CAEFS is also extremely concerned that the needs of women classified as minimum security prisoners are not being addressed at all. One of the recurring historical criticisms of the Prison for Women in Kingston was that all women were subject to the same high security measures, regardless of their security classification. This situation has now been replicated in the new regional prisons.

Although CAEFS does not support the construction of additional prison beds, if CSC persists in the desire to construct new cell space anyway, we advocate that they develop minimum security space outside the fences of the regional prisons. The current situation, whereby there are no minimum security beds for women aside from the 13 beds at the Isabel MacNeil House in Kingston, is a situation that continues to violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA) and unfairly discriminate against women classified as minimum security prisoners.

We are also concerned that Aboriginal women who are classified as having serious mental health concerns and those classified as maximum security prisoners may still not have access to the Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge. The Aboriginal women who authored the recommendations of the Task Force on Federally Sentenced Women which pertain to the Healing Lodge clearly intended that all federally sentenced Aboriginal women should have access to the Lodge, regardless of the security classification they are given by the Correctional Service of Canada. Indeed, it is CAEFS’ view that the Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge was built for the very women who have been refused access, many of whom are now kept in the segregated maximum security units in the Saskatchewan Penitentiary in Prince Albert and the Regional Psychiatric Centre in Saskatoon.