The Office of the Correctional Investigator calls for better mental health and substance use supports for federally sentenced inmates

Dec 8, 2025

The Office of the Correctional Investigator has released its annual report, and the focus this year is on mental health: it investigates access to and the quality of mental health care in federal penitentiaries. The report found that:

• The Regional Treatment Centres (RTCs), which are the five centres attended by federally incarcerated inmates with mental health and substance use health treatment needs, are not providing the specialized psychiatric and needed mental health and substance use health care that they are mandated to provide. In addition, they have been found to “warehouse” people with cognitive disabilities and elderly people with complex healthcare needs. Indigenous peoples are also overrepresented in these treatment facilities and there is a lack of culturally appropriate care.

• Continuity of care and community discharge planning for inmates with mental illnesses or substance use disorders who have completed their sentence are insufficient.

• There is a lack of national policies to guide the delivery of effective and humanitarian mental health services in federal penitentiaries.

• Not enough training is provided to staff at federal penitentiaries to work with people with mental health and substance use health needs, histories of trauma, and cognitive disabilities.

• There is a lack of screening and assessment to match individuals with mental health and substance use health problems to needed healthcare.

• There is ongoing evidence of inappropriate response and human rights abuses, including the use of force, in staff interactions with inmates who have mental health concerns.

The report presents two main recommendations. First, that Regional Treatment Centres be redefined as “intermediate” mental health care facilities and that individuals in mental health distress who have been diagnosed with a serious mental illness, substance use health problem, or who are experiencing a mental health crisis should be transferred to community-based psychiatric hospitals so that their health needs are managed appropriately. Secondly, it recommends that funding allocated by the Government of Canada to build a new Regional Treatment Centre should be reallocated to support the transfer of individuals with serious mental illnesses to provincial psychiatric hospitals.
 
The report also contains additional recommendations aimed at improving the care and treatment for persons with mental illnesses who are incarcerated, including better staff training, the establishment of a Patient Advocate in each treatment centre, improved screening for people with cognitive disabilities, trauma-informed services for women and Indigenous-led, culturally informed services.

The Canadian Mental Health Association commends the Office of the Correctional Investigator for its work in protecting the human rights of incarcerated persons. We recognize the importance of the recommendations made in the report to ensure that people who are incarcerated are getting the mental health and substance use supports they need to recover. In responding to the recommendation to transfer the care of federally incarcerated persons who are experiencing severe or acute mental health symptoms into community-based settings and provincial psychiatric hospitals, CMHA urges the Government of Canada to invest in community-based services to ensure their adequate resourcing to meet the demand.