3. Contact the Correctional Investigator

Who is the Correctional Investigator?
The Correctional Investigator is an ombudsman for federal prisoners. This means that it is his job to investigate and resolve complaints made by prisoners about decisions, acts or omissions of CSC staff.³⁴⁰ Last year the Office of the Correctional Investigator of Canada received almost 8,000 complaints.

The Correctional Investigator also reviews CSC policies and procedures, and makes recommendations to ensure systematic areas of concern are identified and dealt with.

The Correctional Investigator’s main concern is to ensure that there is a fair balance between the interests of the CSC and those of the individual.

How can the Correctional Investigator help me?
The Correctional Investigator can make an inquiry in response to a complaint, in response to the request of a minister, or based on his own initiative. He has full discretion in deciding whether or not to conduct an investigation and he can terminate an investigation at any time.³⁴¹

The Correctional Investigator and his staff are not obliged to tell CSC what they learn from a prisoner and they are not obliged to tell a prisoner what they learn from the CSC. They cannot be compelled to testify or to reveal the source of information. If you send a letter to the Correctional Investigator, no one at the prison you are in is allowed to open it so anything you send to the Correctional Investigator should be kept private.³⁴²

Decisions made by the Correctional Investigator are not binding.

Note that the Correctional Investigator cannot involve himself in any decision that is within the jurisdiction of the parole board.³⁴³

Be sure to be persistent with the Office of the Correctional Investigator. If you don’t get what you need during your first contact with the Office, then try again.