Overview : Changes for Correctional Service Canada

This legislation makes changes to the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA), which governs how the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) operates.

The Safe Streets and Communities Act amends four main areas of the CCRA:

• enhanced sharing of information with victims;
• enhancing offender responsibility and accountability;
• strengthening the management of offenders and their reintegration; and
• modernizing disciplinary actions.

This legislation also makes changes to the CCRA's Principles.

In addition to these amendments, there are several other areas of this Act that impact CSC's operations and policies:

CSC recognizes that the successful reintegration of offenders into communities depends upon strong and effective community support. One way in which the Safe Streets and Communities Act will assist offenders in their reintegration is to provide additional opportunities for them to be released into Aboriginal communities under Section 84 of the CCRA.

This means that when an offender – whether Aboriginal or not – is preparing for statutory release or parole, he/she will have the option of developing a release and reintegration plan with an Aboriginal community. Previously, offenders could only apply for this option when preparing for parole, not their statutory release.

The concept of mental health care has been added as an element in the Principles of the CCRA for which CSC will be responsive. This addition emphasizes the importance of continuing to address mental health issues in our penitentiaries, which is a key priority for CSC.

The terms of how CSC provides mental health care are not impacted by this change. There is no change to CSC's legislated requirement to provide inmates with essential health care and reasonable access to non-essential mental health care that contributes to the inmate's rehabilitation and successful reintegration into the community.