ensure appropriate community accommodations are available for offenders on conditional release. Through ongoing consultation with districts and partners, CSC will support as needed the reprofiling of Community-Based Residential Facilities (CBRF) capacity, manage regional requests for CBRF expansions, and match individual offender needs with appropriate CBRF accommodations and services. As well, CSC will ensure preferred and planned release destination information is integrated in case management practices from sentencing and beyond.

To effectively plan for offender release, CSC will use reliable and stable data from the Offender Accommodation Management and Offender Management Systems to validate current and projected accommodation requirements.

CSC will promote the continuity of health care for individuals being released to the community by providing relevant health information to those who have a need-to-know, prior to release in accordance with legislation and CSC policies, including with long-term care homes, to support the transition of care for older offenders into the community. CSC will also enhance exploration of community partnerships related to palliative and end-of-life care.

Key risks

Snapshot of planned resources in 2024 to 2025

• Planned spending: $187,779,417
• Planned full-time resources: 239

Program inventory

Community Supervision is supported by the following programs:

• Community Management and Security
• Community-Based Residential Facilities
• Community Correctional Centres
• Community Health Services

Supporting information on planned expenditures, human resources, and results related to CSC’s program inventory is available on GC Infobase.

Internal Services

In this section

• Description
• Plans to achieve results
• Snapshot of planned resources in 2024 to 2025
• Key risks

Description

Internal services are the services that are provided within a department so that it can meet its corporate obligations and deliver its programs. There are ten categories of internal services:

• management and oversight services
• communications services
• legal services
• human resources management services
• financial management services
• information management services
• information technology services
• real property management services
• materiel management services
• acquisition management services

Plans to achieve results

Unless otherwise specified, all plans identified in this Departmental Plan will be implemented in 2024 to 2025.

An audit of organizational culture is underway at CSC. Its objective is to provide reasonable assurance that CSC’s actual organizational culture is in line with its desired culture.

CSC will promote respectful workplaces and engage staff in working together to resolve issues early and at the lowest level by increasing staff awareness of and access to the services of the Office of Values and Ethics, the Office of Informal Conflict Resolution and the new Ombuds function. CSC will also inform staff of the services offered by the Office of Integrity Risk which is available should employees wish to raise concerns about wrongdoing or fraud.

CSC will continue to apply gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) to better meet the needs of staff and offenders as it engages internal and external partners/stakeholders. CSC will continue to monitor the evolution of GBA Plus analysis and strengthen its capacity to incorporate the framework into its policy and program development process to meet the needs of unique groups.

CSC will support the Government of Canada's ongoing work addressing systemic racism and the overrepresentation of Indigenous people, and Black and racialized Canadians in the justice system. CSC will implement a networking initiative for Indigenous employees to meet, communicate, exchange information, and pursue career and wellness-furthering objectives. CSC will develop a relationship with the University of Alberta to enable outreach to the university’s Indigenous students, informing them of CSC’s employment opportunities. CSC will also pilot the Indigenous Career Navigator Program to support Indigenous employees with their career development and support managers seeking to recruit and/or support Indigenous employees. CSC will continue its participation in community initiatives for Red Dress Day to form community partnerships and raise awareness on the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

CSC will work with partners and stakeholders to improve network infrastructure and connectivity to assist staff in their daily operations and offenders in educational initiatives and interaction with their home communities. This will include fiber backbone and telecom room upgrades, approximately 108 wide area network upgrades, and the establishment of a team dedicated to overseeing and managing this activity.

CSC will support corporate priorities by implementing strategic communications plans and products that are proactive, sustained and coordinated across digital and print communications.

CSC will improve its public website and social media engagement to promote and enrich more dynamic digital communications and will promulgate its corporate social media strategy for 2024 to 2026. CSC has begun to migrate more of its web content to the Canada.ca website to support CSC, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, and whole of Government of Canada priorities. Using a multi-media approach, CSC will inform Canadians about the positive impacts of CSC employee work, the outcomes of its programs, and the link between those factors and CSC’s mission of changing lives and protecting Canadians.

CSC will further develop its issues management and media relations process to address public issues and triage media queries, ensuring they are receiving approved responses in a timely fashion. CSC will enhance transparency and credibility in its interactions with Canadians by seeking opportunities for subject matter experts to act as spokespeople on issues of interest and concern to the public and by showing through effective utilization of web-content and interviews how safe, gradual release works to better protect our communities.

CSC will support its Transforming Corrections and Structured Intervention Units (SIUs) initiative through effective communications and engagement with media, community stakeholders, the public, and parliamentarians, informing them of the mandate and objectives of SIUs through digital and print communications campaigns and products. CSC will also work with partners to support the SIU Implementation Advisory Panel recommendations.

CSC will manage its litigation caseload through effective and strategic litigation case management functions and strengthen organizational capacity to better integrate outcomes. In support of the Brazeau, Reddock and Gallone class actions, CSC will meet its legal obligations by working collaboratively with all parties to ensure an ongoing effective claims administrative process and timely resolution of issues.

CSC will continue to implement measures to prevent, detect, track, and respond to sexual coercion and violence (SCV) in federal corrections, including mandating annual training on SCV and harassment for all frontline correctional officers and staff, and training for correctional managers. The Public Safety Canada prevalence study on SCV will be assessed and results stemming from it will be considered for integration into policy, procedures, and guidelines.

CSC will recruit a diverse and highly skilled workforce, while addressing shifting operational demands and obligations, incorporating innovation, and strengthening data-driven human resource decision-making and will review and modernize its recruitment process to streamline the process, remove barriers and bias, and improve candidate experience. CSC will prepare, publish, and report on its multi-year Comprehensive Action Plan for Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion supporting diverse employee groups, which will in turn inform recruitment and training efforts.

CSC will support the mental health readiness and resiliency of employees through diversified efforts related to the prevention of, response to, and recovery from mental health injuries. CSC will bolster the wellness of its workforce through the delivery of dedicated training sessions related to mental health (i.e., Mental Health Preparedness for new employees, Supporting Employee Mental Health in Corrections for employees, refresher training for supervisors, and Trauma Informed Care). As well, CSC will continue to promote supplemental learning activities through partnerships with external organizations such as the Canadian Innovation Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace, Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment, the Canadian School of Public Service, and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

CSC will develop internal tools, resources, and initiatives that empower leaders throughout the organization to capably support employees and guide positive culture change related to mental health and wellness. Strategic recommendations in this area are reflected in the 2020 to 2023 Climate Report on Workplace Wellness and Employee Well-Being and will be pursued through the upcoming renewal of the National Comprehensive Strategy on Workplace Wellness and Employee Wellbeing in 2024. This strategy will encompass the action plan on post-traumatic stress injuries for public safety personnel, the creation of a national mental health champion, and an associated network of mental health ambassadors in all regions. CSC will also operationalize the findings of research related to operational stress in corrections, and further refine responses based on academic work such as the longitudinal study on Canadian Correctional Workers’ Well-being, Organizations, Roles and Knowledge.

CSC will provide introductory and continuous development training that is specific for staff working with Indigenous offenders. CSC will complete consultations on content development and changes in the Foundations for Indigenous Corrections program and will then deliver the updated training program to all new indeterminate and term employees. CSC will also complete the first round of new training for the Pathways initiative and will develop training specific for Indigenous community development officers in line with CSC’s National Training Standards.

CSC will continue to provide introductory training that is specific for staff working with women offenders to improve their knowledge of women offenders' needs and teach them core skills to be able to apply techniques that relate to the Creating Choices principles.

CSC will promote a diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace by implementing the objectives listed for immediate action in the Call to Action Forward Direction, CSC’s 2022 to 2025 Accessibility Plan as legislated by the Accessible Canada Act, and by continuing to monitor progress and update, as required, the 2022 to 2025 Comprehensive Plan on Employment Equity and Diversity and Inclusion.

CSC will work to meet its Management Action Plan Commitments under the Office of the Auditor General Audit: Inclusion in the Workplace for Racialized Employees, tabled in October 2023. A key deliverable will be to begin work on a performance measurement framework to track and report on equity and inclusion outcomes at CSC. As it responds to the audit, CSC will consult with diverse employee groups to better understand the experience of racialized employees in the workplace and ensure concrete and measurable actions are implemented.

CSC will continue the implementation of the 2022 to 2025 Official Languages (OL) Action Plan approved and shared in June 2023 in support of an effective delivery of the OL Program within the organization. In addition, CSC, as well as other federal organizations subject to the Official Languages Act with regional operations units, will embark on the OL Regulations re-application exercise. The exercise is intended to update the linguistic obligations of federal offices every ten years to determine which offices are required to communicate and provided services to the public in both official languages.

CSC’s ethical risk assessment, a national initiative conducted in all work units that results in site-specific action plans to improve the working environment of each unit in the areas of mutual respect and wellness, is ongoing. CSC is working to identify the most common ethical risks from a national perspective and will identify mitigation strategies to address them.

CSC will continue its onboarding of new client groups into the Scheduling and Deployment Solution, while exploring opportunities to improve its existing Human Resources (HR) Management System. CSC will support the Government of Canada’s analysis and review of an alternate HR-pay solution, away from the existing Phoenix solution. CSC will explore and incorporate digital solutions with the existing Government of Canada ecosystem to streamline, automate, and implement machine learning and artificial intelligence into HR solutions to improve timeliness, accuracy, and predictability of HR-pay outcomes for the interim phase, while aligning with future-state solution(s) for HR-pay.

CSC will plan for the implementation of a System Applications and Products (SAP) hosting solution, spearheaded by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), to modernize the Departmental Financial Management System and will work with the RCMP and external stakeholders to elaborate a long-term SAP migration strategy for CSC as the RCMP moves forward with its own financial systems transformation.

CSC will implement measures to replace the existing Resource Management Tool and Resource Allocation Tool through a long-term replacement solution.

CSC will support the implementation of its Data Strategy to ensure the quality, accessibility, security, and usability of offender data and information in support of CSC’s digital-readiness and modernization. It will establish and implement CSC’s Office of Data Governance, define CSC’s data roles and responsibilities, execute the Offender Management System modernization (OMS-M) data plan, and improve data sharing with external partners.

CSC will improve performance measurement, specifically performance target precision and the relevance of current key performance indicators (KPIs) through the Innovation and Renewal Strategy (IRS). The IRS has delivered and implemented new target setting methodologies allowing for greater accuracy of performance targets, with the flexibility for CSC to choose target ranges in context with the operating environment. A full review of existing KPIs is currently in progress to evaluate, and where required, produce new KPIs that accurately measure CSC’s performance against our corporate priorities and core responsibilities.

CSC will focus on the ongoing integration of GCdocs into its core business processes and connect with existing systems to provide improved access to trusted information. It will leverage the GCdocs litigation framework, the adaptable electronic document preservation action form, and CSC preservation report to support various litigation.

CSC will improve upon the current electronic medical record and implement an electronic medication administration record and regional pharmacy management system to improve consistency and effectiveness in CSC's health care delivery.

CSC will work to enhance inmate access to technology by providing secure and controlled access to the internet, to facilitate their access to education, programming, and community supports, all of which are important to their safe and effective rehabilitation and reintegration.

CSC will enter the design, development, and implementation phase of the OMS-M project and will complete design activities related to offender case management functionality, including offender assessments, case documentation services and interventions, and community supervision. The new software will enable improved efficiency, enhanced effectiveness, and increased flexibility, while contributing positively to public safety results.

CSC will publish its first Real Property Portfolio Management Strategy and will begin updating its Real Property Management Framework to ensure the effective stewardship and sustainability of CSC’s facilities over the next ten years.

CSC will continue to work towards the GCworkplace standard, reducing its leased portfolio footprint, leveraging GCworkplace standards to transition to an unassigned/hybrid seating model, and using hoteling software to support that transition.

To advance CSC’s action plan to implement the Treasury Board of Canada’s Directive on the Management of Materiel, CSC will review and revise the Financial Directive 350-1 Asset Management and update materiel management policy instruments to ensure they are current, relevant, meet related requirements, support socio-economic considerations, and strengthen guidance for materiel management staff, budget managers, and asset custodians. CSC will monitor national materiel management transactions to ensure compliance with related policy instruments and strengthen guidance and support when required.

CSC will review and update contracting policy instruments to ensure they are current and relevant, meet related policies and requirements, and support socio-economic considerations (e.g., green procurement and Indigenous procurement). CSC will also revise internal mandatory contracting courses and improve contract management activities and resource management.

Key Risks

Snapshot of planned resources in 2024 to 2025

• Planned spending: $449,101,249
• Planned full-time resources: 3,105

Related government priorities

Planning for contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses

CSC actively supports the Government of Canada’s annual commitment that a minimum target of 5% of the total value of contracts are awarded to Indigenous businesses through various procurement activities. The Service will submit its approved annual procurement plan for meeting the minimum target to Indigenous Services Canada.

CSC will continue to increase staff awareness and promote procurement methods, such as the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business (PSIB) set-asides, to increase opportunities for Indigenous businesses. Contracting authorities will also be encouraged to guide clients early-on in the procurement process to use PSIB set-asides and other procurement vehicles such as supply arrangements and standing offers where Indigenous businesses are identified. The Service will strengthen requirements in policy instruments and internal contracting training modules, such as verifying Indigenous businesses in accordance with the Indigenous Business Directory.

CSC will perform assessments of procurement trends and identify gaps to better align procurements to meet the target. In addition, the Service will develop and implement procurement planning activities that identify procurements that can support Indigenous businesses, such the Annual National Procurement Plan and Investment Steering Committee procurement plans. This will support the alignment of procurement activities with strategic objectives and decisions to support Indigenous businesses, which will enable CSC to monitor progress and adjust the annual targets accordingly.

CSC will engage Indigenous communities and Elders to address barriers and enhance participation of Indigenous organizations to increase contracts with Indigenous businesses.

For more information on CSC's plans, see the "Planning Highlights - core responsibility 2: Correctional Interventions" section of this plan. Additionally, Contracting and Materiel Services will work with and support the Indigenous Initiatives Branch with contracting requirements and procurement strategies.

CSC’s methodology to arrive at the forecasted target percentages is based on reviewing historical data from CSC’s past Indigenous procurement plans and objectives. Based on this data, it demonstrates CSC can meet the forecasted percentages.

Planned spending and human resources

This section provides an overview of CSC’s planned spending and human resources for the next three fiscal years and compares planned spending for 2024–25 with actual spending from previous years.

In this section

• Spending
• Funding
• Future-oriented condensed statement of operations
• Human resources

Spending

Figure 1: Spending by core responsibility in 2024 to 2025

Table of planned spending for upcoming fiscal year

The chart above shows details of CSC's planned spending in $ millions for the fiscal year 2024 to 2025. In 2024 to 2025 there is 2,017.5 million of spending on Care and Custody, 516.9 million of spending on Correctional Interventions, 187.8 million of spending on Community Supervision, and 449.1 million of spending on Internal Services.

Table 5: Actual spending summary for core responsibilities and internal services ($ dollars)

The following table shows information on spending for each of CSC’s core responsibilities and for its internal services for the previous three fiscal years. Amounts for the current fiscal year are forecasted based on spending to date.

The 2023 to 2024 forecast spending of $3,664.8M represents authorities that have been approved to date. In addition to amounts granted to CSC through the main estimates, this figure includes funding authorized through the supplementary estimates, as well as amounts approved for newly ratified collective agreements and carry forwards from 2022 to 2023.

The difference between the 2023 to 2024 forecast spending of $3,664.8M and 2022 to 2023 expenditures of $3,015.4M demonstrates that CSC anticipates operational increases between these years. This is mainly due to incremental funding for the following differential funding amounts between both years: class action lawsuits, the newly ratified collective agreements, Workers’ Compensation Benefits funding, quasi statutory funding to cover expenditures due to changes in offender population volumes and price fluctuations, and carry-forward from 2022 to 2023 funding.

Expenditures will continue to increase in the next three consecutive fiscal years due to the rehabilitation of correctional facilities, reduction of suspension points in correctional facilities to increase inmate safety, the modernization of existing security equipment infrastructure capability, quasi statutory funding to cover expenditures due to changes in offender population volumes and price fluctuations, and the Transforming Federal Corrections (Bill C-83) which is expected to stabilize in 2025 to 2026. However, a decrease in the planned spending is also anticipated due to sunsetting funding and the Refocusing Government Spending.

Table 6: Budgetary planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)

The following table shows information on spending for each of CSC’s core responsibilities and for its internal services for the upcoming three fiscal years.

The slight decrease in planned spending from 2024 to 2025 to 2025 to 2026 is mainly attributable to sunsetting funding for measures received to support correctional operations and Refocusing Government Spending, which further declines in 2026 to 2027.

Funding

Figure 2: Departmental spending 2021 to 2022 to 2026 to 2027

The following graph presents planned spending (voted and statutory expenditures) over time.

The table shows details of CSC's planned spending in $ millions for fiscal years 2021 to 2022, 2022 to 2023, 2023 to 2024, 2024 to 2025, 2025 to 2026, and 2026 to 2027.

In 2021 to 2022 there was 241 million of spending on statutory and 2,669 million on voted for a total of 2,910 million.
In 2022 to 2023 there was 242 million of spending on statutory and 2,773 million on voted for a total of 3,015 million.
In 2023 to 2024 there was 298 million of spending on statutory and 3,367 million on voted for a total of 3,665 million.
In 2024 to 2025 there will be 253 million of spending on statutory and 2,918 million on voted for a total of 3,171 million.
In 2025 to 2026 there will be 248 million of spending on statutory and 2,898 million on voted for a total of 3,146 million.
In 2026 to 2027 there will be 245 million of spending on statutory and 2,894 million on voted for a total of 3,139 million.

Estimates by vote

Information on CSC’s organizational appropriations is available in the 2024 to 2025 Main Estimates.

Future-oriented condensed statement of operations

The Consolidated Future‑Oriented Condensed Statement of Operations provides a general overview of the Correctional Service of Canada’s operations for 2023 to 2024 to 2024 to 2025.

The forecast and planned amounts in this statement of operations were prepared on an accrual basis. The forecast and planned spending amounts presented in other sections of the Departmental Plan are prepared on an expenditure basis. Amounts may therefore differ.

A more detailed Consolidated Future‑Oriented Statement of Operations and associated notes, including a reconciliation of the net cost of operations to the requested authorities, are available on the Correctional Service of Canada’s website.

Table 7: Consolidated Future Oriented Condensed Statement of Operations for the year ending
March 31, 2025 (dollars)

The following table provides a general overview of the Correctional Service of Canada’s operations for
2023 to 2024 to 2024 to 2025.

CSC’s 2024 to 2025 planned expenses are projected to be $3,274,949,116. These expenses include planned spending presented in this Departmental Plan and also include expenses such as amortization and services provided without charge. CSC’s planned revenues are projected to be $54,768,150 in 2024 to 2025 and are primarily generated by the CORCAN revolving fund.

Variances between the planned results for 2024 to 2025 and the 2023 to 2024 forecast results are largely attributable to the timing of key elements in the government expenditure cycle, as the planned results are based on the 2023 to 2024 Main Estimates, while the forecast results reflect spending of additional funding authorized through the supplementary estimates and other approved transfers of funding from the Treasury Board. The following major changes account for the largest differences between the forecast results and the planned results:

• $93.0 million related to the operating budget carry-forward in 2023 to 2024 that is not included in the 2024 to 2025 planned results;
• $44.6 million for newly signed collective agreements in 2023 to 2024 that is over the amount in the 2024 to 2025 planned results;
• $39.6 million decrease due to preliminary spending reductions as part of Refocusing Government Spending in 2024 to 2025 compared to 2023 to 2024; and
• $29.8 million decrease in Employee Benefit Plan (EBP) in 2024–25 compared to 2023–24 due to the decreased EBP rate provided by the Treasury Board Secretariat.

Human resources

Table 8: Actual human resources for core responsibilities and internal services

The following table shows a summary of human resources, in full-time equivalents (FTEs), for CSC’s core responsibilities and for its internal services for the previous three fiscal years. Human resources for the current fiscal year are forecasted based on year to date.

The increase in FTEs between the 2023 to 2024 forecast and the 2022 to 2023 actuals is due to an increase in FTEs in order to support correctional operations.

Table 9: Human resources planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services

The following table shows information on human resources, in full-time equivalents (FTEs), for each of CSC’s core responsibilities and for its internal services planned for 2024 to 2025 and future years.

The decrease in FTEs from 2024 to 2025 to 2025 to 2026 is mainly attributable to sunsetting funding for measures received to support correctional operations and Refocusing Government Spending.

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on CSC’s website:

• Details on transfer payment programs
• Gender-based analysis plus

Information on CSC’s departmental sustainable development strategy can be found on CSC’s website.

Federal tax expenditures

CSC’s Departmental Plan does not include information on tax expenditures.

Tax expenditures are the responsibility of the Minister of Finance. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for government wide tax expenditures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures.

This report provides detailed information on tax expenditures, including objectives, historical background and references to related federal spending programs, as well as evaluations, research papers and gender-based analysis plus.

Definitions

appropriation (crédit)
Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)
Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)
An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)
A document that sets out a department’s priorities, programs, expected results and associated resource requirements, covering a three‑year period beginning with the year indicated in the title of the report. Departmental Plans are tabled in Parliament each spring.

departmental result (résultat ministériel)
A change that a department seeks to influence. A departmental result is often outside departments’ immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.

departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)
A factor or variable that provides a valid and reliable means to measure or describe progress on a departmental result.

departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)
A framework that consists of the department’s core responsibilities, departmental results and departmental result indicators.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)
A report on a department’s actual performance in a fiscal year against its plans, priorities and expected results set out in its Departmental Plan for that year. Departmental Results Reports are usually tabled in Parliament each fall.

full‑time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)
A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person‑year charge against a departmental budget. Full‑time equivalents are calculated as a ratio of assigned hours of work to scheduled hours of work. Scheduled hours of work are set out in collective agreements.

gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS Plus])
An analytical tool used to support the development of responsive and inclusive policies, programs and other initiatives. GBA Plus is a process for understanding who is impacted by the issue or opportunity being addressed by the initiative; identifying how the initiative could be tailored to meet diverse needs of the people most impacted; and anticipating and mitigating any barriers to accessing or benefitting from the initiative. GBA Plus is an intersectional analysis that goes beyond biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences to consider other factors, such as age, disability, education, ethnicity, economic status, geography, language, race, religion, and sexual orientation.

government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)
For the purpose of the 2024–25 Departmental Plan, government-wide priorities are the high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the 2021 Speech from the Throne: building a healthier today and tomorrow; growing a more resilient economy; bolder climate action; fighter harder for safer communities; standing up for diversity and inclusion; moving faster on the path to reconciliation and fighting for a secure, just, and equitable world.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)
An initiative in which two or more federal organizations are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.

Indigenous business
As defined on the Indigenous Services Canada website in accordance with the Government of Canada’s commitment that a mandatory minimum target of 5% of the total value of contracts is awarded to Indigenous businesses annually.

non‑budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)
Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.

performance (rendement)
What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

plan (plan)
The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally, a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead up to the expected result.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)
For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in the Main Estimates.

A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.

program (programme)
Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within a department and that focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

program inventory (répertoire des programmes)
An inventory of a department’s programs that describes how resources are organized to carry out the department’s core responsibilities and achieve its planned results.

result (résultat)
An external consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, program or initiative; instead, they are within the area of the organization’s influence.

statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)
Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.

target (cible)
A measurable performance or success level that an organization, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.

voted expenditures (dépenses votées)
Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an Appropriation Act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.