The Segregation Advisory Committee

As work proceeded on the writing of the final report, Task Force members addressed the question of how to ensure that the Correctional Service of Canada’s commitment to developing a culture which respected the law could be sustained and the recommendations of the Task Force, designed to reflect that commitment, be implemented. It was in this context that the Task Force recommended the establishment of a segregation advisory committee. The report set out the rationale for such a committee and its mandate:

As the Chairperson of the Task Force has observed in the opening comments to this report, the experience of the Task Force in bringing together people with different perspectives from both within and outside the CSC, has proven to be a basis for productive partnership in exploring creative solutions to complex and often-times intractable issues. That energy and synergy, in the Task Force’s view, contributed significantly and positively to its work and to the development of its recommendations. Since the members of the Task Force have become familiar over the past nine months with the issues and the principles underlying the recommendations, appointing some members to the segregation advisory committee would provide continuity between the work of the Task Force and the work involved in the further development and implementation of the recommendations. The Task Force believes it vital that the balance between the CSC and outside participants be maintained on the segregation advisory committee to provide a necessary measure of public confidence in the CSC’s openness, accountability and commitment to the strengthening of a culture that respects the "rule of law."

The segregation advisory committee would offer advice on framing the experimentation with independent adjudication and the Aboriginal pilot project, monitor progress in developing and implementing the enhanced segregation review process, and provide further input on the review of population management in the context of the law. The committee’s mandate would extend over the next two years, with the provision that there be quarterly status reports on implementation of the recommendations and biennial reports to the Senior Deputy Commissioner. (Task Force Report at 67)

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