On Friday, July 26th, the Hon. Dominic LeBlanc, federal Minister for Public Safety, visited Cowansville Institution, and spent considerable time visiting with USJE members at the Institution.
USJE Regional Vice President, Patrick Ménard, accompanied USJE members and the Minister for the duration of the trip. Minister LeBlanc was joined by the Hon. Pascale St. Onge, federal Minister of Heritage and MP for the local riding.
Minister LeBlanc demonstrated great interest in learning about all aspects of the Institution’s operations, and spoke with USJE’s members in programs and parole, food services, health care and other areas.
The primary goal of the successful rehabilitation of federal offenders was discussed at length, and both Minister LeBlanc and Minister St. Onge were exposed to the multi-faceted and complex operations of a federal Correctional Institution.
Several of USJE’s members had the opportunity to interact Directly with both Ministers who were able to highlight how risk is evaluated, the multiple workload and related pressures of this high stakes work, and why sufficient staffing is so important in these facilities and in the community.
USJE is pleased to support the site visits of any Member of Parliament, and has hosted a variety of elected officials across party lines to learn about the federal Correctional system.