Annie Blanchette, Regional Vice-President for Quebec (RCMP–Justice–PPSC–CSC Community–PBC) and Patrick Ménard, Regional Vice-President for Quebec, (CSC) appeared before the House of Commons Public Safety Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security on Monday, November 2nd.
The Committee was focused on the process by which federal offenders are approved for conditional release and how victims in particular are notified.
RVP Blanchette and RVP Ménard emphasized the crucial role that USJE’s members play in correctional planning, programs and preparations for potential conditional release.
Ms. Blanchette and Mr. Ménard also seized the opportunity to highlight the severe pressures that USJE members often experience when it comes to the federal correctional system, whether it is chronic under-resourcing, persistently high caseloads, excessive administrative burdens, insufficient access to vital mental health and related resources in the community on which offenders rely, among other factors.
Members of Parliament serving on the Committee asked a number of questions to USJE’s Regional Vice Presidents and extended their gratitude to USJE for providing meaningful insight into aspects of the correctional system as it pertains to preparing federal offenders for release. This includes the invaluable role that correctional program staff play within federal penitentiaries and the community to support offenders in their rehabilitation, as well as the considerable efforts undertaken by federal parole officers who oversee and supervise federal offenders throughout their correctional journey.
USJE is immensely proud of the tremendous work undertaken by members working within the federal Correctional Service of Canada and welcomes the opportunity to shed light on their role in keeping Canadians safe day in and day out, from coast to coast to coast.
USJE welcomes the opportunity to give Members of Parliament across party lines in person site tours at federal facilities, including federal penitentiaries and community parole offices, the RCMP and other federal public safety entities.
For more information on USJE’s role in advancing public safety on behalf of all Canadians, visit keepingcanadianssafe.ca
Written Statement
For those who wish to follow along, we are sharing the written version of the introductions presented by RVPs Annie Blanchette and Patrick Ménard to the SECU Committee. Please find the text below.
Annie Blanchette
Hello, members of the Committee.
My name is Annie Blanchette, and I am the Regional Vice-President for the Union of Safety and Justice Employees, representing members within the RCMP, the Department of Justice, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC), the Parole Board of Canada (PBC), and the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC—community) for the Quebec region.
I am a parole officer at the Ville-Marie community parole office in Montreal, a position I continue to hold today.
I have been involved in the labour movement since 2017, working to represent the interests of my colleagues while contributing to the improvement of working conditions, ultimately to better serve the public.
In the course of our duties, parole officers assess risk, develop recommendations, and propose release conditions, in addition to supervising offenders who are on parole.
However, the final decision regarding the granting, denial, or revocation of parole rests with the Parole Board of Canada, which acts as an independent decision-maker. Our role is to provide the professional assessments and recommendations that inform these decisions.
Patrick Ménard
Good morning, members of the Committee.
My name is Patrick Ménard, and I have been working with the federal correctional population since 1998. I joined the Correctional Service of Canada as a parole officer on March 1, 1999.
I have worked at the Regional Reception Centre, Cowansville Institution, and Archambault Institution, engaging with incarcerated individuals across all security levels. For the first four years, I worked primarily with inmates associated with criminal gangs and organized crime.
From 2004 to 2021—a period of 17 years—I worked at the Regional Mental Health Centre (RMHC), a psychiatric penitentiary. In that role, I developed correctional and intervention plans, and provided recommendations regarding transfers, security levels, and releases. Throughout my career, I have participated in hundreds of decision-making processes at various stages of the correctional journey, from the initial admission of incarcerated individuals to their reintegration into the community.
Regarding my union involvement, I have served as the Regional Vice-President for the Quebec region of the Union of Safety and Justice Employees since November 2021.
About USJE
The Union of Safety and Justice Employees is a federal public service component representing just under 20,000 federal public service employees working in public safety, law enforcement, federal Corrections, and related fields. Thousands of USJE’s members work for Correctional Service of Canada, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, with many others employed by the Parole Board of Canada, Public Safety Canada and other departments and agencies under the jurisdiction of the Public Safety and Justice Ministries.
USJE’s membership includes thousands of frontline, non-uniformed Public Safety Personnel who play a pivotal role in the administrative, program delivery, case management, supervision and oversight functions within the Correctional Service of Canada.
The Reality of Working Conditions
We are here today to address the working conditions of case management staff. Workloads are continuously increasing, and administrative demands from management keep growing—all without any corresponding adjustments to workload or staffing levels. This situation has a direct impact on the mental health of parole officers, who are overburdened and struggling to perform their duties as required.
This excessive workload compromises the quality of case supervision and jeopardizes the safety of both staff and the public. The more cases a parole officer is assigned, the less able they are to examine each situation in depth, increasing the risk that critical details will be overlooked.
The established ratios between parole officers and offenders are far from being met. In Community Correctional Centres, the ratio is one officer to 13 offenders—a reality that has become unmanageable. Furthermore, these centres house a significant number of dangerous offenders, which places even greater pressure on staff. These positions are often held by younger employees who quickly become burnt out early in their careers, all while budget cuts continue.
We bring many years of experience to the table and have witnessed a steady decline in resources over time. Referring individuals to mental health services has become extremely difficult, even as the need for such services continues to grow. Staff must contend with excessive workloads, a lack of new hires, and limited access to therapeutic and medical resources. These challenges pose significant obstacles to our ability to ensure the safety of the public and of staff working within the correctional system.
The reality of the correctional environment demands a clear understanding of these issues. Without adequate resources, sufficient staffing, and appropriate mental health support, it becomes increasingly difficult to effectively carry out our mandate of social reintegration while upholding the safety of the public and our staff.