Chapter 2

An Overview of Federal Correctional Facilities for Women

Correctional Service of Canada data as of July 27, 2003

As already discussed, correctional facilities for women have changed dramatically in the past eight years. Many of the horrors associated with the physical layout and age of the former Prison for Women in Kingston, Ontario, have been addressed by the construction of new facilities. The majority of women inmates are now housed in cottage-style buildings that foster community living, rather than in ranges of cells. Concerns remain, however, for the women who are still incarcerated in the predominantly male Regional Psychiatric Centre in Saskatchewan.

2.1. Five New Facilities

Between 1995 and 1997, the Correctional Service of Canada opened four regional facilities for women: Edmonton Institution for Women, Grand Valley Institution, Joliette Institution, Nova Institution. The Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge, a unique facility primarily for Aboriginal women, was also opened (see map).

With the exception of the Healing Lodge, the regional facilities provide detached houses in which 6 to 10 women with minimum- or medium-security classifications share a living space, a kitchen, a dining area, bathrooms and a utility/laundry room. The women in each house are responsible for their own cooking, cleaning and laundry. Each regional facility has a perimeter fence with a detection system, and the doors and windows of the houses have alarms.²⁵

Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge is located in the territory of the Nekaneet First Nation, in southern Saskatchewan.²⁶ It is a 30-bed facility containing both single and family residential units that can accommodate children.²⁷

The Healing Lodge was developed with and for the First Nations community. The majority of the staff, including the Kikawinaw (the director of the institution) are of Aboriginal descent.²⁸ The operational philosophy is based on Aboriginal teachings and traditions. The focal point is the Spiritual Lodge, where Elders are involved on a full-time basis in all aspects of the Healing Lodge’s holistic programs.²⁹ Women must apply to go to the Healing Lodge, which accepts offenders with minimum- and medium-security classifications. All applicants must demonstrate their commitment to Aboriginal philosophy. Non-Aboriginal women wishing to practise a traditional Aboriginal holistic way of life are also eligible for admission to the Healing Lodge.

2.2. Women Offenders in Collocated Units

After a series of incidents at Edmonton Institution for Women in 1996, a decision was made to remove all the women classified as maximum security and those with high mental health needs from the regional facilities.³⁰ These women were collocated in specially constructed women’s units in three men’s institutions. Some of the women were sent to the Regional Psychiatric Centre in Saskatoon.

These women have been or are in the process of being repatriated to the regional facilities to be incarcerated in recently constructed “secure units” or in special houses for women with mental health concerns (known as Structured Living Environments).

2.3. Regional Psychiatric Centre

Saskatoon’s Regional Psychiatric Centre is a forensic mental health hospital operating in a multi-level security setting. It began admitting male offenders in 1978 and female offenders in 1991. The overwhelming majority of inmates are male offenders.³¹ On July 27, 2003, there were seven federally sentenced women at the Regional Psychiatric Centre.

2.4. Intensive Intervention Strategy

In 1999 the Correctional Service of Canada announced an Intensive Intervention Strategy.³² It consists of two components: the Structured Living Environment and the Secure Environment. The former is a residential treatment program for women with significant cognitive limitations or mental health concerns that have been classified as minimum or medium security. The Secure Environment is the operational plan for managing maximum security women and involves increased static or physical security and increased dynamic security or staff-offender interaction.

2.4.1. Structured Living Environment

Structured Living Environment houses have been opened at Nova, Joliette, Grand Valley and Edmonton institutions. These buildings are residential duplexes that resemble the other living units and blend with the overall appearance of the facility.

2.4.2. Secure Environment

The existing enhanced units at Nova, Joliette, Grand Valley and Edmonton institutions have been or are being renovated to create secure units for women with maximum security classifications.³³ The secure units are divided into pods of four to six cells each. Each pod has a secure door, a common living/dining area, washer/dryer, a bathroom and a lunch counter. The cells can be locked, and each is equipped with its own toilet and sink. One cell on each pod is accessible for people with disabilities.

Inmates in the secure units are kept separate from the other inmates and from the rest of the institution. Inmates can move out of a unit only under staff supervision/escort. Women with a maximum security classification use the other areas of the institution at times when they are not being used by the main population. Each unit has two multi-purpose rooms for programming, spiritual activities, hobby crafts, exercise, etc. Areas such as the gymnasium, private family visiting rooms and facilities for visits and correspondence are used by both the general inmate population and the maximum-security inmates, but at different times.

Edmonton Institution has an additional Spiritual Room because it has a significant Aboriginal population and integrates Aboriginal spirituality in its programming, including an enhanced Elder role. The Spiritual Room is shared by all denominations for ceremonies, teachings and one-to-one work with the Elder/Chaplain. Correctional Service of Canada encourages the regional facilities to use one room as an interfaith spiritual space, but space constraints sometimes make this impossible.

Each secure unit also has a segregation unit to be used for inmates from both the main population and the secure unit.

2.5 Provincial Facilities (Exchange-of-service Agreements)

Federally sentenced women in British Columbia are incarcerated in the Provincial Correctional Centre for Women in Burnaby under an exchange-of-service agreement with the Province of British Columbia.³⁴ As of July 27, 2003, 37 federally sentenced women were incarcerated there. The Correctional Service of Canada is modifying its Fraser Valley Community Correctional Centre to accommodate all federal women offenders in the Pacific Region, including those currently in Burnaby. Fraser Valley will be a multi-level security facility.

As of July 27, 2003, there were also six federally sentenced women serving their sentences in other provincial institutions under exchange-of-service agreements.³⁵

2.6. Minimum Security Facilities

There is only one minimum security facility for federally sentenced women in Canada. Isabel McNeill House is located in Kingston, Ontario, and is a residential facility providing accommodation and services. It also provides women offenders with employment opportunities.³⁶ As of July 27, 2003, there were seven minimum security women at Isabel McNeill House.

2.7 Section 81 Option for Aboriginal Offenders

Section 81 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act³⁷ provides for the transfer of an offender to the care and custody of an Aboriginal community. If the offender is interested in this option, the first step is for the Aboriginal community to prepare a plan for the offender’s supervision and integration into the Aboriginal community. An agreement is signed between the Correctional Service of Canada and the Aboriginal community. The offender is then released to the community that has committed itself to providing long-term supervision. No section 81 agreements for Aboriginal women are currently in place.