“PUTTING THE JUST BACK IN JUSTICE.”
THE ETHICAL AND HUMANE CUSTODIAL TREATMENT
OF
MENTALLY DISORDERED
ABORIGINAL FEMALE OFFENDERS
By

Julia D. Shuker
Bachelor of Arts Criminal Justice,
Minor in Political Science
University of the Fraser Valley, 2017.

MAJOR PAPER SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT
OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF ARTS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE
In the
School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
© Julia Dawn Shuker 2017
UNIVERSITY OF THE FRASER VALLEY
Winter 2017
All rights reserved. This work may not be
reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy
or other means, without permission of the author.

Approval
Name: Julia D. Shuker
Degree: Master of Arts (Criminal Justice) Degree
Title: “PUTTING THE JUST BACK IN JUSTICE.” THE ETHICAL AND HUMANE
CUSTODIAL TREATMENT OF MENTALLY DISORDERED ABORIGINAL
FEMALE OFFENDERS.
Examining Committee
Dr. Amy Prevost
GPC Chair
Director, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Dr. Martin Silverstein
Senior Supervisor
School of Criminology and Criminal Justice

Dr. Raymond Corrado
External Examiner
Associate Director: Research
School of Criminology Simon Fraser University
______________________________________________________
Date
Defended/Approved:

ii

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iii

Abstract
Offenders with mental illnesses do not fair well in Canadian penitentiaries, and if they
have an acute or chronic mental illness it is often exacerbated by placement in segregation or
separate confinement. Despite calls from the Correctional Investigator and Coroner’s

inquests, the Correctional Service of Canada remains non compliant and non transparent in
its treatment of Aboriginal female offenders with mental health disorders. Specifically in

the case of Ashley Smith, the coroner, Dr. John Carlisle ruled that Smith’s 2007 death was a
homicide at the hands of the Canadian government and its agent, the Correctional Service

of Canada. In order to address the poor treatment of Aboriginal female offenders with

mental disorders, this paper proposes the removal of Aboriginal female offenders with

substantive mental disorders from the Correctional Service of Canada and placement in
trauma informed care programs in the community.

iv

Acknowledgements
Thank you to the people of the Sto:Lo Nation where the University of the Fraser

Valley resides. Most importantly, I want to thank my mother Gertrude A. Shuker for her

constant love, support and guidance. Without you Mom, this would never have happened.
To my brother Jaymon, his wife Tiffany and daughter Jocelyn (Beans), thank you for your

love and support. Know that if I can do it, so can you. (LyMy). To my best friend, Amber,
and her son Kota, and my goddaughter Natalie, thank you for the study space and never
asking me to leave, even though I often over stayed my welcome. To the best sounding

boards ever, Jillie Bean, and Mildred thank you! A big thanks to Marie and Super D the wrap
text master, and all the four legged creatures!

At the University of the Fraser Valley, there is a long and distinguished list of people

for whom I am forever indebted. What started out as student/ UFV employee

relationships, moved from advisor/mentor to friend. A huge thank you to Cherish Forster,
advisor extraordinaire. Thank you for brining me along, Dr. Hayli Millar, my mentor and

friend. Dr. Amanda McCormick, the best research boss ever. Dr. Edward Akuffo, thank you
for expanding my political science world. Thank you Mr. Howard Sapers, from the Office of
the Correctional Investigator, for inspiring me by your unrelenting quest for the just
treatment of Aboriginal female offenders. Finally, Professor Emeritus, Dr. Martin

Silverstein, words alone cannot express my gratitude for your patience, openness,
friendship, guidance, support and mentoring.

I wish to humbly express my gratitude and give thanks to the Creator for my Elders

and all of the teaching moments that have and continue to be put in my path. Today, I stand
on the shoulders of giants and hope for a better world for all marginalized people.

v

Aho,
All My Relations,

Julia D. Shuker
Coyote Woman Who Builds the Fire.

vi

Dedication
To: My father, Stuart Langley Shuker (1929-2015)
Love you always Papa.

vii

Table of Contents
Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... iv
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................... v
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1
The Past .................................................................................................................................................... 7
The Present ........................................................................................................................................... 10
The Future ............................................................................................................................................. 16
Clinical Stability Plan ………………………………………………………………………………………………17
Dynamic Versus Static Security-Places to Grow and Strive ..…………………………………...19
Trauma Informed Care Programs (TCIP)………………………………………………………………..20
A Brighter Future for the Spirit Within: Potential for JUSTICE ........................................... 24
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 25
References ............................................................................................................................................. 26

viii

Introduction
In the words of my Elders: “Are you doing what you know to be right? Are you
conducting yourself in a in a morally right and fair way? When your life fades like the setting
sun, will you be able to meet your Creator with clean hands and straight eyes?” This paper is an
opportunity to speak my truth, having readers understand my path, journey, and quest. I hope to
shed light on what for me has become an unconscionable set of circumstances for incarcerated
Aboriginal women in Canada. What I am speaking of, is connected to, yet beyond the missing
and murdered women on the Downtown East Side in Vancouver British Columbia. This paper
focuses especially on those Aboriginal women with mental health and trauma issues who find
themselves incarcerated.
I was born in Prince Albert Saskatchewan. I worked in the correction service for 25
years, and I have pursued further education that has led me to understand the plight of Aboriginal
women in Canada. Prince Albert is known for two things, the Saskatchewan Penitentiary and
the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation Reserve. The former is a well-known Correctional Service of
Canada penal facility that opened in 1911. The Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation Reserve was
literally across the street from my house in Prince Albert. As a result of my geographic
placement, I was in regular contact with other children from the reserve, but this was all I knew.
I became acquainted with the culture and it affected the way I saw things. There were no
discussions in my home about the reserve, why it existed, what its purpose was, or why the fire
alarms seemed to be going off at all hours of the day and night. In retrospect, I now realize, that
I was raised, as many Canadians in a state of cultural amnesia regarding Aboriginal peoples in
Canada.

1

In 1974 my family moved from Prince Albert Saskatchewan to Abbotsford British
Columbia as my father had obtained a job with the Correctional Service of Canada at Matsqui
Institution. After completing high school, I went to the University of the Fraser Valley and
completed a diploma in criminal justice, with the full intention of following in my father’s
footsteps and becoming a correctional officer. My father begged and pleaded with me to be like
my mother and become a realtor, but I loved the law. I wanted to be a respectful, responsible
rebel who pokes the status quo in the eye, makes a positive impact. I am an ally of the underdog
and am dedicated to helping others. I am not an Aboriginal woman but I am a vocal ally for
Indigenous Canadians.
I elected to work for the British Columbia Government (instead of the federal
government) and ended up at what was known formerly as the Willingdon Youth Detention
Center in Burnaby British Columbia, now known as Burnaby Youth Custody Services Centre.
Following my service in the provincial government, I worked for approximately one year for the
Correctional Service for Canada at the Fraser Valley Institution for Women; however, as a result
of cumulative stress, it became medically necessary for me to leave correctional work.
I was 23 years old when I began working at Willingdon and worked in the prison system
for 25 years. In many ways I grew up in the prison system, just like the offenders I cared for. As
many correctional officers will tell you, this is a difficult business. At the time I entered
corrections, women were still not fully accepted as workers. I quickly found I had to perform the
job twice as well as my male counterparts to be half as accepted. The “business” will test your
moral fiber, ethics and integrity on a daily basis. You will be presented with individuals and
scenarios that will leave you completely debased one day and elated the next. Often times, these
events have nothing at all to do with the inmate population and everything to do with the politics

2

and management of the facility. Make no mistake, I had an amazing and meaningful career, but
my eyes have seen, my ears have heard, and my nose has smelled, things that I wish my brain
could forget. There are stories and remaining friendships that I treasure today as a result of my
work, but there are also events, both personal and professional, that leave me seriously at a loss
to understand let alone explain or rationalize.
While working at Willingdon, I came into contact with Chief Willard Cook of the
Semiahmoo Nation, who was hired as a Native Court Liaison Worker. Willard conducted sweat
lodges with the youth in custody, and generously offered me the opportunity to partake in a staff
sweat lodge off the institutional grounds. I was genuinely interested and thought I should go to a
sweat lodge to observe, and ended up having a life changing epiphany experience. As a result of
my experiences with Chief Willard, I embraced native spirituality and in 2007 completed a
Vision Quest and was gifted with the spirit name “Coyote Woman Who Builds the Fire.” This
path has deepened and expanded me as an individual. Native spirituality and the Medicine
Wheel teachings have taught me a completely different way to see the world, people, and events.
I am humbly grateful for my Elders, path, and journey. It has also made me painfully aware of
what we have done, and what needs to be done, to correct some of these injustices to Aboriginal
people.
I have worked with too many young Aboriginal women in custody, who ended up in
awful and tragic circumstances and whose lives ended far too early and in reprehensible ways. It
was at Willingdon where I first began to understand the effects of colonization and the
residential schools on the Aboriginal female population I worked with. After leaving the
correctional work, I returned to the University of the Fraser Valley to complete a Bachelor of
Arts and subsequently a Master of Arts degree in Criminal Justice. Upon returning to school I

3

became more and more aware of the plight of Aboriginal women in custody, and soon
discovered that I was not alone in my concern. Correctional investigators, Indigenous scholars
and Elders, coroners, juries academics, poets, international bodies, non- governmental
organizations, judges, staff members and inmates themselves have called on the Correctional
Service of Canada to treat its Aboriginal inmates in a more just and humane way.
As I progressed in my academic studies and personal growth, I have given more and
more thought to my involvement and accountability in the criminal justice system. With Dr.
Hayli Millar, I came to understand my own white privilege and as a result, the subsequent
marginalization of “others” in our apparently democratic society. I began to wonder what I
could do to make a difference, or at least shed light, on what I believe has been the absolutely
reprehensible treatment of our most marginalized citizens - Aboriginal women.
At the University of the Fraser Valley in political science classes with Dr. Edward
Akuffo, I began to understand the importance politics plays in the justice system. During my
career, I recall how different programs, monies, and opportunities were presented based on the
political flavor of the time. When leftist parties were in power, there were money and resources
for rehabilitation programs. Of late, with the shift to neo-conservative governments, I have
observed a sharp decline in money and resources for rehabilitation programs and the introduction
of mandatory minimum sentences and get tough on crime policies. Institutionally, research
shows that there is a remarkable increase in the use of static security, which emphasizes an
austere, cold, impersonal, hard relationships of “us and them,” and the overuse of administrative
segregation. Coincidentally, there has been a decline in dynamic security, which emphasizes
compassionate and empathetic working relationships. With inmate to officer ratios of 60:1,

4

correctional institutions may be leaving themselves open to a higher likelihood of prison
disturbances (Office of the Correctional Investigator, 2017).
This paper is an attempt at bringing together the many voices that are calling for change
and to articulate the opposition they are getting from authorities that want to punish and not heal
the most marginalized and victimized of our society. Following Aboriginal Medicine Wheel
teachings of Elders Chief Willard Cook and Eddie Gardner, this paper will be comprised of four
distinct components, representing the four spiritual directions. For the purposes of this paper we
will examine the past, the present, the future and the importance of respecting and honoring the
unique individual spirit within us. Following these teachings, it is important to be mindful of the
need to be holistic in our approaches with others. We need to be mindful of the importance of
the rule of law and ultimately what we deem to be justice. We must adopt a more “just”
approach, based on behaving according to what is morally right and fair, to ensure we live in a
just and democratic society.

5

“I was always in a baby doll, locked away, 24/7 either with a staff (member) sitting at my
door, a nurse or a guard sitting at my door. With no mattress, with just a thin blanket on myon …concrete…with a slab of concrete and then the floor is concrete and I would get out for
an hour a day for yard and shower.” Risky Business: An Investigation of the Treatment and
Management of Chronic Self-Injury Among Federally Sentenced Women-Final Report.
Office of the Correctional Investigator 2013 p. 5

6

The Past
The Correctional Service of Canada is a long existing state institution dating back to the
building of Kingston Penitentiary in 1835 (Correctional Service of Canada, 2014). It commands
a great deal of control and power over the offenders in its care. By examining the Correctional
Service of Canada through a variety of sources, we know that incarceration and subsequent
segregation or solitary confinement of Mentally Disordered Offenders, has been an issue for a
very long period of time and has been related more recently to the closure of psychiatric
hospitals, a phenomenon known as Penrose Law (Hetil, 2009). As a result of
deinstitutionalization from psychiatric hospitals during the 1960-1970’s, a disproportionate
number have been housed in administrative segregation in penal institutions.
Offenders with mental illnesses do not fair well in custodial facilities and if they have an
acute or chronic mental illness it is often exacerbated by placement in segregation or separate
confinement. The Office of the Correctional Investigator (2015) notes that female Aboriginal
offenders are disproportionately represented in corrections at 35.5 % when the Aboriginal
population in Canada is only 4%. The Office of the Correctional Investigator further notes that
federally sentenced Aboriginal women with acute or chronic mental illness account for a
disproportionately high number of self-injurious behaviour in the custody of Correctional
Service of Canada especially if held in segregation.
Despite recommendations, requests and reports from Correctional Investigator to change
its approach with mentally disordered offenders in administrative segregation, the Correctional
Service of Canada remains non-compliant and non-transparent. Further, the Correctional Service
of Canada as an organization shows no sign of accessibility, accountability, or change in
practice, despite the vast amount of evidence, knowledge, and best practices regarding the
damage to Mentally Disordered Offenders (Sapers, 2013). Furthermore the Correctional Service

7

of Canada maintains its position despite massive ex gratis payments for wrongful death
settlements and other organizational and administrative costs.
Overall, the use of administrative segregation for mentally disordered offenders remains
the expensive elephant in the room that garners very little political will for change. Increasingly
negative publicity and the obvious lack of honesty, openness, transparency and accountability of
the Correctional Service of Canada create an increasingly negative public perception of this arm
of the Canadian justice system.
In examining the use of segregation with mentally disordered offenders, there has been
no lack of critics. On September 6, 2013, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported that
8,221 federal inmates are in segregation across Canada, not as a form of punishment but as an
administrative tool to facilitate safety, security and investigations into wrongdoing by inmates
that may result in criminal charges or a serious disciplinary offense (Deeson, 2013). A few days
later, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation article dated September 9, 2013 noted that
mentally ill inmates in Kingston had to be moved twice to accommodate the replacement of an
old facility. It was suggested that moving of these inmates would increase double bunking, more
incidents of violence and aggression resulting in increased segregation (Harris, 2013). On March
9, 2017 in a presentation at Simon Fraser University, the current Correctional Investigator noted
the Correctional Service of Canada was making positive strides in 2015-2016, by having only
6,792 in segregation, down from 8,321 in 2014; however, Dr. Zinger (2017) notes that without
continued focus and pressure, segregation number will continue to rise again. The Correctional
Investigator found mismanagement of administrative segregation to be a serious issue in terms of
financial costs for wrongful death settlements. He felt these incidents in administrative
segregation were not random or isolated incidents, but ongoing and unresolved issues.

8

The use of segregation is also an issue for the staff and managers. The subsequent high
rates of staff turnover and burnout coupled with the rising use and costs of benefits for employee
injury and absenteeism (Workers Compensation Board- injury claims/stress/sick leave) are
substantive financial and organizational health issues. The Correctional Service of Canada
openly admits that it cannot attract and retain mental health professionals for sustainable periods
of time. Families of inmates are affected as they are concerned for the safety and well being of
their incarcerated family member and are often left with more questions than answers around the
treatment or demise of their loved one in custody (West Coast Prison Justice Society 2016).
Following Chin and Dandurand (2012), it could be argued that in regards to the use of
administrative segregation, Canada may actually be in violation of its own Charter of Rights,
domestic laws, international laws, United Nations agreements and conventions, as well as human
and civil rights. For example, the Mandela Rules (2015) encourage prison administrators to use
mediation or other alternative dispute resolution techniques to resolve conflicts and it also
requires staff training on safety, including the concept of dynamic security. The Mandela Rules
follow the 2007 Istanbul Statement, a product of a working group of 24 international experts who
came together to address the increasing use of solitary confinement and its harmful effects. The
Istanbul Statement requests states to limit the use of solitary confinement to very exceptional
cases, for as short a time as possible. It also calls for serious efforts to be made to increase the
amount of meaningful social contact for prisoners held in solitary confinement. The Istanbul
Statement calls for the prohibition of the use of solitary confinement for mentally ill prisoners
and for prisoners under the age of 18 (West Coast Prison Justice Society p. 60).
In 2010, Canada ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It
defines persons who are disabled as those who have “long-term physical, mental, intellectual or

9

sensory impairments.” Its preamble recognizes “that discrimination against any person on the
basis of disability is a violation of the inherent dignity and worth of the human person…” Article
15 requires states to “take all effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to
prevent persons with disabilities, on an equal basis with others, from being subjected to torture or
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” (West Coast Prison Justice Society p.
60).
Specifically, the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Female Prisoners and NonCustodial Measures for Women Offenders, or the Bangkok Rules, adopted by the UN General
Assembly in 2010, recognize that women prisoners are particularly vulnerable due to their
victimization in the community and the potential for re-victimization within prison (West Coast
Prison Justice Society p. 61). Overall, the manner in which the Canadian government deals with
mentally disordered offenders within its criminal justice institutions has an extremely detrimental
effect on the justice system and public security as it current conduct may not be lawful, ethical or
morally correct.
The Present
To fully understand and grasp the severity of the issue at hand, it is important to examine
the Management Model (SMM), or Least Restrictive Measures (LRM) policy. This policy
applies to the segregation of acutely or chronically mentally ill Aboriginal female offenders
while in the care, control, and custody of the Correctional Service of Canada. The Least
Restrictive Measures policy requires correctional staff to quickly assess the individual risk and
needs of the offender, and then formulate an appropriate response to the incident. Least
Restrictive Measure principles require balancing the interests, or needs of the offender with the
correctional purpose of the intervention. The Least Restrictive Measures require minimal

10

impairments to the offender and the correctional response must be proportionate to the level of
risk presented by the offender’s behaviour. In this context, it should be noted that assaultive
behaviour by the offender most often occurs only after correctional staff intervene and is most
frequent during mandatory strip searches as apart of segregation or observation cell placement
following a self-injury incident (Office of the Correctional Investigator 2013. P. 6).

Chronic and acute self-injurious behaviour is defined by the Correctional Service of
Canada as “the intentional, direct injuring of body tissue without suicidal intent ”(Correctional
Service of Canada, 1990). Pursuant to section 86 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act
(CCRA) the Correctional Service of Canada is mandated by law to provide for the health care
and mental health of all offenders in their custody. Offenders are not covered by either the
federal or provincial government for health care and mental health care services (Sapers 2017).
Section 87 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act obligates Correctional Service of
11

Canada to consider an offender’s health and health care needs in all decisions affecting the
offender. These decisions include placement, transfer, administrative segregation, and
disciplinary matters. Section 88 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act provides for
informed, voluntary consent to treatment, including the right to withdraw and refuse said
treatment (Corrections and Conditional Release Act 1992).
From a statistical perspective, the Office of the Correctional Investigator (2012-2013)
reports that a small number of federally sentenced women (37/264) disproportionately account
for almost 36% of all reported self-injury incidents. Aboriginal women accounted for nearly
45% of all self-injury reports in the federal women population. Of the 264, seventeen offenders
engaged in chronic (10 or more incidents) of self-harm. Of these, seventeen individuals
accounted for 40% of self-injury incidents. Of the seventeen, six of the women were of
Aboriginal descent (p.1).
In the Annual Report on Deaths in Custody for 2013-2014, the Correctional Investigator
notes “for over 20 years, the Correctional Service of Canada has had a policy in place regarding
the management of suicidal behaviours” (P.9). The report notes that the policy is reviewed and
revised based on lessons learned and best practices; in fact significant revisions were made to
Commissioner’s Directive 843 in July of 2011 (p. 9). Arguably, these changes were likely the
result of the 2007 death of inmate Ashley Smith and subsequent coroners inquest findings into
her time and treatment while in the Correctional Service of Canada. For the majority of her time
in custody, and as a result of her mental health and subsequent behavioural issues, Ashley Smith
was confined under the static security based Least Restrictive Measures policy. In the case of
Ashley Smith, Least Restrictive Measures were interpreted in a very different and inappropriate
manner. The National Post (2010 p. 1) reported that under the Least Restrictive Measures policy

12

staff caring for Ashley Smith were directed “to sit outside Smith’s cell, ignore her, pretend to
read, do not engage, do not show any therapeutic warmth, to be as cold as possible.” This
required correctional office conduct is the exact opposite of dynamic security. This cold and
inhumane treatment of Ashley Smith, a female Aboriginal inmate in administrative segregation,
subsequently resulted in substantive disciplinary measures for taken against correctional staff, up
to and including termination of employment (National Post p.4).

The Coroner, Dr. John Carlisle, ruled that Smith’s death was a homicide, at the hands of
the Canadian government, and its agent the Correctional Service of Canada. Dr. Carlisle
recommended that Smith’s death be used as a case study demonstrating how the Correctional
Service of Canada failed her as a young mentally ill Aboriginal female offender (Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation p.1). Smith’s family subsequently sued the Canadian government for
more than 10 million dollars for their daughter’s negligent homicide at the hands of the Canadian
government.

13

Based on its present approach the Correctional Service of Canada and its policy for
dealing with acute and chronically mentally ill Aboriginal female offenders is an expensive, and
arguably illegal, immoral policy that has Canada in violation of not only its own laws, but also
United Nations agreements and conventions. United Nations 45/11 Basic Principles for the
Treatment of Prisoner’s notes that “Efforts addressed to the abolition of solitary confinement as a
punishment, or to the restriction of its use, should be undertaken, and encouraged (#7). Canada,
as a progressive country, should be leading the way in the abolition of this inhumane treatment
of its most marginalized offenders, as it is a signatory to this agreement.
The Correctional Service of Canada is not an open, accountable nor transparent
organization as noted by Campbell (2012) quoting Justice Louise Arbour who stated, “There is a
lack of accountability within the Correctional Service of Canada compared to other branches of
the justice system that are subjected to regular, robust and adversarial examination” (p. 76).
Campbell further asserts that in our present modern times, the public is far removed from the
internal workings of the criminal justice system, affording power and secrecy to state agencies
like the Correctional Service of Canada at the severe disadvantage of the voiceless inmate. (p.
74). The Correctional Service of Canada is slow to change and despite numerous findings,
ongoing and similar recommendations from the advocacy focused Office of the Correctional
Investigator and others, the Correctional Service of Canada practices, policies, and methods of
dealing with chronic and mentally ill offenders continue to be expensive, ineffective, illegal, and
problematic on several fronts.
The Office of the Correctional Investigator (2013) reports in May of 2011, the
Correctional Service of Canada rescinded the Sentence Management Model policy, using a Pinel
Restraint System (PRS) and clinical seclusion in Intensive Psychiatric Care (IPC) or Restrictive

14

Psychiatric Interventions (RPI) (p.4). These forms of seclusion are now categorized and
recorded differently than in the Least Restrictive Measures policy. Self-injury incidents are now
noted as disciplinary problems, assaults on staff, cell extractions, or other incidents and are not
subjected to the scrutiny or accountability of the previous Sentence Management Model and
Least Restrictive Measures policies. (P.5.) According to the Office of the Correctional
Investigator the Pinel Restraint System cannot be considered consensual or compliant as it lacks
the express elements necessary for individual informed and voluntary consent (Office of the
Correctional Investigator 2013 p. 4). The Office of the Correctional Investigator is of the view
that all applications of physical restraint in a correctional context should be considered reportable
and reviewable as use of force incidents (P. 12).
The Correctional Service of Canada’s lack of transparency is further complicated as it
perpetuates its own business by convicting offenders of additional criminal offenses, adding time
to their sentences for assaults that occur during interventions related to self-injurious incidents
and interventions (Office of the Correctional Investigator 2013 p. 10). In the case of Ashley
Smith, Smith accrued a further five years of time for behaviour infractions (National Post, p.2).
Arguably, this continued policy and practice is not a least restrictive measure at all, but that of a
highly unjust and retributive government institution with a large degree of power and control
over voiceless inmates, the most marginalized of our population. The fact that the Correctional
Service of Canada simply changes the policy name and practice to circumvent the accountability
structure and reporting mechanisms of such a policy is of great concern. Through these changes,
the Correctional Service of Canada at present, creates smoke and mirrors to hide the fact that
they continue to violate their own policies and directives, or change and rename current policies
in an attempt to continue segregating and disciplining chronically and acutely mentally ill

15

offenders in their care, while avoiding accountability. It is noted that Aboriginal women are
segregated at a disproportionally higher rate than any other demographic group in custody. As
outlined by the Correctional Investigator (2017) “Since the death of Ashley Smith in 2007,
Correctional Service of Canada initiatives have resulted in little substantive progress with respect
to the management and treatment of chronically self-injurious women in federal custody. A
number of key policy, capacity operational and infrastructure challenges remain.” Further, the
Correctional Investigator notes that despite the Gladue ruling that speaks to alternatives to
incarceration and specialized treatment programs for Aboriginal offenders, several Aboriginal
women noted in his investigation revealed very little evidence that Gladue factors were
considered, much less applied pursuant to Correctional Service of Canada policy (p. 12).
The Future
This paper will argue two future reform perspectives based in trauma informed care. One
reform, as presented by the Correctional Investigator, suggests, at minimum, a clinical stability
plan or unit for all mentally disordered offenders. As outlined by the Correctional Investigator,
clinical stability prior to entry into general population would require; a thorough mental health
assessment and diagnosis, a stable medication regime and offender compliance with the regime,
lack of offender suicidal ideation, and behavioural plan developed in consultation with the
offender allowing for changes in mental health status and behavioural issues (Sapers, 2016).
The second reform, notes that after 40 years of Correctional Service of Canada
mismanagement, the custody and control of mentally disordered Aboriginal women, who
demand a lion’s share of the institutional resources and attention (and future similarly identified
Aboriginal offenders) should have their custodial sentences facilitated through a Trauma
Informed Care Program (TICP) or a clinical supervision unit, fully removed from Correctional

16

Service of Canada responsibility. For example, the Maine State maximum-security prison,
identified in the documentary Frontline: Solitary Nation, (2014) describes the benefits of clinical
supervision units. Trauma informed principles are concepts that are being applied to the just and
ethical treatment of offenders who have had numerous traumatic incidents in their lives that
contribute to their criminality or criminognic behaviour.
Clinical Stability Plan

As noted by the Correctional Investigator in his 2005-2006 Annual Report, “Over the
years too much effort has been invested in bureaucratic process with little or no change in
outcomes”(p.3). Again, in 2013, the Correctional Investigator states emphatically, “There should
be an absolute prohibition on the practice of placing self-injurious offenders in conditions of
long-term clinical seclusion, isolation, observation or segregation” (Sapers 2013, P. 14). To
date, the Correctional Service of Canada continues to increase its bureaucratic response to this
marginalized population with no change in outcomes for acutely chronically mentally ill female
Aboriginal offenders (Sapers 2015).
Speaking in Vancouver on Jan 19, 2017, the former Correctional Investigator, Mr.
Howard Sapers noted that “Prisons are not therapeutic, they are harsh blunt instruments.” Then,
on March 9, 2017 Ting Forum on Justice Policy, held at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby
British Columbia, the new Correctional Investigator, Dr. Ivan Zinger, concurred and noted the
following directions and repeated calls for specific reform in relation to mentally disordered
offender and segregation:
•

Enactment of strict legislative federal laws and protections, involving a corresponding
change to the culture of corrections, to prevent segregation abuses from emerging.

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•

Alternatives to incarceration for mentally disordered offenders, noting that some federal
prisons across Canada have from time to time implemented informal mental health units.

•

The Correctional Service of Canada should be trying to attain the gold standard of no
more than 2% of the offender population in separate confinement.

•

National older offender strategy development.

•

A patient advocate model for corrections in the five regional treatment centres.

•

Prohibit segregation for suicidal, self injurious, and significantly mentally ill inmates.

•

24/7 on site nursing staff.

•

At the very least, move mentally disordered offenders into proper settings, like health
care or clinical services units until the inmate is stabilized mentally.

•

Remove all ligature points or decommission cells where suicides occur (14/30 suicides
occur in segregation cells under maximum supervision).

•

A national forum on deaths in custody.

•

Legislated legal limits on the use of segregation for mentally disordered offenders.

•

Investigate the increase in the past 10 years regarding increased violence, use of force,
pepper spray, and confinement as a management tool.

•

Investigate why Indigenous offenders are the most segregated and why they are
segregated for the longest period of time.

•

Links between Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) diagnosis and behaviour and
problematic inmate behaviour.

•

Specifically segregation not be used for young offenders under the age of 18

•

No offender segregated for more that 15 consecutive days.

•

An external group should independently adjudicate all separate confinement orders.

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Arguably, it is time to construct an effective plan for the just, ethical, humane, and
effective treatment of chronically and acutely mentally ill Aboriginal female offenders currently
in Correctional Service of Canada custody.
Dynamic Versus Static Security, Places to Grow and Strive
According to the Ashley Smith Coroner Inquest jury recommendations, “a non-prisonlike mental health setting, including provision for community based out-patient supports must be
made available for federally sentenced Aboriginal women with serious mental health issues,”
and that “the focus of such facilities should be on treatment and/or preparation for treatment, as
opposed to a security focused mode.” The jury recommended that mental health clinicians make
management and intervention decisions with input from the prisoners, rather than by
Correctional Service of Canada security staff.
Dynamic security is aimed at creating an atmosphere of positive staff-prisoner
relationships, rather than a static, or harsh and austere environment. It requires correctional
officers to communicate professionally and respectfully with prisoners, and to treat them fairly.
In 2001, a Correctional Service of Canada Task Force on Security was convened and produced a
report aimed at improving staff and prisoner interactions, and promoting safe reintegration. The
authors noted, that no one other isolated element, played such an important role in maintaining
the safety and security of institutions, as dynamic security: “The review of security incidents has
reflected repeatedly that problems in institutions occur when there is little positive interaction
between staff and inmates” (West Coast Prison Justice Society p. 84).
Some direct supervision prisons in the United States provide examples of institutions that
have successfully employed enhanced dynamic security models with mentally disordered
offenders. At the Maine State maximum state prison, there is a clinical supervision unit where

19

“ every moment, every word, every action, every interaction, every thought, every plan, every
program is based in the pro social development of the offender.” (Frontline: Solitary Nation
2014). Such prisons are organized into small, decentralized living units, with staff working in
direct contact with prisoners, rather than in control rooms or towers – comparative research has
shown this kind of facility reduces levels of assaults and other serious incidents, which
contributes to settings that are less stressful and more agreeable to counseling and rehabilitation
programs (West Coast Prison Justice Society p. 85).
To accomplish this model, Maine State type prisons have begun to enhance staff training
on trauma, and include programs for prisoners to learn techniques to respond effectively to their
trauma symptoms. Correctional officers are trained on ways to reduce triggers, and stabilize
prisoners who are in distress, by using dynamic relationships to de-escalate situations and work
toward avoiding measures that may repeat aspects of past abuse and trauma, such as isolation.
These institutions are finding that this approach creates safer institutions and greater correctional
officer job satisfaction (West Coast Prison Justice Society p. 88). It should be noted, that the
Ashley Smith Coroner Inquest, the jury also recommended that Correctional Service of Canada
staff be trained in trauma informed care and that women’s prisons should develop working
partner relationships with academic health sciences centres. (West Coast Prison Justice Society
p. 57).
Trauma Informed Care Programs (TICP)
“When a person’s escalated behaviour is understood as a result of trauma, it makes little
sense to respond to that behaviour with an intervention that patients say is traumatic in and of
itself, and which they perceive to be coercive, shameful, humiliating, punitive and alienating”

20

(British Columbia Ministry of Health, Secure Rooms and Seclusion Standards & Guidelines,
West Coast Prison Justice Services p. 87).
Trauma-informed treatment care and programs (TICP) focus on maintaining a patient’s
dignity and safety through the recognition that people who experience trauma can react to its
impact in various ways. In the context of prisoners, this includes actions that led to their
criminality (West Coast Prison Justice Society p. 88). Trauma Informed Care Programs are
described as “an organizational commitment to creating structure and treatment framework that
involves understanding, recognizing, and responding to the effects of all types of trauma” (Perry
2015). Trauma Informed Care Programs delineate a specific ideology as working at the client,
staff, agency and system levels from the core principles of: trauma awareness, safety,
trustworthiness, respect, choice and collaboration, as well as the continual building of the
offenders strengths and skills. Included in the Trauma Informed Care Program discussion are
the connections between trauma, mental-health, and substance-abuse (dual or multi diagnosis).
The purpose of Trauma Informed Care Program is to identify trauma symptoms or adaptations,
and offer support and ongoing strategies that increase safety and the continued supportive
connection to necessary services (Allen et al, 2013, p. 4).
Rivera’s (2010) report for the Correctional Service of Canada entitled “Segregation Is
Our Prison Within The Prison” examined the use of long-term segregation and the placement of
prisoners with mental health concerns in segregation. Rivera’s report indicates the practical ways
in which the Correctional Service of Canada could dramatically reduce its reliance on solitary
confinement and provide services to prisoners with mental health concerns that would prevent
them from being placed in solitary confinement. Rivera’s interviews indicated staff felt that
suicidal prisoners should not be housed in segregation units, but should be housed in health care

21

or clinical/treatment areas. Rivera concluded that “only well-trained and experienced staff are
capable of meeting the challenge of offering compassionate and effective care and treatment to
these complex individuals,” who require a “non-punitive” and “evidence-based treatment”
approach. Rivera further recommended that women who suffer with severe psychological,
emotional and behavioural issues, units with specialized services and highly trained staff at, or an
additional institution as an alternative to long-term segregation (West Coast Prison Justice
Services p. 61).
Based on my review of the literature and my experience in corrections, I do not support
the creation of additional Correctional Service of Canada institutions for high needs women. I
instead, propose therapeutic placements to community-based mental health services under s. 29
of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act that are aligned with the Gladue principles. This
non-Correctional Service of Canada involved approach, allows women to remain close to their
home communities while receiving the psychological and psychiatric care they need in a nonpunitive, clinically therapeutic environment (West Coast Prison Justice Society p. 80-81).
Ideally, external health providers following Trauma Informed Care Programs could re direct selfinjuring offenders by having Aboriginal women attend work, program, life skills, job placement
or clinical therapy as a part of their daily routines. Following the Trauma Informed Care
Program principles, staff would be selected and trained to focus on dynamic security, treating
offenders as patients rather than having them inhumanely segregated. The West Coast Prison
Justice Services and the Coroner’s inquest support this proposal.
To effect this proposal, the federal government would have to make a change in
legislation delineating the placement of acute and chronically mentally ill female Aboriginal
offenders in a Trauma Informed Care Program mandated mental health facility. The federal

22

government would cost share the facilities with every province. Ideally offenders would be able
to stay in a facility in their home province to allow for meaningful contact with family, culturally
appropriate resources, traditions, Elders, and therapeutic treatment providers. This provincial
setting will also allow for an easier and more effective transition to the community post release
for the offenders.
Simpson and Cohen (2013) note that Nova Scotia and Alberta are the only provinces that
have arrangements with local hospitals to accept the transfer of acute and chronically mentally ill
offenders for mental health interventions. The Correctional Service of Canada has
acknowledged and recommended this practice with very limited follow through (p. 506-507).
Simpson and Cohen (2013) view specialized psychiatric care units or residential treatment
centres as a best practice for mentally ill offenders. These facilities allow for stabilization, as
noted by Mr. Sapers, and then facilitate and assist with transition back to either general
population within the institution or preferably back into the community. These Trauma Informed
Care Program programs decrease institutional crises and behaviour related management
problems and improves the inmate’s quality of life and are more fiscally responsible (p. 505).
Further, residential treatment centres are crucial in assisting with comprehensive
discharge planning, ensuring there is a community standard guaranteeing a supply of required
medication, out patient psychiatric appointments, and a concrete plan for other required services.
Currently offenders in the care and custody of the Correctional Service of Canada may not have
this experience in terms of connection to family and community nor release planning. The Office
of the Correctional Investigator (2013) notes that women who self-injure require “ongoing,
coordinated and empathetic support” much like those elements described in the Trauma
Informed Care Program. Effective clinical interventions are those that are informed by, and

23

address the underlying trauma and internal motivations for self-injurious behaviour, often a
result of psychological, physical, or sexual abuse. Trauma Informed Care Programs are
“preferable to the current Correctional Service of Canada interventions that try to stop the
behaviour momentarily through segregation” (p. 12).
A Brighter Future for the Spirit Within: Potential for JUSTICE

By removing acute and chronically mentally ill Aboriginal female federally sentenced
offenders from the Correctional Service of Canada population we would see the complete end of
interventions, segregation/administrative isolation placements, a decrease in use of force
incidents and subsequent assaults on staff warranting further charges and expensive legal issues
involving this segment of the offender population. We would also be able to measure the
enormous fiscal decrease in government accountability and cost for negligent and homicidal
behaviour as noted in the Ashley Smith case. The Correctional Service of Canada would have
money to allocate to enhancing staff training, the funding of other programs, resources and
services for the remaining inmate population, all accomplished by the reassignment of this
problematic portion of the offender population. The institutional environment would be less
toxic for staff and managers, and the Canadian justice system would be operating in a more
ethical, integral, just, transparent, and accountable format, in accordance with many agreements,
regulations, and laws. Following the implementation of Trauma Informed Care Programs we
could determine if there is a decrease in self injury and an increased compliance with parole
conditions.
Self-satisfaction surveys could be conducted with the Aboriginal women to measure their
views about their placement, well being, treatment, resiliency, and the potential for success in
returning to their communities and families. Similar self survey studies could be conducted

24

within the Correctional Service of Canada at the correctional officer level to determine if there is
enhanced job improvement through the reassignment of this stressful and difficult portion of the
offender population.

Conclusion
“It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails, a
nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but how it treats its
lowest ones.”

Nelson Mandela (United Nations, 2015).

In this paper, I have tried to bring together many voices, including my own, that call for a
change in how we deal with our “lowest” citizens. In examining the past, present, and future
treatment of female Aboriginal mentally disordered offenders, I am hoping that the Correctional
Service of Canada will find a benevolent way to treat them justly and fairly. It is not acceptable
that Ashley Smith was criminally charged and disciplined for her mental illness.
I find it perplexing, that the Correctional Service of Canada has not found a better way to
deal with mentally disordered Aboriginal women. Is it that the government does not want to
spend the money? Do they lack the moral or political will to make substantive correct change?
Are they saying there is really no point in trying to rehabilitate the “undesirables” in our society?
One wonders then if all the talk about respect, diversity, multi-culturalism, and apologies to
Aboriginal people is all just smoke and mirrors.
We need to change the discourse and rage against the intransigent injustice. When the
Office of the Correctional Investigator, Coroner’s Inquests, juries, correctional and mental health
staff, academics, international bodies, non-governmental organizations, authors, poets and the
staff and inmates themselves, all point out the same things, why then does the Correctional
Service of Canada stand resolute and only make change at a glacial pace?

25

We need to partner with Aboriginal agencies and organizations, with Elders and
supportive allies and change the discourse. We need to provide healthy, healing, trauma
informed services that meet Aboriginal women where they are, without judgment or reproach.
We need to establish healthy, healing, therapeutic environments. Then, and only then, will all
the voices brought together in this paper be able to say that we have put the “just” back in justice.
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