Correctional Service Canada Review Panel

April 20, 2007 – Canada's New Government made a commitment to protect Canadian families and communities. To further this commitment, the Hon. Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety, announced the appointment of an independent review panel to assess the operational priorities, strategies and business plans of Correctional Service Canada (CSC) with the ultimate goal of enhancing public safety. The panel's report is due October 31, 2007 and will be made public.

Terms of Reference

The panel will review CSC's 2007-2008 Report on Plans and Priorities and other relevant CSC documents; will visit CSC facilities; and will consult with stakeholders, justice experts, CSC staff and the general public. Based on this review, the panel will provide the Minister of Public Safety with an independent assessment of CSC's contributions to public safety, and advice on how they might be strengthened.

The panel will provide the Minister of Public Safety with advice on:

• The availability and effectiveness of rehabilitation programming and support mechanisms in institutions and in the community post release, including the impact on recidivism and any legal framework issues;
• The availability and effectiveness of programs and services for Aboriginal offenders;
• Review the recommendations made in the report Moving Forward with Women's Corrections;
• The availability and effectiveness of mental health programs and services in institutions and in communities;
• The availability and effectiveness of work programs, including impact on recidivism;
• The initial placement of offenders convicted of first- and second-degree murder;
• CSC's approach to the location of its Community Correctional Centres and Parole Offices in urban areas;
• CSC's ability to deal with parole violations, and with frivolous and vexatious grievances by offenders; and
• CSC's plans to enhance services for and support to victims.
• CSC's efficiency in delivering on its public safety mandate – identifying barriers and opportunities for savings including through physical plant re-alignment and infrastructure renewal;
• CSC's operational priorities, strategies and plans as defined in its business plan;
• Current challenges with respect to safety and security in institutions, including those related to reducing illicit drugs and combating violence, and requirements for the future;
• CSC's capacity to deliver, including its capacity to address infrastructure rust out, maintain basic safety and security in institutions and communities, meet its basic policy and legal obligations; and adapt to the changing offender profile;

The panel is not mandated to consider the introduction of privately run penitentiaries into the federal correctional system.

Budget

Budget 2007 dedicated $3.5 million to this review; however, actual expenditures are expected to be less than that. Panel members are all working professionals giving up time from their own careers to participate in the review on behalf of Ca nadians. They will be expected to dedicate about 50 days each to this project and will receive $1,000 per diem; the chair will receive $1,200 per diem; and panel expenses will be covered when attending meetings or touring facilities. A small and temporary Secretariat is being set up in temporary accommodation to support the panel. All expenditures will be available through the Public Accounts process. The outcome of the panel's work will be valuable to Ca nadian taxpayers in ensuring their correctional service is effective and is enhancing public safety.

Members of the CSC Review Panel

Mr. Robert Sampson, Chair
From June 1995 to October 2003, Mr. Sampson, as an elected member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and a member of the Government of Ontario Cabinet, held a variety of positions including Minister of Correctional Services from June 1999 to April 2002. As Minister, Mr. Sampson designed and supervised the implementation of the Ontario government's all-encompassing reform of the Ministry of Correctional Services focusing on a safe, secure, efficient, effective and accountable system of incarceration and correction in the Province of Ontario. In this capacity, he managed an annual operating budget of over $600 million and capital plan of over $500 million.

In 1996, as Parliamentary Assistant to the Ontario Minister of Finance, Mr. Sampson spearheaded the Ontario Government's review of legislation and regulations governing auto insurance coverage for over six million drivers in the Province of Ontario. This involved extensive public and stakeholder consultation and resulted in lower auto insurance rates across the province.

Mr. Sampson has an MBA from Queen's University and is currently President of White Label Mortgages Limited, specializing in building new-style, innovative and leading edge commercial mortgage brokerage services to Ca nadian corporations and groups. He is also Vice President, Corpfinance International Limited, providing debt and equity placements and financial advisory assignments for small and medium-sized corporations and all levels of government.

Mr. Serge Gascon
After a 30-year career with the Police Service of the City of Montreal, Mr. Gascon retired as the Associate Director Responsible for Investigative Services. While with the Police Service he held a variety of management positions directing policing activities in the community, the organized crime unit, research and planning and systems evaluation. He also served as a member of the Management Committee and Chair and/or member of a number of committees addressing operational and administrative issues.

During his career with the Police Service, he created and introduced a systems evaluation program, a career planning model for the Service, and managed major operational initiatives dealing with high-risk events in the city. He has been President of the Regional Committee of the Criminal Information Service of Quebec, and has served on a variety of committees contributing to criminal justice (police, correctional services, justice and parole). He has served on numerous municipal, provincial and national committees in the fight against drug addiction.

Mr. Gascon has a B.A. in Education from the University of Montreal. Since his retirement, he has been a senior consultant in providing coaching and leadership training to groups such as the Sûreté du Québec.

Mr. Ian Glen, Q.C.
From May 2001 to May 2006, Mr. Glen was the Chair of the National Parole Board of Canada. From 1975 to 2001 he held several senior positions in the federal government, including Chief, Communications Security Establishment; Deputy Minister, Environment Canada; Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet (Operations), Privy Council Office; Associate Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration; Associate Deputy Minister, Department of Public Security; and Associate Deputy Minister, Department of Employment and Immigration. Mr. Glen also held positions as General Counsel and Legal Advisor.

Mr. Glen has a B.A. from the University of Guelph and LL.B. from Queen's University.

Chief Clarence Louie-Oliver
Chief Louie – Oliver was elected Chief of the Osoyoos Indian band in 1985. He has consistently emphasized economic development as a means to improve the standard of living for his People. Under his direction, the Band has become a multi-faceted corporation that owns and manages eight successful businesses and provides employment for hundreds of citizens. His leadership has resulted in the financing and construction of a new pre-school, daycare and grade school as well as a new Health Centre and Social Services building for the Band.

Chief Louie- Oliver was appointed to the Board of Aboriginal Business Canada in 2001 and has received numerous awards including: the Aboriginal Business Leader Award from All Nations Trust and Development Corporation; the Native Economic Developer of the Year Award from the Advancement of Native Development Officers; the Inspirational Leadership Award from Aboriginal Tourism BC; and the National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Business and Community Development. In 2003, Chief Louie- Oliver was listed in Maclean's Magazine as one of the "Top 50 Ca nadians to Watch".

Ms Sharon Rosenfeldt
Ms. Rosenfeldt, of Aboriginal descent, began her career as an alcohol and drug abuse counselor at the Poundmaker's Lodge Treatment Centre in Edmonton, Alberta. In 1981, following the abduction and murder of her 16-year old son, Daryn, she helped co-found Victims of Violence, a national organization dedicated to improving the situation of crime victims in Canada. This led to the implementation in 1984 of the first courthouse victim/witness program in Canada in the Edmonton Provincial court House.

In her capacity as President of Victims of Violence for a number of years, Ms Rosenfeldt made numerous presentations to community groups, government departments and agencies, schools and universities and police services in North America. She has served as the Vice President of the Ca nadian Police Association's Resource Centre for Victims of Crime; Advisory Committee Member of Algonquin College's Correctional Worker Program and Durham College's design of a criminal justice curriculum; and a member of the Citizen's Advisory Committee, Ottawa Parole office, Correctional Services Canada.

Ms Rosenfeldt has been a Board member and Chair of the Province of Ontario's Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, and from 1998 to 2004 served as Chair of the Office for Victims of Crime, an agency of the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General.

In 2003, Ms Rosenfeldt was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (Civil) by the Governor General of Canada for her life-long effort in improving the situation of crime victims in Canada.