Correctional Service of Canada

Correctional Service of Canada Service correctionnel du Canada
Common name	Corrections Canada
Abbreviation	CSC/SCC
Uniform Shoulder Patch of CSC Officers
CSC Heraldic Badge
Motto	Futura Recipere "To Grasp the Future"
Agency overview
Formed	December 21, 1978
Preceding agencies	Canadian Penitentiary Service (CPS) National Parole Service
Employees	14,452 (March 31, 2006)
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Federal agency	Canada
Governing body	Public Safety Canada
Constituting instrument	Corrections and Conditional Release Act
General nature	Federal law enforcement Civilian agency
Operational structure
Headquarters	Ottawa, Ontario
Elected officer responsible	Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Agency executive	Don Head, Commissioner
Regions	6 National Headquarters: Ottawa Pacific Region: British Columbia & Yukon Prairie Region: Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Eastern Ontario, Nunavut & Northwest Territories Ontario Region: Western Ontario Quebec Region: Quebec Atlantic Region: Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland & Labrador
Website
www.csc-scc.gc.ca

The Correctional Service of Canada (French: Service correctionnel du Canada), also known as Corrections Canada or CSC, is the Canadian federal government agency responsible for the incarceration and rehabilitation of convicted criminal offenders sentenced to two years or more. The system has its headquarters in Ottawa.

The Correctional Service of Canada officially came into being on April 10, 1979, when Queen Elizabeth II signed authorization for the newly commissioned agency and presented it with its armorial bearings.

The Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada is recommended for appointment by the Prime Minister and approved by an Order in Council. This appointed position reports directly to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada and is accountable to the public via the Parliament.

The current Commissioner of Corrections is Don Head, who has held this post since June 27, 2008. Head previously served as Senior Deputy Commissioner from 2002 until June 2008.

In addition to using generic identifiers imposed by the Federal Identity Program, the CSC is one of several federal departments (primarily those involved with law enforcement, security, or having a regulatory function) that has been granted heraldic symbols. The badge (described below) was officially granted by the Canadian Heraldic Authority on October 15, 2009. The torch symbolizes learning, knowledge and hope, while the key represents the eventual unlocking of the door upon completion of a prison sentence. The motto means “to grasp the future”. The CSC was granted a flag in 2009; it consists of the heraldic badge on a white field, with the Canadian flag in the canton. Senior officials have also been granted distinctive badges by the Canadian Heraldic Authority.