CSC National Consultation Team Update 1 of 4
A note from the President and Vice President:
Greetings to all of the dedicated and hardworking CSC PIPSC members. Your Correctional Services of Canada National Consultation Team (CSC NCT) meets quarterly with senior management and discusses ongoing projects and pressing staff issues, as well as health and safety, workplace wellness, ethics, learning and development, and ACCSO (Advisory Committee on Community Safety and Operations) committees.
The NCT has a lot of information to share with you, so you will receive four separate emails over the next few days. In this way, you will get fulsome updates for every region. Moving forward, the regional updates will be amalgamated into one newsletter sent out quarterly. We encourage you to reach out to your regional representative if you have any questions or concerns. Thanks for reading.
Your executive team consists of the President, Vice President, IT representative, and SH representative; this is complemented by the regional reps (PAC, PRA, ONT, QUE, ATL, NCR, and Community). Your National Consultation Team has been working hard over the past year building rapport with senior management and addressing issues of a national scope (for example mental health in the workplace, CSC culture, 24-hour nursing, disciplinary actions, the Navigar system, etc). Please enjoy the regional reports that follow.
Gary Desbiens, CSC NCT President and Cindy Gagnon, CSC NCT Vice President
COMMUNITY
Community mental health services have been identified as a priority for the health services sector in the 2024-25 fiscal year. The Community Representative on the PIPSC National Consultation Team has consulted with various groups and highlighted the impressive and ongoing work of community mental health teams across the country.
Melissa Wood (Social Worker, Edmonton Parole) recently took on the role of Community Representative in early 2024. Members may have noticed communication over the past year, requesting input as part of the consultation process. This consultation position allows a PIPSC community member to directly address concerns specific to our working realities with National. Over the past few months, the Community Mental Health consultation has begun with National Headquarters. Two meetings have already taken place, with a third meeting scheduled soon.
In addition, the Community Representative sits on the Advisory Committee Community Safety and Operations (ACCSO). This forum allows for direct discussion with central administration, solely about community corrections staff and the work we do. We were recently successful in securing a seat for the Health Services Directorate at this meeting. Historically, the directorate positions have been held exclusively by operational staff. ACCSO meets three times a year, including once at a community parole office. Please say hello if the next meeting is at your site!
In the future, please feel free to reach out to Melissa or any other member of your National Consultation Team to discuss any questions or concerns that may arise at your site.
Melissa Wood, CSC NCT COM REP