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To contribute to the overall effort against COVID-19, a project to manufacture cloth face masks was implemented at Archambault Institution (Minimum), in Quebec. As a result, over 2,000 masks were produced in a few weeks. The experience gave offenders the opportunity to gain new skills and give back to the community. Consequently, 300 masks were donated to two community organizations working with homeless people in the area.

After a short hiatus for the summer, Let’s Talk is back.

As discussions around mental health have entered mainstream conversation in our communities over the last few years, supporting employees’ mental health needs became increasingly imperative to senior management at the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC).

The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) is proud to work with thousands of members of the public in various capacities across our organization. They help (CSC) fulfill its mandate by bringing a community perspective to our work and contributing to the successful rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders.

I am pleased to be a part of the launch of the new web-based Let’s Talk Express (LTE). For as long as I can remember, Let’s Talk has always been an important part of CSC.

Among the 2016 graduates at St. Lawrence College (SLC) being honoured for their hard work on June 17, 2016 was CSC Commissioner Don Head who received an honorary diploma.

On January 20, 2022, Tam Le, a minimum security offender at Stony Mountain Institution, participated in a virtual Walls to Bridges symposium. Tam was not just an observer of the Zoom symposium, though. He was one of the presenters who discussed a study he had coauthored with university professor Dr. Judith Harris.

For the last three years, the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) has been developing a Digital Education Project (DEP) to support technological advancements in learning environments behind prison walls. CSC has been working hard to include technology in the classroom to provide better access to learning opportunities and competency in technological environments and support reintegration success.

The Ephesus Project is a volunteer initiative that funds, organizes, and delivers post-secondary courses to incarcerated learners within the Correctional Services of Canada (CSC) institutions. The project, named for the great library in the ancient city of Ephesus, a centre of culture and learning in the Roman Empire, seeks to bring wisdom and culture to the incarcerated.

Recently, Stony Mountain Institution has launched a beekeeping initiative with the help of CORCAN and community partners, fuelled by staff ingenuity and inmate participation.

Michael K. Olotu, Director General, Rights, Redress and Resolution, has worn many hats at the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC). Starting off as a Correctional Officer and then a Parole Officer, Michael has gone on to serve in senior level roles at NHQ including, Senior Director of Operations with CORCAN, Director of Evaluation, Director of Investigations and Director of Strategy and Corporate Services in what is now known as the Indigenous Initiatives Directorate.

Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) has over 4,000 volunteers who work directly with offenders to support their rehabilitation and reintegration. Volunteering with CSC has deep historical roots going back to the late 1800s. Volunteers in correctional settings can offer an emotional and humanistic interaction that complement interactions with staff. They connect offenders to the outside world and model pro-social behaviour.

This past summer, Canadians were saddened when hundreds of unmarked graves of Indigenous children were discovered at residential schools in western Canada. By September 30, the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, hundreds more had been identified on the grounds of former residential schools in various other regions across Canada. People across the country, including inmates at Pacific Institution, wanted to highlight the importance of honouring the Survivors and recognizing the impact of the residential school system on Indigenous communities and individuals.

On Saturday, May 21, 2022, Canada’s Penitentiary Museum, in Kingston, opened its doors again to the public after the pandemic closed them in 2020. Two weeks later, the museum celebrated its reopening with a special guest who brought popcorn.

As a team, the Prairie Region chiefs of education and teachers recognize that they are fortunate to have the ability to work from home. Teachers have continued to be busy during this time by building teaching resources, participating in professional development, and updating curriculum tools for the students.

From April 18-24 2021, the Correctional Service of Canada celebrated National Volunteer Week.