Office of Correctional Investigator: A Critical Reflection

Annually, the Office of the Correctional Investigator (OCI) for Canada must submit a report to the Minister of Public Safety.  This report covers the activities performed by the office, specifically the investigations that were carried out based on complaints received by the office as well as areas requiring in-depth review based on judgement of the OCI.  For each area reviewed, there are specific recommendations to the CSC and what they should be doing going forward to enhance the services provided to the federal inmates.  Following the recommendation is a reply from the CSC on what actions they have taken or will take in response to the investigation into these areas.  The report highlights that there is much to do in regards to the provision of a safe environment for inmates that respects their basic human rights.  Mr. Zinger argues that the CSC can do infinitely more with the resources at hand and even has his annual reports as a guide on how to improve the lives of those they are meant to protect (Correctional Investigator Canada, 2019).

The Correctional Investigator, Ivan Zinger, has taken a “special interest in identifying conditions of confinement and treatment of prisoners that fail to meet the standards of human dignity, violate human rights or otherwise serve no lawful purpose” (Correctional Investigator Canada, 2019, p. 3).  It is in this regard that he outlines 3 interesting facts that I did not know prior to reading the report.  These are:

1. The staff to inmate ratio is 1:1 throughout the federal correctional service (Correctional Investigator Canada, 2019, p. 4).
2. Federal offenders are excluded from the Health Act (Correctional Investigator Canada, 2019, p. 7).
3. 23% of current employees are sexually assaulted by a coworker in one of the federal facilities (Correctional Investigator Canada, 2019, p. 34).

The report is filled with data – numbers, statistics, etc.  The most surprising number is that there is a 1:1 ratio of CSC staff to inmates.  When reading this in the first few pages of the report, I thought that it would mean that Canada would have one of the top penal systems in the world that is free of systemic abuse, treats prisoners with dignity and respect and continually improves year after year.  I was wrong.  Reading through the remaining 100+ pages of the report showed me that those numbers do not get the CSC even close to perfect.  Complaints are rising each and every year even though the population of inmates is not.  For those who are under community supervision (40% of all inmates in the federal system) only 6% of the budget is spent on them (Correctional Investigator Canada, 2019, p. 85.  I find this utterly confusing as the math just doesn’t add up.

Canada has a reputation around the world of providing free healthcare at a top quality to all citizens in the country.  The fine print should read “unless you are incarcerated in the federal prison system” as Mr. Zinger noted to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health that “federal offenders are excluded from the Canada Health Act” (Correctional Investigator Canada, 2019, p. 7).  I did not know that by committing a crime in Canada meant that you would give up your right to the same healthcare system that is promised to us upon birth in this country.  The provision of health services to inmates should be of utmost importance as they are under the care of the government. 

In reading the annual report, however, it seems that CSC thinks otherwise and this causes more issues for inmates both during their time in the system and once they are released back into the communities.  It was noted that many inmates are not able to (or have significant difficulty) in obtaining provincial health cards when on parole or fully released from the system (Correctional Investigator Canada, 2019, p. 89).  How is this even possible?  Is it an oversight?  Did they not know?  Upon further reading, I came to find out that the CSC was aware of the issue as Mr. ZInger reported on it in an earlier report and noted that one region had even hired an ID Coordinator to assist inmates in obtaining health cards and other forms of identification (Correctional Investigator Canada, 2019, p. 89).  It is troubling that a government institution can not expertly coordinate the provision of government identification to those under its care and supervision.

When I think of prisons, I assume that it would be a stressful place to work as it inherently dangerous. I was not ready for page 34 of Mr. ZInger’s report where 23% of employees at the Edmonton Institution “reported being sexually assaulted by a coworker” and that most respondents of the survey “said that fear did not come from interactions with inmates but rather co-workers” (Correctional Investigator Canada, 2019, p. 34).  How can inmates be rehabilitated or live in an environment that provides standards of human dignity when the staff treat each other with such disregard?  More troubling is that this behavior was known to the CSC and the OCI but was allowed to continue without serious reform or consequences.  Mr. Zinger goes on to provide statistics of other troubling natures such as inmate assaults, suicides, self-harm, use of force and homicides, all of which are increasing year over year even though the population of federal inmates is decreasing and the number of correctional staff is increasing (Correctional Investigator Canada, 2019).  The opposite should be seen and this is extremely perplexing.

I have two questions for Mr. Zinger:

First, what power does your office have in regards to making changes within the CSC and should the OCI be given more power to institute changes instead of mere recommendations to the Minister of Public Safety?  This question is asked because in many of the recommendations, Mr. Zinger noted that his opinion or recommendation had been provided previously and no action had been taken.  

Second, do you consult any former inmates within the OCI as they would provide valuable insight into the workings of the federal penal system?  I ask this question because Mr. Zinger is like most government auditors.  He is a man of intellect with postgraduate degrees and looking at the system from his viewpoint.  Most of these institutions espouse a sense of working for those without a voice but have they ever truly given those people a voice or a chance in life?  Has his office ever hired a former federal inmate?

References:

Correctional Investigator Canada.  (2019).  Office of the Correctional Investigator: 2018-2019 Annual Report.  https://oci-bec.gc.ca/cnt/rpt/annrpt/annrpt20182019-eng.aspx?texthighlight=2018-2019+annual+report