Prisons
Provincial Reintegration Worker
The Provincial Reintegration Worker assists women, two-spirit, transgender and non-binary folks in attaining the necessary tools and coping skills to live successfully in their communities by providing support while in custody and post-release. The Provincial Reintegration Worker performs the following tasks, but is not limited to:
- Conducting an intake of information for those requesting services
- Assisting in the development of a prerelease plan
- Providing on-going support to participants in and out of custody
- Liaise with correctional staff and external resources
- Advocate on an individual or group basis for women incarcerated
- Provide relevant information to women in conflict with the law
Provincial Prison
Prisoners within provincial prisons have been sentenced to less than two years incarceration. Women may be housed at the Winnipeg Remand Centre in Winnipeg, or at the Women’s Correctional Centre in Headingley, Manitoba.
The Prairie Regional Advocate
The Regional Advocate is a key person within the regional structure of the federal prisons located in the Prairie Provinces. This person may assist the prisoners in day to day issues or assist with larger administrative and policy issues within the federal prison system. The Regional Advocate acts as a voice for the region in facilitating discussion, resolving issues within federal prisons, and assisting in dealing with issues within the region, and flagging issues and cases for national attention.
Federal Prison
Individuals sentenced to more than two years incarceration will serve their sentence at a federal prison. Federally sentenced women must serve two-thirds of their sentence before they are able to apply for release. In general, women who have been given a federal sentence in the Prairie Provinces go to Edmonton Institution for Women or Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge.
Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge opened in 1995 and was built to house 25 women. However, the numbers of women sentenced to federal time quickly surpassed the number of beds available. There are women from the prairie provinces of all ages and ethnic backgrounds at Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge for women.
Edmonton Institution for Women opened in 1995 and was built to house 123 women. However, the numbers of women sentenced to federal time quickly surpassed the number of beds available. There are women from the prairie provinces of all ages and ethnic backgrounds at Edmonton Institution for Women.