2025 Progress Report on the Federal Framework to Reduce Recidivism

Minister's Message

I am pleased to share the first report to Parliament on the effectiveness of the Federal Framework to Reduce Recidivism, the Government of Canada's first step in putting together a plan that identifies crucial factors that impact why people reoffend and how to support safe and successful reintegration in the community.

There is nothing more important to our Government than safe and secure communities. We know that without the proper support when individuals are released from a correctional institution, it increases the chances for recidivism, which perpetuates the cycle of victimization. Supporting community reintegration helps individuals contribute to their communities and become law-abiding citizens, which combats crime before it starts and benefits everyone in the community.

The Framework was launched as part of broader efforts to tackle crime and ensure safe communities by supporting rehabilitation, reducing reoffending, and addressing the systemic barriers that too often stand in the way of individuals trying to integrate back into communities after incarceration. These efforts are grounded in the Government of Canada's commitment to tackle the underlying causes of crime—not just the symptoms—and to support actions that deliver real results for individuals, families, and communities.

This first report provides a snapshot of early implementation and outcomes. It highlights the initiatives underway across the five priority areas of the Framework and emphasizes progress made in aligning federal efforts and fostering more coordinated, wraparound support for individuals exiting the federal correctional system. While much work remains, the foundation we are building is strong.

Since the launch of the Framework, we have made important progress in building partnerships, aligning services, and supporting reintegration efforts. The Framework's pillars continue to be the building blocks of successful reintegration, and they align closely with our government's broader investments in mental health care, affordable housing, skills training, and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.

Reducing recidivism is a shared responsibility—one that involves all levels of government, Indigenous partners, community organizations, people with lived experience, and Canadians from coast to coast to coast. The Framework continues to represent a collaborative, whole-of-society approach to improving outcomes for individuals leaving federal custody, and ultimately, enhancing community safety for everyone.

I want to thank all those who are contributing to this vital work. Together, we are creating the conditions for safer communities and better futures.

Executive Summary

The 2025 Progress Report on the Federal Framework to Reduce Recidivism (the Framework) outlines the advancement made by the Government of Canada in addressing recidivism and supporting the successful reintegration of individuals exiting the federal correctional system. This report is structured around five priority areas: housing, education, employment, health, and positive support networks, and highlights efforts that have been undertaken to address the overrepresentation of Indigenous Peoples and Black Canadians in the criminal justice system.

The Government of Canada has implemented various initiatives, including several pilot projects, to enhance housing stability, educational access, employment opportunities, health and mental health services, and positive support networks for individuals exiting correctional institutions. These efforts are helping to support safe and successful reintegration by reducing barriers for individuals transitioning back into the community.

The report highlights the importance of culturally responsive and community-based strategies to address the overrepresentation of Indigenous Peoples and Black Canadians in the criminal justice system. Key initiatives have focused on enhancing awareness and access to parole, funding Indigenous-specific reintegration projects, and developing strategies to support Black incarcerated individuals. These efforts have led to increased access to culturally appropriate services, helped improve reintegration outcomes, and supported a reduction in systemic barriers faced by these communities.

Despite progress, some notable challenges remain, including accurately measuring recidivism, inconsistent data quality, and resource constraints faced by community-based organizations. Enhanced collaboration with provincial and territorial governments is also necessary to create a cohesive approach to reducing recidivism given that many social services and supports are delivered at that level. The report recommends further reintegration supports that are culturally appropriate, improved measurement tools, better data collection, and analysis to ensure continued progress, and sustained financial supports.

The Federal Framework to Reduce Recidivism has laid a strong foundation for ongoing efforts to reduce crime by supporting safe and successful reintegration and reducing recidivism. Continued collaboration, innovation, and commitment are essential to address the complex factors contributing to increased risks of reoffending and to ensure public safety.

Introduction

One of the ways to combat crime, protect victims and to keep Canadians safe is to reduce reoffending. Bill C-228, An Act to Establish a Federal Framework to Reduce Recidivism, (which received Royal Assent in June 2021), recognized that individuals need support to reintegrate in the community successfully and that by supporting successful community reintegration, we are also creating safer communities. The Act required that the federal government develop the Federal Framework and report on the progress of implementation, including providing recommendations.

The Federal Framework to Reduce Recidivism was tabled in Parliament in June 2022. It was informed by consultations with partners in the criminal justice system and identified key elements to support reintegration, including housing, employment, education, health and positive support networks. The Framework highlighted how these elements need to be actively addressed to support the safe and successful reintegration of people who have experienced incarceration into the community. It also recognized the need to help address the overrepresentation of Indigenous Peoples, Black Canadians and other marginalized groups in our criminal justice system.

Following the tabling of the Framework, Public Safety Canada continued engaging with partners to help inform the development of an implementation plan to direct efforts and resources to address the unique circumstances of individuals exiting the correctional system and to reduce the barriers to community reintegration.

The actions under the implementation plan were focused on the themes of culturally relevant interventions to help address overrepresentation, communities, and digital transformation. Initial work under the implementation plan was focused this way since many of the actions cut across the foundational pillars of the Framework, which continue to endure as the critical elements that are required to ensure successful community reintegration.

The Framework builds on and reinforces the important work that was already underway across the country, demonstrating that the Government of Canada was already aligned with, and actively pursuing, the Framework's objectives prior to its formal adoption. This continuity has strengthened implementation by leveraging existing initiatives and partnerships.

Snapshot of Recidivism in Canada

Recidivism is a complex issue that lacks a uniform definition and methodology for measurement. In the context of the Framework, Public Safety Canada defines recidivism as any reconviction of a criminal offence. This definition may evolve over time as better methods for tracking reoffending are developed, and research continues on how to best measure recidivism. The recidivism statistic most commonly reported across jurisdictions worldwide is based on reconviction rates within one to five years of release. Currently, measuring recidivism in a consistent and comprehensive way is challenging as the various databases that contain information on arrests, new charges, convictions, or returns to correctional institutions are housed by all order of Government and not connected in any way.

The Government of Canada currently uses the Corrections and Conditional Release Statistical Overview (CCRSO) to identify trends and assess how well the federal community supervision system is helping people reintegrate into society. Individuals released on day parole—which allows people to participate in community-based activities during the day, but requires them to return nightly to an institution, half-way house, or other location deemed appropriate for managing their risk, are reoffending slightly less from 2018-19 to 2022-23, both for non-violent and violent offences. In 2022-23, fewer than 1% of people on day parole had their release revoked due to a non-violent or violent offence. Similarly, for those on full parole, where individuals serve the remainder of their sentence in the community under supervision, only 2.5% had their parole revoked due to reoffending in 2022-23, a slight drop from 2018-19 (2.9%).

Most federally sentenced individuals on full parole have successful outcomes (87.8% in 2022-23) meaning their supervision periods are completed without a breach of conditions or committing a new offence. Only 0.6% of previously incarcerated individuals on conditional release were returned to federal custody for a violent offence in 2022-23. Among previously incarcerated individuals whose full parole was revoked in 2022-23, about 85% are returned to custody because they breached a condition of their parole, for example, things such as abstaining from drugs/alcohol, having no contact with certain individuals, and staying within geographic boundaries, rather than because they committed a new criminal offence. This trend has been relatively stable over the last decade. The existing conditional release approach, which includes full parole, is built to best ensure community safety as it gives individuals a structured way to return to the community with guidance and oversight, with the aim of reducing the likelihood of reoffending.

While the rate of individuals returned to federal custody under conditional release has remained relatively stable, long-term reintegration supports continue to play a critical role and implementing them effectively remains challenging.

Reintegration remains a significant challenge for many individuals leaving correctional institutions as they often struggle to find stable housing, secure employment, and reconnect with their communities. For instance, approximately 30% of individuals released from federal and provincial correctional institutions experience homelessness within the first two years of their release. Without access to essential supports, the risk of reoffending increases, ultimately impacting community safety.

Reducing recidivism not only transforms the lives of individuals but it is an effective way to combat crime, prevent victimization, and strengthen communities, benefiting society as a whole. As a large proportion of crime is committed by a relatively small number of recidivists, prioritizing reintegration efforts which work to reduce recidivism is instrumental in increasing public safety. When fewer people reoffend, communities are safer, fewer individuals fall victim to crime, and the burden on the justice system is reduced. It also gives people who have been involved in the justice system a better chance at building stable and productive lives. As Canada continues to improve how recidivism is measured and understood, the focus remains on ensuring that the federal correctional system supports successful reintegration and reduces the likelihood of reoffending.

Federal Efforts in Reducing Recidivism in Canada

Over the past three years, the federal government has implemented a range of initiatives under the Federal Framework to Reduce Recidivism, which are helping to lay the groundwork for a more coordinated and collaborative approach to safer communities by supporting the successful reintegration of individuals who have been incarcerated. While the following paragraphs provide a brief overview of work that has been undertaken, Annex A provides a more detailed description of each of the initiatives.

Housing

The federal government has been working to enhance housing stability for individuals exiting correctional institutions, given the strong connections between homelessness and involvement in the criminal justice system.

Initiatives have focused on engaging multiple stakeholders to enhance reintegration efforts and community-based support networks to ensure smoother reintegration; developing and testing prototype models of evidence-informed housing supports and services for high-need individuals following incarceration that could be scalable at a national level, with findings that can influence broader national policies on criminal justice and reintegration; and addressing systemic barriers, such as lack of identification, in order to be better able to access housing, employment, and support services, thereby reducing risk factors to reoffending. These initiatives aim to disrupt the cycle of reoffending by addressing a critical post-release challenge—the lack of stable housing—and ultimately contributing to lower recidivism rates across Canada.

Education

Federal efforts to address the pillar of education have focused on transforming the delivery of education programs in the federal correctional system by providing incarcerated individuals access to course materials on a digital platform in the classroom. Through this initiative, incarcerated individuals gain foundational computer skills, upgrading their education and increasing their literacy. The digital learning management system also allows Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) teachers to customize content to be responsive to cultural needs, and cognitive and other learning challenges to make incarcerated individuals' learning more relevant, effective and engaging.

Employment

The Government of Canada has developed initiatives aimed at improving employment opportunities for Indigenous Peoples with a criminal record.

A pilot initiative has been put in place to provide First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples with a criminal record with a pathway to employment in the IT workforce. This program helps reduce recidivism by providing stable employment and professional development opportunities, thereby enhancing reintegration prospects and reducing stigma associated with having a criminal record or being formerly incarcerated. Additionally, efforts are underway to streamline the record suspension process, making it easier for individuals with a criminal record to access employment opportunities. These efforts collectively aim to support the reintegration of justice-involved individuals into the workforce.

Health

A number of federal strategies and supporting programs have been developed in the areas of health and mental health, touching on various aspects including substance use, harm reduction strategies, supports provided within correctional systems, and the strengthening of community-based supports.

With these strategies in place, it is hoped that a number of things will be achieved, including: helping to prevent justice involvement in the first place by providing low-barrier, community-based services; enhancing mental health and substance use services across the provinces and territories; strengthening access to services post-release; reducing stigma to create supportive environments for reintegration; addressing service gaps in health and mental services, both in correctional settings and in the community; the promotion of evidence-based practices and integrated service models to ensure that programs effectively address the needs of justice-involved individuals; and strengthening youth-focused early intervention initiatives that can prevent at-risk youth from entering or re-entering the criminal justice system.

Positive Social Networks

Positive social networks play a crucial role in reducing recidivism by providing emotional, social, and practical support that helps individuals reintegrate into society more successfully. As individuals often face stigma and isolation, having positive relationships with family, friends, community and mentors provides encouragement, reduces stress, and fosters a sense of belonging. These networks can offer guidance in making better life choices and helping individuals to avoid negative influences. They can also provide connections to job opportunities, vocational training, and educational programs, and help individuals navigate essential services, such as housing, health care, addiction treatment, and mental health counselling. Being a part of a supportive community reinforces a sense of purpose, self-worth, and hope for the future, and encourages individuals to adopt positive behaviours.

The Government of Canada has been contributing to these objectives through improved reintegration supports, including the establishment of a stakeholder registry to enhance coordination between correctional institutions and community organizations, to ensure that individuals have access to necessary resources before and after release. Measures have also been piloted to implement restorative justice principles that provide structured opportunities for individuals to take responsibility and engage in healing processes, complementing traditional correctional approaches. A social media campaign was undertaken to educate the public and key stakeholders on the barriers faced by individuals with criminal records in order to help address misconceptions and promote fairer access to housing, employment, and health care. Work has also been underway to enhance community supervision and crisis support through research into effective community supervision models that could inform best practices for probation and parole officers, and through a crisis support app that provides real-time connections to support services during moments of vulnerability. Finally, efforts have also been made to facilitate volunteer engagement and community involvement through more accessible security screening processes for volunteers in correctional facilities, which broadens the involvement of community members and reinforces prosocial support networks.

Addressing Overrepresentation

A key area of focus under the Framework's implementation plan is in addressing the overrepresentation of Indigenous Peoples and Black Canadians in the criminal justice system. Under the Framework, Canada has taken a comprehensive approach to addressing recidivism through culturally responsive and community-based strategies that foster reintegration, reduce systemic barriers, and promote alternatives to incarceration for Indigenous, Black, and other racialized individuals.

A key component of these initiatives for those individuals is enhancing awareness and access to parole, reintegration support, and community corrections strategies. Increased in-reach efforts, along with the use of Cultural Advisors and Elders, help incarcerated individuals better understand the parole process and prepare for release. Similarly, processes to streamline Indigenous release planning ensure that individuals returning to their communities have access to necessary supports. Additional projects further strengthen these efforts by improving access to the Secure Certificate of Indian Status, which facilitates access to healthcare benefits and community-based resources.

Indigenous-led and culturally specific initiatives can play a significant role in reducing recidivism by helping to understand and address the root causes of justice involvement. The funding of decolonizing and Indigenizing strategies for community corrections, Indigenous-specific reintegration projects, and the provision of non-traditional trauma supports and gang disaffiliation services highlight the importance of culturally appropriate interventions. Similarly, the expansion of Elder-led teachings, ceremonies, and culturally responsive parole hearings ensures that justice-involved individuals receive guidance from those who understand their lived experiences.

Recognizing the unique challenges faced by racialized groups, CSC and Public Safety Canada are also working to improve the accuracy of risk assessment tools for Indigenous individuals and to study the intersection of socioeconomic factors and recidivism, particularly among Black and Indigenous Canadians.

The development of a strategy to address the needs of Black incarcerated individuals, along with faith-based reintegration initiatives and ethnocultural advisory committees, seeks to provide targeted support that acknowledges the systemic barriers these communities face. Phase I of the strategy is focused on identifying and scaling up existing initiatives, such as the Black Social History, which is a set of historical and ongoing factors to consider in all decisions for individuals of African descent. It is meant to provide a more structured way to equip CSC employees to be responsive to the unique challenges faced by Black individuals, including the identification of community supports. This strategy supports CSC's response to Canada's Black Justice Strategy, the recommendations from the Auditor General and the Office of the Correctional Investigator.

Actions in Other Areas

There are a number of actions that do not directly fall under the Framework pillars but contribute to advancing the objectives of the Framework. They focus overall on gang disengagement, reintegration, crime prevention, record suspension, and countering radicalization and violent extremism.

CSC's Security Threat Group Strategy seeks to support individuals affiliated with Security Threat Groups, by providing tailored interventions that focus on safe management in an effort to facilitate disengagement and support reintegration.

A number of other national strategies are also prioritizing reintegration and supporting related initiatives. Public Safety Canada's National Crime Prevention Strategy included a priority area for funding to support people with repeat contacts with the criminal justice system as part of the most recent call for proposals. Public Safety's Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence leads the National Strategy on Countering Radicalization to Violence, under which it funds prevention and intervention programs, and rehabilitation and reintegration initiatives linked to violent extremism and radicalization.

Public Safety Canada is continuing to consider ways to remove barriers to successful reintegration linked to criminal records. One way to do that is through exploring the possibility of automatic record sequestration for some less serious offences, which would help individuals reintegrate into society by improving access to employment, housing, and other opportunities.

Public Safety Canada is dedicated to promoting evidence-based practices to reduce recidivism, which includes currently undertaking a large-scale international review of systematic reviews to assess the overall effectiveness of various correctional intervention types. Further, in collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics at Statistics Canada, Public Safety Canada has contributed to the ongoing development process of a national database that provides statistics on repeated contact with the criminal justice system. This aims to help advance the effective measurement of recidivism to support the development and evaluation of targeted criminal justice policies and interventions.

Observations

The Federal Framework to Reduce Recidivism sets out to identify crucial factors that impact why people reoffend and how to support safe and successful reintegration into the community. Its core components, the pillars that make up the Framework, if properly addressed, aim to break the cycle of reoffending and contribute to the creation of safer communities. While the Framework calls for a comprehensive, multi-sectoral approach, its effectiveness remains contingent on consistent implementation, sustained funding, and coordination across different levels of government and with community organizations.

One of the most notable benefits of the Framework is its ability to bring stakeholders together to advance shared objectives, serving as a tool for helping government departments and agencies align their activities with its objectives to ensure key themes remain on the agenda, even in the face of competing demands or shifting political climates. Through coordinated initiatives and regular reporting requirements, the Framework highlights the importance of cross-departmental collaboration. Despite the absence of dedicated funding, the Framework has helped to embed principles related to reducing recidivism into government thinking, to help influence the design and delivery of initiatives across diverse areas. Departments and agencies have been urged to consider how their work aligns with and supports the Framework's goals, helping to drive innovation and accountability. It allows the federal government to take stock of the work being done across departments, identifying synergies and opportunities for collaboration, reinforcing the notion that the challenges addressed by the Framework require collective, rather than isolated, efforts. However, the Framework faces noteworthy challenges that limit its overall effectiveness. Access to services remains inconsistent across Canada, particularly in rural and northern regions where reintegration programs are scarce. While community organizations are essential to community reintegration, funding for many of these groups is insufficient and short-term, creating instability in service delivery.

Another major challenge is the lack of comprehensive data collection on recidivism rates and program effectiveness, making it difficult to assess impact and refine strategies accordingly. Accurate nationwide measurement of recidivism is currently not possible although it is essential for developing and evaluating criminal justice policies and interventions, as well as for the effective allocation of resources within and beyond the criminal justice system. While the Framework has guided many initiatives over the past three years, attributing specific outcomes directly to the Framework's efforts remains complex. Addressing the gaps in measurement, data quality, and support for community-based organizations is crucial for continued progress in reducing recidivism and ensuring public safety.

Recommendations

To strengthen the Framework and enhance efforts to combat crime and reduce reoffending, the following is recommended, recognizing that further work will be required to operationalize these recommendations and support their effective implementation.

• Increase Investment in Community-Based Supports and Secure Long-Term Funding for Reintegration Programs
  • Sustainable, long-term funding from all orders of government is needed for organizations delivering reintegration programs and services to ensure their stability and effectiveness.
• Expand/Strengthen Data Collection, Transparency and Accountability
  • Standardize reporting across provinces to ensure consistent evaluation and a common understanding of the issues and progress.
  • Establish a standardized data collection system to allow for more accurate tracking of recidivism trends and program outcomes, which will provide valuable insights for evidence-based policy decisions.
  • Continue efforts to integrate criminal justice data - spanning police, court, and corrections) - across all jurisdictions in Canada to enable more accurate and consistent measurement of recidivism.
• Improve Coordination Across all Orders of Government
  • Strengthen federal-provincial agreements to ensure continuity of care.
  • Encourage municipal programs that connect reintegrating individuals with local services.
• Address Legislative Barriers to Reintegration
  • Continue efforts to reform the record suspension (pardons) system to make it more accessible for low-risk individuals, reducing barriers to seeking employment, housing and other areas that affect individuals' ability to reintegrate.
• Develop More Targeted Supports for At-Risk Populations
  • Expand trauma-informed programs for individuals with histories of abuse or addiction.
  • Continue to deliver, expand and scale up culturally appropriate programs and services.
  • Ensure continuity of care for mental health supports so that individuals leaving institutions have timely access to services.

Next Steps

Moving forward, the Government of Canada remains committed to advancing the goals of the Framework. Building on progress to date, the federal government will continue to work with partners across jurisdictions, communities and sectors to implement the recommendations in this report.

This includes taking concrete steps to strengthen reintegration supports, address systemic barriers, and improve coordination and accountability. These efforts will ensure a more effective and responsive approach to reducing recidivism and supporting safe and successful reintegration across the country, leading to less crime, fewer victims and safer communities across Canada.

Annex A – Description of Federal Actions

Please note, these initiatives apply to individuals leaving federal institutions unless otherwise specified.

Housing

Testing Out Prototype Models of Evidence-Informed Housing Services

Housing, and Infrastructure Canada is supporting community-based organizations to explore the linkages between corrections and homelessness and to test interventions to better support people leaving provincial correctional institutions with the expectation that the results could also apply to people leaving federal correctional institutions.

• The John Howard Society of Ontario and the Solicitor General – Ontario are developing and testing prototype models of evidence-informed housing supports and services for high-need individuals following incarceration. These will be offered through three of Ontario's Community Reintegration Planning Tables, which bring together service providers to support individual-level planning prior to release from correctional facilities. The innovation is about testing immediate interventions that are determined by the Tables prior to an individual's release. Prototypes are expected to reduce recidivism and decrease homelessness for those exiting the justice system, with findings intended to inform broader adoption across Canada.
• In New Brunswick, the Saint John Human Development Council and the Turning Leaf Foundation are investigating alignment between the homeless and corrections systems to prevent discharges into homelessness. The project is aiming to improve case management practices for people in corrections, putting more resources towards Indigenous programing, piloting a systems navigator role to better support clients, and testing early intervention approaches for people at risk of homelessness.
• In Manitoba, the Brandon Neighborhood Renewal Corporation is investigating pathways into homelessness from rural, remote and Indigenous communities. This involves developing a series of Indigenous-led services and tools based on local stories and experiences of homelessness to allow individuals to acquire stable and safe living in Brandon. In relation to individuals exiting correctional facilities, research uncovered gaps in existing approaches to discharge and how these gaps contribute to people, especially Indigenous individuals, becoming homeless. This informed the development of recommendations for institutions to better support those released from corrections (e.g. designated case managers, immediate release planning).

Education

Digital Education Pilot Project

In 2020, CSC successfully launched the Digital Education Project (DEP) pilot, in the Ontario region, which allowed incarcerated individuals to gain foundational computer skills while upgrading their education and increasing their literacy. In February 2025, CSC moved to the National Offender Digital Education (ODE) initiative, which builds on the successes, best practices and lessons learned from the DEP Pilot.

Through this national initiative, incarcerated individuals have access to education courses on a digital Learning Management System that uses secure and restricted Internet access. The ODE uses a blended classroom environment, linking the traditional classroom approach with modern technology and independent learning. Incarcerated individuals complete courses towards their high school diploma. There are courses that focus on Indigenous languages and culture, as well as courses that contribute to obtaining workplace certifications and post-secondary credentials. The digital learning management system also allows CSC teachers to customize content to address cultural needs, cognitive, and other learning challenges to make incarcerated individuals' learning more relevant, effective and engaging.

Expanded access to education and learning credentials for incarcerated individuals is a significant achievement for CSC and will contribute to the successful reintegration of the incarcerated individuals who participate. The ODE is currently available in at least one institution in each region and will become available at every institution through a phased-in approach. CSC will continue to onboard institutions throughout this fiscal year.

Employment

The Government of Canada's IT Apprenticeship Program for Indigenous Peoples

The IT Apprenticeship Program for Indigenous Peoples, led by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), is a Government of Canada initiative specifically for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. It is a pathway to employment in the federal public service Information Technology (IT) workforce for Indigenous Peoples. Apprentices are hired at the entry level of the IT group (IT-01 or equivalent) for a 24-month term in a federal organization. Over the course of the 24 months, apprentices gain marketable and in-demand IT skills that are necessary to participate in Canada's digital workforce, both within and outside the federal public service. The two-year structured program combines on-the-job work experience (80%), and online training/professional development (20%). After successfully completing the two-year apprenticeship, graduates are issued a digital certificate and a portable verifiable credential. This credential is endorsed by the Chief Information Officer of Canada and formally recognized as meeting the Government of Canada (GC) Qualification Standard alternative for the IT Occupational Group.

Leveraging the success and transformative impact of the IT Apprenticeship Program for Indigenous Peoples, in 2023 ESDC, with support from CORCAN and CSC, launched a pilot project to provide a small group of Indigenous women and gender-diverse people (less than 10, number suppressed to protect privacy) with employment and training opportunities in the federal public service's IT sector. This demographic group was intentionally selected for the initial pilot as Indigenous women make up close to 50% of all federally incarcerated women.

The pilot provides apprentices with an opportunity to develop in-demand skills to participate in Canada's digital workforce, while supporting public servants in delivering services to Canadians. One year into the pilot project, it maintains a 100% retention rate, with apprentices acquiring both IT training and on-the-job experience. This pilot, a first of its kind to intentionally hire individuals who were formally incarcerated, has served as a model for other federal organizations to undertake fair chance hiring practices.

Record Suspension Application Portal

The Parole Board of Canada is developing an online application portal to support individuals applying for a record suspension (formerly known as a pardon). The goal of this initiative is to make the application process simpler and quicker, as well as to modernize the Parole Board of Canada's internal case management system. A number of community-based organizations have been provided funding through Public Safety Canada's Grants and Contributions Program to National Voluntary Organizations and are now working to help individuals complete an application for a record suspension. This portal will help ensure individuals have access to the right information about the record suspension process and reduce reliance on third party, for-profit companies that can provide misleading information and charge high fees for their services.

Health

Action Plan on Mental Health and Criminal Justice

The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) is leading the development of a national action plan to support the mental health of individuals who interact with the criminal justice system in Canada, including justice-involved individuals and those who work within the system. This multi-year initiative began in 2021, and the MHCC is now reviewing evidence, key themes, issues, and proposed solutions gathered from various research and engagement activities to finalize an action plan, which is expected to be released in early 2026. This initiative aims to provide actionable recommendations to divert people living with mental illness from the criminal justice system, ensure access to mental health services and supports throughout the criminal justice system, and provide continuity of care and support post-release to ensure a successful transition back into the community. Through this initiative, the MHCC also seeks to reduce stigma related to criminal justice involvement through an anti-stigma campaign and awareness building.

National Drugs and Substances Strategy

Through consultation and engagement sessions, CSC is developing a National Drugs and Substances Strategy to support a comprehensive, compassionate, and collaborative approach centered on promoting both public health and public safety and to bring together prevention and education, substance use services and supports, evidence and substance controls. The Strategy is centered on four integrated foundational elements including: prevention and education; substance use services and supports; evidence; and substance controls. CSC is reviewing and updating the National Drug Strategy policy framework to ensure alignment with the renewed Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy.

Youth Mental Health Fund

Federal Budget 2024 announced $500 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, for a new Youth Mental Health Fund (YMHF). The Fund aims to improve access to mental health care for young Canadians (primarily aged 12-25), including, but not limited to, youth at risk of offending. The Fund is designed to support community health organizations in expanding youth mental health care services and strengthening their ability to connect youth with a wide range of social supports through coordinated networks and partnerships.

The Fund aims to ensure youth in need of mental health care receive relevant, needs-based mental health support, with a particular focus on equity-deserving and Indigenous youth. YMHF supports the expansion of Integrated Youth Services (IYS) across Canada, which brings together mental health and substance use prevention and early intervention care with other social, educational, employment, and primary health services in co-located hubs. The low barrier, integrated and youth-friendly nature of IYS can promote access for youth who are typically difficult to reach, including youth at risk of offending. IYS models also include formal linkages to justice services.

Further, the Fund's open call for proposals, which closed on January 22, 2025, generated significant interest from community organizations across the country. To date, investments have targeted strengthening access to youth mental health services through the expansion of Integrated Youth Services networks and hubs, and the development of culturally appropriate and responsive mental health services and supports for equity-deserving youth.

Increasing Access to Mental Health and Substance Use Services

The federal government is providing $25B over ten years to provinces and territories through tailored bilateral agreements to improve health care, including mental health and substance use services and supports. This will increase access to mental health and substance use services, while meeting the unique needs and context of individual jurisdictions and communities. The complex and often overlapping mental health needs of individuals who are at risk of offending have been taken into account by jurisdictions. For example, Alberta is using funds to enhance and expand services for complex and high-risk emerging adults and youth transitioning out of government care and corrections. Within correctional facilities, they are expanding therapeutic living units and transitional support. The province is also enhancing their capacity to monitor addiction and mental health outcomes across health, justice, and social systems to ensure evidence-based decision making.

In 2023-24, the Government of Canada signed three-year bilateral agreements (expiring March 31, 2026) with all provinces and territories. Through these agreements, provinces and territories will receive $3.1 billion annually, which comprises $2.5 billion per year in new federal funding to advance four shared health priorities (family health services; health workforce; mental health and substance use; and a modernized health system); and $600 million per year from 2017-27, specific to mental health and substance use. Under the bilateral agreements, provinces and territories provided action plans that set out how they will allocate the funds over the next three years, including how they will measure the results of the investments. This historic $25B/10-year investment by the federal government complements commitments that provinces and territories are making in their own health systems, including for mental health and substance use services and supports.

Positive Support Networks

Virtual Restorative Justice Pilot Project to Hold Accountable Individuals that have Committed a Sexual Offence

Public Safety Canada is funding a pilot project for the Circles of Support and Accountability to develop, a virtual approach to Restorative Justice that will support and hold individuals that have committed a sexual offence, and are leaving either a provincial or federal institution, accountable. Each released individual is encircled by staff and volunteers, who meet regularly to support the goal of living a crime-free life. These circles promote positive and constructive decision making, assist in reducing social isolation, and challenge behaviors and attitudes that might prevent reintegration into society. Progress is tracked and assessed by key indicators such as progress at work, social interactions, community involvement, and personal relationships. Virtual circles were implemented in Alberta and in Ontario. The full training was delivered, as well as partial training for experienced volunteers. Virtual circles were advertised to Canadian Forensic Psychologists. There was also collaboration with the Canadian Mental Health Association, as clients and support resources are shared. This initiative is responding to institutional chaplains, social workers, lawyers and parole officers, who had expressed an interest in the Virtual circles. By sharing best practices across virtual circles and developing a comprehensive volunteer training strategy, the project aims to increase the number of virtual circles and services available to released individuals and is designed to reduce recidivism among those convicted of sexual offences.

Registry to Help Streamline Stakeholder Information

CSC launched a stakeholder registry that is accessible at the local, regional and national levels within CSC and includes community partners who provide rehabilitation and reintegration supports and services to incarcerated individuals. The Registry provides staff with valuable information in order to identify potential new or existing community stakeholders that they can be working with at the institution or parole office. Content includes contact information, location and language of work, specialization, target populations, known conflict of interest considerations and locations in which some stakeholders may be working. CSC will continue to improve the Registry across the country and pursue technology that can offer a more optimal bilingual user interface.

Social Media Campaign to Help Reduce Stigma

Public Safety Canada launched a social media campaign to raise awareness and educate the public on the benefits of reintegration for community safety and well-being. The objective of the campaign was to reduce the stigma against incarceration and having a criminal record, which has been identified as a barrier to successful reintegration. This campaign aimed to raise awareness around barriers that justice-involved people face when applying for affordable housing, including the fear of disclosing one's criminal history in an application process due to potential stigma by landlords to renting to an individual with a criminal record and the perceived risk by the public, to living beside someone with a criminal record. It also aimed to raise awareness, with employers, of the perceived risks of hiring someone with a criminal record and the benefits to the employer to do so and also aimed to educate the public on how the language we use can stigmatize people rather than support them in reintegrating productively in the community.

Effective Community Supervision Practices

Public Safety Canada has also undertaken empirical studies, including an evaluation of strategic training for parole/probation officers in community supervision aimed at reducing recidivism among clients under community supervision in BC Corrections. Furthermore, Public Safety Canada has provided empirical evidence of different community supervision models that effectively reduce recidivism.

Crisis Support App Pilot Project

Public Safety Canada is funding the John Howard Society of Canada to develop an app that will link a conditionally released individual experiencing a crisis with a community partner to provide immediate reintegration support. This work is guided by the App Development Advisory Committee, chaired by a leading criminology professor from Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Surrey, BC. The Committee includes participants with lived experience, current parolees, academics, and professionals. The App's first iteration has been developed and published and there is an ongoing program of advertising/promotion occurring in the pilot project region. Advertising materials have been distributed to all parole offices in the pilot region, and there has been a release campaign launched on the John Howard Society of Canada's website and YouTube channel. The app's foremost focus is to establish and enhance positive social networks and logic-based support in crisis. Its second strength will be as a gathering place for education (both written and video) on the subject matter of reintegration. Version two of the app is currently underway based on user feedback to improve its user interface and user experience.

Site Access Security Status

Since 2021, a CSC policy was amended to facilitate a new, lower level of security screening than reliability status: site access status. It was deemed a less intrusive security screening process that was made available for certain CSC volunteers entering CSC facilities to allow them to carry out activities that do not require access to sensitive information and/or assets. This policy can help to increase access to institutions for the delivery of services. Correctional Service Canada's External CSC page about volunteer security screening includes information for prospective volunteers and visitors on types of security screening and their requirements.

Case Management and Community Support Circles Pilot Project for Senior Incarcerated Individuals

Through Public Safety Canada funding, The Salvation Army is providing individualized case management and community support circles to assist senior incarcerated individuals, an underserved group, prior to and through release from custody. A case manager started on November 1, 2024 and is doing in-reach at federal prisons. The case manager has connected with community organizations to identify potential clients for this pilot project, made presentations to institutions and in symposiums, and has connected with the local Indigenous Liaison Officer to assist a client. The case manager has a regular seat on the Health and Justice Services Coordinating Committee where they consult with community health, housing, and police agencies. The pool of volunteers is currently being developed and connections with individuals being released are being established. Referral sources are being explored and developed as the pilot is being implemented. Interest is building up for this project as institutions are starting to reach out proactively to understand more.

Addressing Overrepresentation

Raising Awareness of Parole with Incarcerated Individuals

As part of their outreach program, the Parole Board of Canada conducts in-reach with incarcerated individuals across Canada to explain its mandate, raise awareness of parole and prepare incarcerated individuals for upcoming reviews. Targeted in-reach includes equity-deserving populations, such as Indigenous Peoples, women, and racialized individuals. The number of in-reach sessions rose by 262% since 2021 from 45 in 2021-22 to 118 in 2023-24. In April 2023, the Parole Board of Canada began formally compiling feedback from its in-reach sessions with incarcerated individuals to improve its in-reach strategy and inform policy development. Feedback received from in-reach participants in 2023-24 noted that sessions were well received and met intended goals for increasing knowledge and awareness of the conditional release process. The presence of a Cultural Advisor/Elder during in-reach sessions allowed participants to feel heard by people who understand their lived experiences.

Pilot Project on Decolonizing and Indigenizing Community Corrections Strategies

Public Safety Canada funded a pilot project that explored how St. Leonard's Society of Canada and its affiliates can better apply decolonizing and Indigenizing strategies to contribute to advancing the Truth & Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action. St. Leonard's Society developed decolonizing and Indigenizing strategies that they and their affiliates can use. Through this project, an Indigenous Consultant and Project Lead organized virtual and in-person workshops to discuss key themes to advance their understanding of the issues. The Indigenous Consultant also conducted supplemental interviews/surveys with key stakeholders. An in-depth literature review supported this work. A resource page is being developed on St. Leonard's Society's website for Indigenous-specific resources.

Pilot Project on Collaborating on the Reintegration of Indigenous Women and Gender-Diverse People

Public Safety Canada funded a pilot project for the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies to bring together justice workers from various sectors in the North to meet and share knowledge, as they collaborate on community corrections to better understand and support reintegration of Indigenous women and gender-diverse people returning to northern communities. In February 2024, First Nation governments, non-profit and Indigenous organizations, territorial justice workers, activists, and people with lived experience of incarceration met in Whitehorse. During that time, many objectives were reached including increased community capacity and capacity of First Nation justice departments to support individuals returning to community post-incarceration and an opportunity for justice workers to connect and build relationships and share knowledge on specific justice programming available to people returning to their home communities post-incarceration. This meeting also helped to streamline cross-sectoral supportive services for Indigenous women and gender-diverse people returning to their home communities in the Yukon post-incarceration to reduce recidivism in the territory. Relationships were built with stakeholders interested in advancing alternatives to incarceration.

Disaggregating Indigenous Data

CSC is updating their Offender Management System to provide more detailed cultural background information. This will assist in ensuring access to support services in the community upon release. CSC is also continuing to work with Indigenous Services Canada in the processing of applications for Secure Certificate of Indian Status. This data should allow CSC to proceed with distinctions-based approaches, where possible, as this is not currently possible due to the lack of reliable data. The changes to the Offender Management System will assist CSC in identifying partnerships and services to support the distinct needs of the federally sentenced Indigenous population and to advance government-wide initiatives.

Non-traditional Trauma Supports and Cultural Services for Gang Disaffiliation

CSC entered into agreements with two organizations to provide non-traditional trauma supports and cultural services for gang disaffiliation and the reintegration of Indigenous incarcerated individuals. These agreements include specialized gang prevention strategies, culturally responsive interventions, and rehabilitation and reintegration support. They help individuals navigate the administrative and real-world factors of exiting gang life while addressing intergenerational trauma and colonial impacts and ultimately reintegrate back into society and communities.

Optimizing Release Planning for Indigenous Individuals through the Enhancing Community Success Project

CSC and Indigenous Services Canada are continuing to increase their collaboration through the Enhancing Community Success Project. This initiative aims to optimize release planning as Indigenous incarcerated individuals return to their communities. Through this project, they are facilitating Indigenous individuals access to the Secure Certificate of Indian Status. The Enhancing Community Success Project is currently operating in some CSC regions and refers Indigenous incarcerated individuals, who are being released, to a Resource Coordinator who will assist in linking services and/or other opportunities. To date the CSC/Indigenous Services Canada partnership has resulted in over 1,000 eligible Status First Nations' incarcerated individuals in receiving their Secure Certificates of Indian Status, which provides access to limited Non-Insured Health Benefits such as prescription coverage and dental benefits.

Elders Teachings and Ceremonies

Elders are an integral part of an individual's reintegration journey. CSC strives to ensure Elders from all Indigenous backgrounds provide teachings and ceremonies that are specific to the diverse backgrounds of Indigenous peoples. As of July 2024, 192 Elders provide services to CSC either part time or full time. For example, Elders guide Indigenous offenders in traditional Indigenous ways of life by providing teachings, counselling, traditional ceremonies and practices. Elders also provide advice to CSC through their participation in National and Regional Advisory Groups.

Indigenous Peoples' Release as per Section 84 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act

CSC is streamlining the Section 84 process, which involves updating the Section 84 Guidelines, with an aim to increase the number of Section 84 releases. CSC has leveraged funds to engage Indigenous individuals and groups in remote and northern areas of the country that currently may be under-serviced by Indigenous Community Development Officers in the Section 84 release planning process. Reintegration support services funding is being considered for specific Indigenous communities/organizations.

Reintegration and Alternatives to Incarceration of Justice-Involved Indigenous Peoples through the Indigenous Community Corrections Initiative

Funding provided under Public Safety Canada's Indigenous Community Corrections Initiative (ICCI) supports community-based corrections projects that are working to reintegrate Indigenous incarcerated individuals and/or offer alternative measures to incarceration through project development and implementation, training and capacity building, knowledge building, and knowledge sharing. Funded projects offer a range of services that could include healing and reintegration ceremonies, traditional and Western counseling, traditional knowledge acquisition, and programs that offer wrap-around services. The ICCI has been renewed and expanded to broaden the reach and scope of the program to create more tailored opportunities for 2SLGBTQQIA+ people and women. Between March 21 and June 12, 2023, ICCI launched a national Call for Applications. Applicants were notified of their assessment results and eligibility for project development in October 2024. Project development with successful applicants is currently ongoing, with implementation of ICCI-funded projects anticipated to begin in 2025-26. To date, one contribution agreement has been signed for a capacity building project, starting in April 2025 and ending in March 2027.

Validation of Risk Assessment Tools for Indigenous Individuals

Public Safety Canada has evaluated the predictive validity of risk assessment tools for Indigenous individuals with a history of sexual offences through the Evaluation of Risk Assessment Tools for Indigenous Individuals with a History of Sexual Crimes: A Response to Ewert case (2018). The study revealed that while the risk assessment tool demonstrated proper predictive validity for both Indigenous and White individuals, the predictive accuracy was generally lower for Indigenous individuals compared to their White counterparts. Further efforts will focus on improving predictive accuracy for Indigenous individuals by identifying cultural-specific risk and protective factors associated with their recidivism risk.

Socioeconomic Factors Associated with Recidivism among Indigenous and Black Canadians

Public Safety Canada is leading a study to explore the intersection between socioeconomic status and justice involvement among different racialized/ethnic groups. This study seeks to understand how socioeconomic factors influence recidivism among Indigenous and Black Canadians compared to White, non-Indigenous, or other racialized/ethnic groups. These findings are expected to inform the development of more culturally informed programming and policy refinement. Understanding how socioeconomic factors influence recidivism among Indigenous and Black Canadians will help create more effective interventions to reduce their recidivism risk.

Black Incarcerated Individual Strategy

CSC has developed a strategy to identify new opportunities to address the unique lived experiences and barriers faced by federally sentenced Black individuals. The objective of this strategy is to respond to the needs of Black incarcerated individuals and assist CSC in responding to the Office of the Correctional Investigator's Annual Report (2021-22) and the Office of the Auditor General's Report on Systemic Barriers (2022).

The Black Incarcerated Individual Strategy has been designed in two phases. Phase 1 includes many no- or low-cost items that are already underway, including pilots initiated at the local and regional level that will be scaled up across the country. For example, one of the main initiatives of the Strategy is scaling up the Black Social History (BSH) pilot project, which originated in its Central Ontario District in 2016. The BSH is a set of historical and ongoing factors to consider in all decisions for individuals of African descent. It is meant to provide a more structured way to equip CSC employees to be responsive to the unique challenges faced by Black individuals, including the identification of community supports. In 2023-24, a questionnaire was developed by CSC's Research Branch and sent out to staff and incarcerated individuals about their experience with the BSH. It is expected that this report will help point to gaps and successes and will assist with the implementation of the BSH in other regions.

Another promising practice being monitored for its potential scalability is the African Canadian Reintegration Officer, a position that has been piloted in the Atlantic Region since 2021-22. The intention of this position is to enhance reintegration efforts with respect to the Black incarcerated population both while incarcerated and on conditional release. The position is now being piloted in other parts of the country with similar roles and responsibilities. Since 2022-23, the Ontario Region has piloted the Ethnocultural Reintegration Officer, and the Prairie Region has piloted the Black Offender Liaison Officer since 2023-24. These pilots are considered to be best practices, and CSC is seeking ongoing funding for implementing them.

Phase 2 of CSC's Black Incarcerated Individual Strategy outlines new initiatives that CSC would like to undertake. Many of these initiatives align directly with the recommendations of the external Steering Group for Canada's Black Justice Strategy and those of the Correctional Investigator, such as dedicated programming for Black individuals and a dedicated liaison officer position for Black incarcerated individuals in institutions and in the community.

As a part of the 2024 Fall Economic Statement, the federal government proposed to provide $77.9 million over two years, starting in 2025-26, to launch Canada's Black Justice Strategy, of which $7.9 million over two years was allocated to Correctional Service Canada's Black Incarcerated Individual Strategy, to provide culturally sensitive rehabilitation during incarceration.

Expression of Interest for the Safe and Successful Reintegration of Federal Incarcerated Individuals from Black, Ethnocultural and Racialized Community Groups

CSC received approximately 40 applications to their expression of interest from experts, groups or organizations across the country who could work with CSC to meet the specific needs of Black incarcerated individuals. When applicable, this information was shared with CSC employees across the country. The Expression of Interest demonstrated that having diverse representation amongst community stakeholders is important for supporting Black and other racialized incarcerated individuals. The webpage for public interest remains open at all times Ethnocultural and racialized community groups and experts.

CSC continues to share the information, engage with, and explore the services of select community supports identified in the Expression of Interest. CSC will use the results to further support efforts towards the safe and successful reintegration of federal incarcerated individuals from Black, ethnocultural and racialized community groups.

National Victims Services Program

The CSC's National Victims Services Program engages with Indigenous, Black and other racialized communities to increase awareness of the services available to victims within federal corrections. In the context of the Victim Services Outreach Strategy, launched in collaboration with other federal partners as part of the Government of Canada's Communications and Outreach Strategy for victims of federal incarcerated individuals, CSC is reaching out to victim-serving agencies that provide services to individuals from Indigenous, Black, and other racialized and/or marginalized communities to develop partnerships to better reach victims of crime in these communities and ensure they are aware of their rights. CSC is also working to share information about the National Victim Services Program to obtain feedback on communication products and how to increase the scope of effectiveness of outreach to these communities. CSC continues its efforts to keep their Victim Services National Stakeholder Registry up to date and to offer organizations outreach presentations and to seek their advice when needed. CSC is continuing to define services of these organizations to conduct more targeted outreach to populations who are underrepresented as registered victims with Correctional Service Canada. The National Victims Services Program has Victim Services fact sheets available in English, French and 23 different Indigenous and ethnocultural languages posted on the Resources for victims' page on CSC's website.

Enhancing Support, Availability and Resources for Restorative Justice and Victim-Offender Mediation Services

CSC has released its Restorative Opportunities Victim-Offender Mediation Services Correctional Results Report 2022 to 2024. The report demonstrates that providing restorative justice processes to victims and offenders to communicate about the harms caused by the offence(s) has a positive impact on offender recidivism. Ninety-eight percent (98%) did not reoffend within 1 year of their face-to-face meeting. While ninety-one percent (91%) did not reoffend within 5 years of their face-to-face meeting and ninety percent (90%) did not reoffend by year 10.

The Restorative Opportunities program is a complementary service to CSC's traditional intervention programs, available to victims, offenders, and community members impacted by the offence. The program provides a safe and well-prepared opportunity for dialogue during the offender's sentence. Victims are able to communicate with the offender with the help of an experienced mediator, to ask questions, seek information, and have their individual needs addressed that have been left unmet for years. Offenders are able to answer questions, share information about what happened (how and why), what the offender is doing to improve themselves to ensure no future harm comes to others, and discuss safety planning with the victim should the time come for the offender to slowly reintegrate into society. Access to the Restorative Opportunities program and its services are on a voluntary basis for all participants and participation information remains confidential to avoid impacting correctional and conditional release decisions, which is integral to victim participation and the ability to discern offender motivation and level of accountability to participate from a true and honest place. Processes can include and are not limited to victim-offender dialogue, correspondence, audio or video communication, circle processes, etc.

The program is victim-focused and is led primarily by the victims' needs but also takes into consideration the offender to develop a safe, constructive and meaningful interaction free from further harm. Meaningful accountability by the offender, to the person that was harmed and continues to experience residual trauma over a lifetime, is one of the most valuable and inclusive ways to help improve recidivism and the safe reintegration of previously incarcerated individuals into communities. Each restorative justice process is customised to the participants' needs and how best to meet them successfully, respectful of diverse racialized groups, culture, language, gender, sexual-orientation, power dynamics, and spirituality.

There is much interest in restorative justice and the provision of victim-offender mediation services in cases of serious crime by those who have been victimized in Canada. CSC receives over 140 referrals each year and 2024-25 showed a demonstrable increase for this service.

Enhancing Understanding and Supports for the Reintegration of Ethnocultural Individuals

To better support ethnocultural incarcerated individuals, CSC launched an Ethnocultural Action Framework where over 60 staff members volunteered to be Site Coordinators, to provide culturally responsive support to incarcerated individuals at the site level. CSC promotes and monitors Day Parole releases to an 'Other Location' for ethnocultural incarcerated individuals, to enhance access to cultural supports and services in the community by considering the unique needs and circumstances of ethnocultural incarcerated individuals.

CSC released its 2021-23 Anti-Racism, Diversity and Inclusion Progress Report, which highlights results and plans in the area of engagement. CSC's Ethnocultural Advisory Committees (National and Regional), made up of volunteers from the community, have supported efforts to enhance and better understand the needs of ethnocultural incarcerated individuals.

Faith Community Reintegration Projects

To help strengthen the relationship between faith communities and newly released incarcerated individuals, Correctional Service Canada's Faith Community Reintegration Projects (FCRP) have been put in place in 21 locations across the country to support the reintegration of federal incarcerated individuals. In addition, Directed Faith Community Reintegration Projects (D-FCRP) have provided faith-based support services for Muslim incarcerated individuals in the Toronto-Hamilton area, and for Black incarcerated individuals in Halifax (since May 2024). While current D-FCRPs are aimed at specific, hard-to-reach ethnicities or religious groups (such as Canada's Muslim, Sikh, and Black populations), FCRPs aim to address the needs of incarcerated individuals across a broad and diverse religious spectrum. A new D-FCRP in the Pacific Region started providing services to support Sikh incarcerated individuals returning to their communities and to develop capacity within the Sikh religious community. CSC also engaged in dialogue with Black community leaders and agencies in Toronto with the aim of developing a D-FCRP to assist Black incarcerated individuals returning to Toronto. Community leaders and agencies expressed appreciation to Correctional Service Canada's Chaplaincy for its commitment to the principle of "nothing about us, without us".

Cultural Responsiveness in the Parole Board Hearing Process

The Parole Board of Canada has been offering Culturally Responsive Hearings (CRHs) with the support of Indigenous Elders and Cultural Advisors for over 30 years. Results have indicated that these hearings are more culturally responsive and are more conducive to an open dialogue, which contributes to the assessment of risk, and supports the overall objective of conditional release. Following a recommendation from the Parole Board of Canada's report on Moving Towards Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the Parole Board of Canada broadened its CRHs nationally in 2024 to include support from Cultural Advisors from Black communities. Cultural Advisors from Black communities provide Board members with information that helps to better understand systemic or background factors that may have contributed to the individual's involvement with the criminal justice system. In fiscal year 2024-25, there was a total of 166 CRHs for Black incarcerated individuals.

Actions in Other Areas

Corrections and Conditional Release Statistical Overview

Understanding statistical information on corrections and conditional release is essential for identifying and addressing critical issues in the criminal justice system, including those related to trends in recidivism rates and victim trends. Since 1998, Public Safety Canada has been responsible for publishing the annual Corrections and Conditional Release Statistical Overview.

Best Practices in Reducing Recidivism: A Systematic Review

Public Safety Canada is dedicated to promoting evidence-based practices to reduce recidivism. This includes currently undertaking a large-scale international review of systematic reviews to assess the overall effectiveness of various correctional intervention types (e.g., cognitive skills training, behavioural therapy, psychotherapy) compared with correctional sentences served without a treatment or intervention component, whether in a secure custodial setting or in the community.

Pan-Canadian Recontact Database Development

Effective measurement of recidivism is essential for developing and evaluating criminal justice policies and interventions, as well as for the effective allocation of resources within and beyond the criminal justice system. To this end, Public Safety Canada, in collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics at Statistics Canada, has worked to develop a national database that provides statistics on repeated contact with provincial criminal justice systems, namely the Juristat. Currently, the database consists of correctional and criminal justice data from five provincial jurisdictions: Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Saskatchewan. This created a cohort of nearly 70,000 adults released from full-time custody or starting an intermittent or community sentence across these five jurisdictions and demonstrated that 50% were reconvicted within three years. More provinces and federal data are expected to continue to be added to the national database.

Security Threat Group Strategy

CSC is developing a Security Threat Group Strategy (STG) that outlines a framework to address barriers for incarcerated individuals affiliated with a STG (i.e., gang), to safely manage these incarcerated individuals throughout their sentence, and assist in their reintegration into the community. Consultations are underway and include academics, public safety partners, and community grassroots organizations specialized in STG or gang prevention and disengagement. They also include organizations representing Indigenous, Black and racialized groups, as well as women to further support the development and implementation of the Strategy. The STG Strategy will focus on five priority areas: policy and procedures, information sharing and communication, interventions and services, population management and partnerships.

Key identified activities include a more robust assessment of affiliation to tell the incarcerated individual's story more than simply applying a label; developing a disengagement process; supplementary interventions such as peer mentorship programs or opportunities; enhancing partnerships with communities and community organizations to enable incarcerated individual engagement with pro-social supports; and an action plan based on the priority areas to be developed with concrete initiatives that can be implemented. The Framework will recognize and account for the diversity within the various groups and the need for different lenses or perspectives to guard against inherent biases. It will also show compassion, understanding the root factors and realities that lead to STG involvement, understanding the challenges in leaving a STG, meeting the incarcerated individuals where they are at, and not making judgements on their decision to join or remain in a STG.

National Crime Prevention Strategy

The National Crime Prevention Strategy is an integral part of the Government of Canada's continued efforts to tackle crime in order to build stronger, healthier communities. The Strategy is the policy Framework for the implementation of crime prevention interventions in Canada and provides funding to strategically selected projects that contribute to preventing and reducing crime in Canada and to increasing knowledge about what works in crime prevention. Public Safety Canada launched a call for proposals in October 2024 which included as a priority area for funding, supporting youth with repeat contacts with the criminal justice system. Public Safety Canada also collaborates with provinces and territories to support the Crime Prevention Inventory (CPI): a searchable database of crime prevention programs in Canada. The CPI supports the National Crime Prevention Strategy by organizing a knowledge base of effective crime prevention approaches in Canada. The CPI allows users to search for programs based on keywords or a combination of several filters such as:

• The topic addressed by the program (e.g., aggressive/violent behaviours, alcohol and/or drug abuse, bullying/cyberbullying);
• The characteristics of the participants or populations served by the program;
• Program setting; and
• Program evaluation results, where available.

Automated Sequestering of Criminal Records

Public Safety Canada and portfolio partners are continuing to consider ways to remove barriers to successful reintegration linked to criminal records, including a potential automated process for sequestering criminal records.

Countering Radicalization to Violence

The Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence (the Canada Centre) housed in Public Safety Canada, leads the National Strategy on Countering Radicalization to Violence (National Strategy). The Canada Centre's aim is to prevent extreme, grievance-fueled violence that is linked to an ideology or belief system justifying the use of violence to advance a cause. As outlined in the National Strategy, the Canada Centre's activities complement national security and criminal justice efforts by supporting programs that divert individuals at risk of radicalization away from pathways to violent extremism or help individuals involved leave violent extremism behind.

To this end, the Canada Centre's Community Resilience Fund (CRF) supports research initiatives, early prevention efforts, and intervention programs that strengthen local, frontline capacity to prevent and counter violent extremism. Specialized intervention programs are often led by health or social service professionals who address the needs and vulnerabilities of individuals in order to build protective factors and divert them from pathways towards violent extremism, engaging fields such as social work, mental health, employment, housing, policing, probation and parole, education, and child welfare services.

In recent years, a growing area of focus for countering radicalization to violence in Canada has been on rehabilitation and reintegration within correctional settings. As such, the Canada Centre and the CRF have supported multiple initiatives to provide tools, training, and service support to address this need both within correctional institutions and with community-based services to manage risk and support successful rehabilitation and reintegration.

Annex B – Federal Actions by Framework Pillars

Date modified:

2025-10-24