(Chair) in the chair.

[English]

Good morning, honourable senators. Welcome. I am Brent Cotter, a senator from Saskatchewan, and chair of this committee. I would invite my colleagues to introduce themselves.

Senator Denise Batters, Saskatchewan.

[Translation]

Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu, from Quebec.

Pierre J. Dalphond, the senatorial division of De Lorimier, in Quebec.

[English]

Good morning, and welcome to our guests. Marty Klyne, a senator from Saskatchewan, Treaty 4 territory.

Paula Simons, a senator from Alberta, Treaty 6 territory.

[Translation]

Renée Dupuis, the senatorial division of the Laurentides, in Quebec.

[English]

Good morning and welcome. Kim Pate. I live here in the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe.

[Translation]

Bernadette Clement, from Ontario.

[English]

Welcome. I’m Mobina Jaffer from British Columbia.

Welcome. I’m John McNair from New Brunswick.

Colleagues, we will begin two panels of deliberations to consider Bill S-230, An Act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act.

With your indulgence, I’m going to propose that we shave a little bit of time off of our full hour so that we have an opportunity at the end of the meeting to address a couple of regulatory matters, if I can call them that. It will be an opportunity, I hope, for a few of us to send our best wishes to Senator Dupuis. There is also one matter that I would like to propose we consider in camera.

Let’s begin the first panel. The first panel is composed of very distinguished guests. I want to extend a welcome to Anne Kelly, the Commissioner from the Correctional Service Canada; Ginette Clarke, Acting Assistant Commissioner, Health Services Sector; and Jay Pyke, Acting Senior Deputy Commissioner.

Welcome, and thank you for joining us. We will begin with opening remarks from Ms. Kelly, of approximately five minutes or so, which will be followed by questions and conversations with senators. Ms. Kelly, the floor is yours.

[Translation]

Good morning, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. It’s a pleasure to be with you today.

[English]

Given the topic you are studying, I felt it important to personally be here to speak with you and answer your questions.

The core mandate of our correctional system is to rehabilitate and safely reintegrate offenders into our communities. To achieve our mandate, our correctional facilities must be safe environments for both staff and inmates. This is our fundamental responsibility.

I am the commissioner who oversaw the abolition of segregation and the creation of structured intervention units, or SIUs, in November 2019. This was a historic transformation in the federal correctional system. SIUs were implemented just months before the pandemic, which had a significant and far-reaching impact, including within our prison system. I have been and continue to be strongly committed to the successful operation of SIUs.

To provide a bit of context, there are some inmates who cannot be safely housed in the mainstream inmate population because of the risk they pose to themselves or to others. It is for these offenders, who represent approximately 1.6% of federal inmates, that SIUs were created.

SIUs are not about punishment or causing harm. Quite the contrary, they are about helping inmates and providing them with the opportunity for targeted interventions, programs and health services to support their safe return to a mainstream inmate population as soon as possible. SIUs are meant as a temporary measure to help inmates adopt more positive behaviours that keep the institution as a whole safe and secure.

The SIU model responds to our obligations under Canadian law, and the law is clear. Inmates in an SIU are to be provided the opportunity to spend a minimum of four hours a day outside of their cell, including two hours a day of meaningful human contact. In addition, inmates in SIUs receive daily health care visits by health professionals.

The legislation guiding SIUs recognizes that there are situations when an inmate may be held in their cell for longer, for example, if they refuse to leave. This is their right.

[Translation]

Since the SIUs were established, we have received and continue to receive feedback from stakeholders and advisory committees. In response to this feedback, we have made changes to improve our SIUs.

We continue to work with the Structured Intervention Unit Implementation Advisory Panel members and the independent external decision makers to share data and review their important findings and recommendations. I want to acknowledge the work they do in helping us make continuous improvements.

I know some of you have previously visited our institutions, but for those who have yet to do so, I strongly encourage you to come and see the work we do first-hand.

As commissioner, and as someone who has worked for the Correctional Service Canada for 40 years, the safe and successful reintegration of offenders remains my priority. I say this a lot: there is no greater responsibility than having the care and custody of other human beings.

I want to close my remarks by acknowledging our employees, who work in some of the most challenging circumstances but remain steadfast in their dedication and commitment to our mission.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Kelly. We will begin questions with the deputy chair of the committee.

[Translation]

Welcome, Ms. Kelly, to you and your officials. Having visited federal penitentiaries in Quebec, I can tell you that offenders in these units are treated very well, often better than in a public hospital. That’s my observation.

My first question has to do with the statement that Senator Pate often makes, that when people are in these units for more than 15 days, it’s akin to torture. Do you agree with the senator’s definition?

It’s clear that the legislation sets out certain expectations with respect to what must be done with offenders in SIUs. First, SIUs have specific staff. There are parole officers, program officers, teachers—

As I have other questions, I understand that your answer is that it isn’t torture, that they are treated well.

Yes, they are offered programs and interventions.

Senator Pate’s definition of “disabling mental health issues” in her bill refers to section 37.11 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, which refers to refusing to interact with others, engaging in self-injurious behaviour, and showing symptoms of a drug overdose and signs of emotional distress. Do you think this definition is so meaningful that people who are often incarcerated in these units should be transferred to public hospitals?