The Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies

When the Arbour Report was released at the end of March, I was relieved, exhilarated and overwhelmed with the recommendations and felt that there would be immediate positive changes in the prisons. I naively believed that the Minister and Correctional Services of Canada officials would immediately implement the recommendations -- the conclusions of a judicial inquiry -- to rectify situations in the prisons which Justice Arbour describes as "of the most serious nature." For too long, our organization has been advocating alternatives to incarceration and the better treatment of incarcerated women, and the report of the Inquiry appeared to be the fruits of our efforts, nationally and locally.

In spite of the Report, and since the conclusion of the Inquiry, Corrections officials generally appear to be ignoring the recommendations.

The tragedies that have occurred in the prisons since the release of the Arbour Report are beyond my abilities to describe: suicides, slashings, strip-searching and segregation, to mention a few.

As a lawyer involved in the criminal justice system, I can state that the pre-sentence process is largely protected by the Charter, and an accused's rights and dignity are given legal protection.

The Arbour Report makes it clear that post-sentence treatment of prisoners has been left unchecked.

As Justice Arbour says in her report:

"A fair criminal process produces reliable convictions and, as a result, the management of a custodial sentence does not have to be plagued with uncertainties about the legitimacy of the enterprise.

"However, even though the presumption of innocence is displaced by the conviction, in the imposition of punishment, all authority must still come from the law.

"Parliament authorizes the imposition of certain sentences; the courts impose them and corrections officials implement the court orders.

"A guilty verdict followed by a custodial sentence is not a grant of authority for the State to disregard the very values that the law, particularly criminal law, seeks to uphold and to vindicate, such as honesty, respect for the physical safety of others, respect for privacy and for human dignity. The administration of criminal justice does not end with the verdict and the imposition of sentence. Corrections officials are held to the same standards of integrity and decency as their partners in the administration of criminal law."
(p. xi, emphasis added.)

The Report is our authority to continue to demand that Corrections officials be accountable.

In my opinion, when a woman is convicted of a criminal offence, she may lose her freedom for a period of time, but rehabilitation is always the primary goal.

Loss of dignity and the will to live is not one of the goals of the sentencing process, nor a necessary adjunct to incarceration. Whenever Corrections officials fail to recognize these principles we must continue to bring them to account for that failure.

In spite of the strong recommendations contained in the Report, the problems which are occurring in the Edmonton Institution for Women, are in my opinion, very similar to those events which led to the Inquiry at P4W.

In June, 1995, we voted on a progressive model of reorganization of regionalization, which emphasizes greater involvement of local societies.

When we voted on this operational model, many of us could not predict the difficulties that would arise in the various regions.

I consider that the difficulties of advocacy in the regions and at the national level are of considerable importance and one of our most challenging agenda items at this meeting.

We must focus on greater communication in order to speak with a strong and united voice.

The law firm of Nelligan Power, and particularly Mark Green are also to be thanked for their work in revising our by-laws. The revisions to our constitution would otherwise have been very costly and we are grateful for their assistance.

Finally, during this meeting, let's say thanks for people like Claire Culhane and Senator Hastings.