So, after ten years, how far have we come? As Madam Justice Louise Arbour, now of the Supreme Court of Canada, commented when she issued her report on the Commission of Inquiry into Certain Events at the Prison for Women in Kingston, on April 1, 1996,

In terms of general correctional issues, the facts of this inquiry have revealed a disturbing lack of commitment to the ideals of justice on the part of the Correctional Service. I firmly believe that increased judicial supervision is required. The two areas in which the Service has been the most delinquent are the management of segregation and administration of the grievance process. In both areas, the deficiencies that the facts have revealed were serious and detrimental to prisoners in every respect, including in undermining their rehabilitative prospects. There is nothing to suggest that the Service is either willing or able to reform without judicial guidance and control.

(Commission of Inquiry Into Certain Events at
The Prison For Women in Kingston - The Arbour
Commission Report, 1996: 198).

Furthermore, we know that the number of women serving federal sentences has doubled over the past decade. Approximately 3% of the federal prison population is women. They form about 10-11 % of the provincial jail populations. The reality is, however, that the fastest growing prison population worldwide is women, and in particular, racialized, young and poor women. In fact, in the last decade, information from the Correctional Service of Canada indicates that over the next two years we are likely to see a 24% projected increase, and a 50% increase in five years, in the number of federally sentenced women.

It is important to understand the nature of these increases. The numbers have basically quintupled in the Atlantic Region and tripled in the Prairie Provinces. The Task Force on Federally Sentenced Women reported that there were thirteen women from all four Atlantic Provinces. The last time I walked around Nova Institution I counted an excessive 75 prison beds for federally sentenced women.

In the Prairie Region, most of the women are Aboriginal, contributing to a situation where they represent 25% of the women's jail population. We know the increasing numbers of women in prison is clearly linked to the evisceration of health, education and social services. We also know that the cycle intensifies in times of economic downturn. It is very clear where we are sending the people who are experiencing the worst in the downturn in the economy and social trends.

In terms of the rate at which women are charged, however, there has been a 7% decrease overall in the number of women charged with criminal offences. In particular, we are seeing a decrease in the number of violent crimes committed by women. There is an 11% increase in the number of women charged with drug offences though. While we are seeing fewer women serving prison terms and fewer sentenced to long terms of imprisonment, we are witnessing an increase in the number of women serving shorter federal terms of imprisonment.