Correction Services Canada “Spirit Matters” Recommendations

1. CSC should create the position of Deputy Commissioner for Aboriginal Corrections to ensure that adequate co-ordination takes place between and among the various components of CSC, federal partners and Aboriginal communities.
2. CSC should develop a long-term strategy for additional Section 81 agreements and significantly increase the number of bed spaces in areas where the need exists. Funding for this renewed strategy should either be sought from Treasury Board or through internal reallocation of funds and amount to no less than the $11.6 million re-profiled in 2001 and adjusted for inflation.
3. CSC should re-affirm its commitment to Section 81 Healing Lodges by: (a) negotiating permanent and realistic funding levels for existing and future Section 81 Healing Lodges that take into account the need for adequate operating and infrastructure allocations and salary parity with CSC, and (b) continuing negotiations with communities hosting CSC-operated Healing Lodges with the view of transferring their operations to the Aboriginal community.
4. In all negotiations, CSC should enter into Memoranda of Understanding with the appropriate agency or First Nation leadership to ensure that the leadership and Elders are involved and considered equal partners in those negotiations.
5. CSC should re-examine the use of non-facility based Section 81 agreements as an alternative to Healing Lodges, particularly in those communities or regions where the number of Aboriginal offenders may not warrant a facility. The results of this examination would form part of CSC’s overall strategy for Section 81.
6. CSC should thoroughly review the process for Section 84 releases with the goal of significantly reducing red tape and accelerating the process.
7. CSC must expand its staff training curricula to include in-depth training about Aboriginal people, history, culture and spirituality for all staff, including training in the application of Gladue principles to correctional decision-making. This training should not just be “one-offs,” but rather ongoing training provided throughout an employee’s career.
8. CSC must resolve the issues faced by Elders in both institutions and Healing Lodges to ensure that their primary concern and responsibility is the healing of Aboriginal offenders. Further, CSC should set realistic standards of service, caseloads and payment for Elder services. CSC should be responsible for reporting on progress made in achieving those standards as part of its Management Accountability Framework.
9. CSC should partner with Aboriginal collectives, be they Tribal Council, Métis or Inuit organizations or urban associations, to develop protocols for Section 84 releases into their respective communities. These protocols, possibly based on the MLSN model, would define the relationship between CSC and Aboriginal communities and set in place a process for accepting and monitoring released offenders under Section 84.
10. CSC should work with Aboriginal Christian, Inuit and other identifiable communities to develop Section 81 agreements where warranted.

http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2013/bec-oci/PS104-6-2013-eng.pdf