Faces of CSC: Pastor Oliver Johnson
September 6, 2024
Citizen Advisory Committee Member, Edmonton, Prairie Region
“As professionals, we must function with integrity and compassion by first listening to the needs and concerns of both staff and inmates alike.”
When it comes to inmates, Pastor Oliver Johnson feels that being heard and understood is key to helping individuals become law abiding citizens and active members of society post incarceration.
Because all offenders come from the community, and most will eventually return there, community acceptance and support are crucial for successful reintegration. This is something the Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) member from Edmonton, Alberta, understands very well.
Pastor Oliver is one of many CAC members in facilities across Canada who volunteer their time to help Correctional Service Canada (CSC) build stronger links between offenders and communities.
He has been involved with the CAC for eight years, first as a guest member at Edmonton Institution for Women and then as a member at Grierson Institution, an urban minimum security site in Edmonton.
Pastor Oliver brings a wealth of expertise and experience to the table. He became a member of CAC due to his background within corrections. He was the former institutional chaplain at Edmonton Institution for more than 11 years.
There, under the Director of Chaplain General, he learned an important mantra: “Nobody Left Behind.” A mantra of hope, as he calls it—one that he has maintained to this day.
Pastor Oliver emphasizes the importance of responsibility, accountability and acting without bias—for inmates and staff equally. This is an approach he relates to restorative justice.
“We should each treat others the way that we would like to be treated, regardless of the circumstances. Further, as professionals we have a fiduciary responsibility to act accordingly, and when we do not, then we too, should be governed accordingly.”
In addition to the time he has already devoted as an advisory member, he is also making an impact on the future through his outreach and recruitment efforts in the Edmonton community.
“Due to the changed and changing landscape of the area, I have visited and met with ethnocultural leaders in order to encourage their input and buy-in in such a very important endeavour that would help better the diversity within the CSC,” he says.
Not only does he have a firm grasp on CSC’s ultimate goal as an organization, but he is also highly valued by CSC staff in the region for his expertise in services and interventions for Black and other racialized individuals in CSC’s care and custody.
Pastor Oliver works with Ramon (Snowy) Noble, the Black Offender Liaison Officer in the Prairie region, to assist Black offenders who have recently been released into the community through a program called the “BLOG” (Black offender group). This is an initiative that Pastor Oliver feels is already having an impact.