Overview

We are implementing a multi-year Human Rights Plan (HRP) in partnership with:

The HRP is a two phased action plan, with five main commitment areas that incorporates human rights principles and Indigenous peoples’ perspectives into correctional services’ which includes:

  • learning/training
  • operational and employment policies and procedures
  • programs and services/service delivery

The HRP will help:

  • make correctional services more responsive to diverse groups such as employees and inmates
  • support workplaces and services/service delivery that are:
    • inclusive
    • diverse
    • equitable
    • accessible
    • consistent with human rights principles and Indigenous peoples’ perspectives

Each commitment area has several initiatives to:

  • support lasting human rights changes
  • strengthen accountability
  • make human rights right in correctional services

Here is an overview of the ’s five commitment areas and key initiatives:

Embedding expertise

Embedding expertise – to support and help make human rights changes.

  • Develop a tool to help us think about and apply Indigenous peoples’ perspectives in all of our work.
  • Setup local human rights and Indigenous committees in our workplaces.
  • Give advance notice of funding to employee networks to help them better plan events.

Service delivery

Service delivery - to better respond to inmates’ human rights-related needs

  • Collect data to help us better understand our/inmates and their human rights-related needs.
  • Improve the complaints process.
  • Review operational policies and mental health initiatives from human rights and Indigenous perspectives.
  • Create a new client/inmate human rights policy with resources and tools to support it.

Building competencies

Building competencies – to help all employees learn and apply Indigenous peoples’ perspectives and human rights principles on the job.

  • Review training programs from human rights and Indigenous perspectives.
  • Set up an Indigenous Resource Centre.
  • Develop Indigenous and human rights training for different roles in Correctional Services.
  • Provide supports to help put human rights and Indigenous learning into practice in our day-to-day jobs.
  • Add human rights-related learning and skills to performance plans.

Inclusive workplaces

Inclusive workplaces – to have a diverse workforce, with inclusive workplaces and employment processes.

  • Review employment policies from human rights and Indigenous perspectives.
  • Look for opportunities to collect data to better understand our employees and their human rights-related needs.
  • Create goals for a diverse workforce and action plans.
  • Increase the number of Indigenous people in recruitment-related roles.
  • Develop an outreach plan for under-represented groups.

Employee complaints

Employee complaints – to work with the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services (MGCS) to better respond to Workplace Discrimination and Harassment Prevention (WDHP) policy complaints.

  • Track and monitor complaints to identify issues and trends.
  • Work with MGCS to address issues with the internal complaints process.
  • Review Correctional Services’ policies and procedures about complaints management.
  • Create a “best practices” manual to help managers better handle complaints. 

If you have any questions, please email HRP@ontario.ca.