Healing lodge

One of the major criticisms of healing lodges is that they only service a small percentage of the approximately 3,500 Aboriginals incarcerated in Canada.[15] As of 2011, Section 81 healing lodges had a total capacity of only 68 bed spaces[4][12] and CSC run healing lodges had a capacity of 194.[16] This means that healing lodges can only accommodate 262 inmates. Furthermore, as of 2011, healing lodges were not operating at full capacity. It is possible that one of the reasons healing lodges do not operate at full capacity is the policy of only accepting minimum or low risk medium-security inmates[17] despite the original intention for healing lodges to accept prisoners of all security levels and for prisoners to have access to these facilities from the time they were sentenced.[18] This limits the amount of Aboriginal inmates who have access to healing lodges. For example, only 11.3% of male Aboriginal offenders were classed as minimum-security. Accepting only low-security inmates has the effect of barring the majority of the incarcerated male Aboriginal population from accessing healing lodges.[17] According to the Office of the Correctional Investigator, "No new Section 81 facility has been added since 2001, despite a 40% increase in Aboriginal incarceration."[19]

CSC has responded to these criticisms by stating that healing lodges are only one of several strategies in Aboriginal corrections. "Elders and Aboriginal Liaison Officers are available in all institutions, and Aboriginal Correctional Programs, Aboriginal Community Development Officers, and Aboriginal Community Liaison Officers are in place in all regions, ensuring that offenders have support throughout their sentence, not only when they are placed in a section 81 healing lodge." The Pathways initiative (a program designed "to reinforce a traditional Aboriginal way of life through more intensive one-to-one counselling, increased ceremonial access, and an increased ability to follow a more traditional Aboriginal healing path consistent with Aboriginal traditional values and beliefs") has been established in both men's and women's institutions at all security levels.[20]

Comparing to CSC-run healing lodges, funding for Section 81 healing lodges is more unstable.[21] In 2009–2010, CSC allocated $21,555,037 for CSC lodges and $4,819,479 for section 81 lodges. This discrepancy in funding means that Section 81 lodges must pay their employees 50% less and may be unable to provide adequate training.[21] According to the Office of the Correctional Investigator, the original intent was for CSC lodges to eventually be transferred to the control of Aboriginal communities. Presently there are no negotiations in place to transfer the control of CSC healing lodges.[22] There is also "the perception among some Section 81 Healing Lodge staff and CSC officials that CSC-operated Healing Lodges are in competition with Section 81 Healing Lodges for minimum security inmates".[23]

Expansion of section 81 healing lodges is contingent upon acceptance by Aboriginal communities. Aboriginal communities are not always willing or able to take on the responsibility of a healing lodge. Reasons for hesitation include lack of resources and concerns for the safety of the community.[24] Critics question the "responsibilization" of aboriginal communities and question whether the burden of rehabilitating aboriginal offenders should be placed on aboriginal communities.[25]

In the article "When Two Worlds Collide", authors explore the contradictory way Aboriginal Communities are viewed by CSC in regards to risk assessment. Identification with aboriginal identity and involvement with the Aboriginal Community prior to incarceration are viewed as risk enhancing factors. At the same time, CSC prescribed Aboriginal programming and contact with the Aboriginal community during incarceration are seen as a risk reducing factors.[26]