Response to Young Adults Incarcerated Report

Ottawa, October 5, 2017 – Today, the Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, issued the following statement:

“The Government of Canada welcomes the Joint Report from the Correctional Investigator of Canada and Ontario Child Advocate’s entitled: Missed Opportunities: The Experience of Young Adults Incarcerated in Federal Penitentiaries. Addressing the challenges facing the federal correctional system remains a priority for our government.

The successful rehabilitation of young adult offenders in the correctional system helps put their lives back on course. Last month, my provincial and territorial colleagues and I, along with representatives from Indigenous organizations, reaffirmed our commitment to work together to make progress on crime prevention and the criminal justice system, including addressing the gaps in services and over-representations of vulnerable populations.

Last spring we introduced legislation to restrict the use of administrative segregation, including by establishing a presumptive time limit. Bill C-56 is an important step to ensure that the federal correctional system is conducive to rehabilitation, while providing a safe and secure environment for staff and inmates.

The report calls for greater access to correctional and educational programming for those serving short sentences. The government will continue to work to improve programming, pursuing evidence-based policies to support effective rehabilitation and reintegration. As part of that effort, we recently invested $65.2 million over five years and $10.9 million per year thereafter to help Indigenous offenders reintegrate into their communities, get stable employment, and reduce reoffending.

I will carefully consider the recommendations brought forward by the Correctional Investigator of Canada and will continue to work with the Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada, provinces and territories as well as other partners and stakeholders in order to ensure our correctional system is fair, humane and effective.”

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For more information, please visit the website www.publicsafety.gc.ca and the Office of the Correctional Investigator website.

Information:

Scott Bardsley
Office of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
613-998-5681

Media Relations
Public Safety Canada
(613) 991-0657