Corrections and Conditional Release Regulations (SOR/92-620)

Short Title

1 These Regulations may be cited as the Corrections and Conditional Release Regulations.

Interpretation

2 In these Regulations,

Act

Act means the Corrections and Conditional Release Act; (Loi)

committee

committee means the committee established under subsection 37.31(3) of the Act; (comité)

CORCAN

CORCAN means the part of the Service that is responsible for penitentiary industry; (CORCAN)

correctional plan

correctional plan means a correctional plan developed in accordance with section 102; (plan correctionnel)

independent chairperson

independent chairperson means a person appointed pursuant to section 24 to conduct hearings of serious disciplinary offences; (président indépendant)

inmate grievance committee

inmate grievance committee means a committee that is established in a penitentiary for the purpose of reviewing inmates’ grievances and making recommendations with respect thereto to the institutional head and that consists of an equal number of inmates and staff members; (comité d’examen des griefs des détenus)

net approved earnings

net approved earnings, in respect of an inmate, means the inmate’s income per pay period from pensions, institutional work, programs referred to in paragraph 78(1)(a) of the Act, authorized employment in the community and sales of hobby crafts, less any deductions made for the purposes of reimbursement pursuant to subsection 104(4); (gains nets approuvés)

offender

offender means

• (a) in Part I, an offender as defined in section 2 of the Act, and

• (b) in Part II, an offender as defined in section 99 of the Act; (délinquant)

outside review board

outside review board means a committee of members of the community, other than staff members or inmates, that is established for the purpose of reviewing inmates’ grievances and making recommendations with respect thereto to the person who is reviewing the inmate’s grievance; (comité externe d’examen des griefs)

parole supervisor

parole supervisor has the same meaning as in subsection 134(2) of the Act; (surveillant de liberté conditionnelle)

region

region means one of the following regions, namely, the Atlantic region, Quebec, Ontario, the Prairie region and the Pacific region; (région)

registered health care professional

registered health care professional means a registered health care professional employed or engaged by the Service; (professionnel de la santé agréé)

releasing authority

releasing authority has the same meaning as in subsection 133(1) of the Act; (autorité compétente)

secure area

secure area means an area within a penitentiary that is designated by the institutional head by means of institutional standing orders for that purpose. (secteur de sécurité)

unauthorized item

unauthorized item means an item that is not authorized by a Commissioner’s Directives or by a written order of the institutional head and that an inmate possesses without prior authorization; (objet non autorisé)

working day

working day has the same meaning as in subsection 93(5) of the Act. (jour ouvrable)

PART ICorrections

General

Duties

3 Every staff member shall

• (a) be familiar with the Act, these Regulations and every written policy directive that relates to the staff member’s duties;

• (b) perform the staff member’s duties impartially and diligently and in accordance with the principles set out in the Act and in the Mission of the Correctional Service of Canada, published by the Service, as amended from time to time; and

• (c) encourage and assist offenders to become law-abiding citizens.

4 An institutional head is responsible, under the direction of the Commissioner, for

• (a) the care, custody and control of all inmates in the penitentiary;

• (b) the management, organization and security of the penitentiary; and

• (c) the direction and work environment of staff members.

Authorization

• 5 (1) A staff member who is designated by name or position for that purpose in Commissioner’s Directives may exercise the powers, perform the duties or carry out the functions that are assigned to the Commissioner by any of the following provisions of the Act:

  • (a) subsection 27(3);

  • (b) section 29;

  • (b.1) section 37.4; and

  • (c) subsection 81(3).

• (2) A staff member who is assigned responsibility for liaison with victims in Commissioner’s Directives may exercise the powers, perform the duties or carry out the functions that are assigned to the Commissioner by section 26 of the Act.

6 A staff member who is designated by name or position by an institutional head for that purpose in institutional standing orders that are readily accessible to the inmates may exercise the powers, perform the duties or carry out the functions that are assigned to the institutional head by any of the following provisions of the Act:

• (a) subsection 17(3);

• (b) subsection 18(4);

• (c) subsection 37.3(5);

• (d) [Repealed, SOR/2019-299, s. 3]

• (e) [Repealed, SOR/2019-299, s. 3]

• (f) subsection 41(2);

• (g) subsection 61(2); and

• (h) subsection 94(1).

Citizen Advisory Committees

• 7 (1) An institutional head or a person responsible for a parole office may, in accordance with this section, set up a Citizen Advisory Committee that consists of members of the community in which the penitentiary or parole office is situated to promote and facilitate the involvement of members of the community in the operation of the Service.

• (2) An institutional head or a person responsible for a parole office shall ensure that the Citizen Advisory Committee is representative of the community in which the penitentiary or parole office, as the case may be, is situated.

• (3) No staff member or offender may be appointed to a Citizen Advisory Committee.

• (4) A Citizen Advisory Committee

  • (a) may advise an institutional head or a person responsible for a parole office on any matter within the institutional head’s or person’s jurisdiction; and

  • (b) shall make itself available for discussions and consultations with the public, offenders, staff members and Service management.

• (5) The institutional head or a person responsible for a parole office shall ensure that the members of the Citizen Advisory Committee that relates to the penitentiary or parole office have reasonable access, for the purpose of carrying out the functions of the Committee, to

  • (a) every part of the penitentiary or parole office;

  • (b) every staff member of the penitentiary or parole office;

  • (c) any offender in the penitentiary or under the supervision of the parole office; and

  • (d) any hearing, conducted under this Part or Part I of the Act, respecting an offender in the penitentiary or under the supervision of the parole office, if the offender consents to the access.

Inmates’ Attendance at Judicial Proceedings

• 8 (1) Where an inmate is an applicant for a reduction in the inmate’s number of years of imprisonment without eligibility for parole, pursuant to section 745 of the Criminal Code, the Commissioner shall ensure that the inmate is produced in court for the purpose of attending the hearing of the application, where

  • (a) the court requires that the inmate be present at the hearing; or

  • (b) the inmate requests to be present at the hearing.

• (2) The Commissioner or a staff member designated by the Commissioner may authorize the transfer of an inmate to another penitentiary or to a provincial correctional facility where the transfer is necessary to facilitate the inmate’s attendance at a judicial proceeding.

Escorted Temporary Absences and Work Releases

9 For the purposes of paragraph 17(1)(b) of the Act, the institutional head may authorize an escorted temporary absence of an inmate

• (a) for medical reasons to allow the inmate to undergo medical examination or treatment that cannot reasonably be provided in the penitentiary;

• (b) for administrative reasons to allow the inmate to attend to essential personal affairs or legal matters or to matters related to the administration of the sentence that the inmate is serving;

• (c) for community service purposes to allow the inmate to undertake voluntary activity with a non-profit community institution, organization or agency, or for the benefit of the community as a whole;

• (d) for family contact purposes to assist the inmate in maintaining and strengthening family ties as a support to the inmate while in custody and as a potential community resource on the inmate’s release;

• (e) for parental responsibility reasons to allow the inmate to attend to matters related to the maintenance of a parent-child relationship, including care, nurture, schooling and medical treatment, where such a relationship exists between the inmate and the child;

• (f) for personal development for rehabilitative purposes to allow the inmate to participate in specific treatment activities with the goal of reducing the risk of the inmate re-offending or to allow the inmate to participate in activities of a rehabilitative nature, including cultural and spiritual ceremonies unique to Indigenous persons, with the goal of assisting the reintegration of the inmate into the community as a law-abiding citizen; or

• (g) for compassionate reasons to allow the inmate to attend to urgent matters affecting the members of the inmate’s immediate family or other persons with whom the inmate has a close personal relationship.

• 10 (1) The power of the Commissioner under subsection 17(1) of the Act to approve non-medical escorted temporary absences for a period exceeding five days but not exceeding fifteen days may be exercised by the head of the region.

• (2) The power of the Commissioner under subsection 18(2) of the Act to approve a work release where the duration of the work release is to exceed 60 days may be exercised by the head of the region.

Placement and Transfers

11 An institutional head shall ensure that an inmate is informed in writing of the reasons for the placement of the inmate in a particular penitentiary and that the inmate is given an opportunity to make representations with respect thereto,

• (a) where the penitentiary placement process takes place in a provincial correctional facility, within two weeks after the initial placement of the inmate in a penitentiary; or

• (b) where the penitentiary placement process takes place in a penitentiary, before the transfer of the inmate to the assigned penitentiary but after the initial reception process.

12 Before the transfer of an inmate pursuant to section 29 of the Act, other than a transfer at the request of the inmate, an institutional head or a staff member designated by the institutional head shall

• (a) give the inmate written notice of the proposed transfer, including the reasons for the proposed transfer and the proposed destination;

• (b) after giving the inmate a reasonable opportunity to prepare representations with respect to the proposed transfer, meet with the inmate to explain the reasons for the proposed transfer and give the inmate an opportunity to make representations with respect to the proposed transfer in person or, if the inmate prefers, in writing;

• (c) forward the inmate’s representations to the Commissioner or to a staff member designated in accordance with paragraph 5(1)(b); and

• (d) give the inmate written notice of the final decision respecting the transfer, and the reasons for the decision,

  • (i) at least two days before the transfer if the final decision is to transfer the inmate, unless the inmate consents to a shorter period; and

  • (ii) within five working days after the decision if the final decision is not to transfer the inmate.

• 13 (1) Section 12 does not apply where the Commissioner or a staff member designated in accordance with paragraph 5(1)(b) determines that it is necessary to immediately transfer an inmate for the security of the penitentiary or the safety of the inmate or any other person.

• (2) Where the Commissioner or a staff member designated in accordance with paragraph 5(1)(b) determines that it is necessary to immediately transfer an inmate for the reasons set out in subsection (1), the institutional head of the penitentiary to which the inmate is transferred or a staff member designated by that institutional head shall

  • (a) meet with the inmate not more than two working days after the transfer to explain the reasons for the transfer and give the inmate an opportunity to make representations with respect to the transfer in person or, if the inmate prefers, in writing;

  • (b) forward the inmate’s representations to the Commissioner or to a staff member designated in accordance with paragraph 5(1)(b); and

  • (c) give the inmate, within five working days after the final decision, written notice of the final decision respecting the transfer and the reasons for the decision.

• 13.1 (1) Once the obligations set out in subsection 34(3) of the Act have been fulfilled, the Service shall provide the inmate with an opportunity to make representations with respect to their transfer to a structured intervention unit in person or, if the inmate prefers, in writing, and those representations shall be sent to the institutional head so that they may make their determination within the timelines set out in subsection 29.01(2) of the Act.

• (2) When the institutional head makes the determination set out in subsection 29.01(2) of the Act, they shall consider the inmate’s representations and the staff member’s reasons for granting the authorization and any alternative that was considered.

• (3) No later than one working day after the day on which a determination was made under subsection 29.01(2) of the Act, the inmate shall be orally advised of the determination, including the reasons for the determination, and no later than two working days after the day on which the determination was made, they shall be provided with those reasons in writing.