Program directory · The Correctional Investigator Canada
Ombuds for federally sentenced individuals
- Department
- The Correctional Investigator Canada
- Program code
- BVL01 (OCI)
- Core responsibility
- Independent Oversight of Federal Corrections
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The Office of the Correctional Investigator (OCI) conducts investigations of complaints directed to the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) by individual federal incarcerated of supervised offenders, and carries out systemic investigations of issues that affect large numbers of federal offenders. The OCI reviews all CSC investigations of deaths in custody and serious bodily injury cases to ensure CSC compliance with law and policy and conducts reviews of all use of force incidents. The OCIs investigative activities support a safe, lawful and humane federal correctional practice to ensure that federal correctional decisions and practices comply with human rights, law, policy, and are fair.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ombuds for federally sentenced individuals | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $31.4M |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | Renamed from “Ombudsman for federal offenders” to “Ombuds for federally sentenced individuals”. | GC InfoBase program names by year |
| 2026-27 | Indicators added: Percentage of correctional services facilities visited within the frequency service standard for their designated security level.; Total number of person-days spent at correctional services facilities. | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2026-27 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of recommendations made in relation to individual offender complaints that were addressed by the CSC.; Percentage of recommendations made in relation to OCI’s corporate priorities that were addressed by the CSC. | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 90% | 2019 | 100% | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 90% | 2020 | 89% The COVID-19 pandemic impacted OCI operations at their very core, resulting in the activation of our Business Continuity Plan in mid-March. As an essential service providing critical external prison oversight, around 90% of staff had to work from home and the office suspended all of our planned visits to penitentiaries. | Not met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 90% | 2021 | 82% The authority of the Office rests with its power of persuasion, quality and integrity of its investigations and reporting since its recommendations are non-binding. This indicator measures how recommendations are addressed by the CSC and considered for implementation. Every OCI recommendation that is addressed by the CSC results in a policy shift or enhancement to correctional practice and contri… | Not met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 90% | 2022 | 88% As indicated in the 2021-22 actual results column of the Results Achieved table OCI has not been able to meet the establish target for it’s two performance indicators. This is due to an inconsistent data collection approach which we are reviewing. | Not met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 90% | 2023 | 92% | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 90% | 2024 | 91% Over the last two reporting cycles, the Office of the Correctional Investigator has been steady in the achievement of actual results as it relates to recommendations made in relation to individual offender complaints. Moreover, the organization is currently reviewing its Departmental Results Framework to update targets and reporting. | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 90% | 2025 | 87.5% The Office of the Correctional Investigator (OCI) received and processed 4,352 formal complaints against the Correctional Service of Canada during the reporting period of April 2024 to March 2025. The Investigations Team, consisting of Early Resolution Officers, Senior Investigators as well as the Senior Management cadre (when required), developed recommendations for resolution and were successfu… | Not met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 80% | 2019 | 100% | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 100% | 2020 | 100% | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 90% | 2021 | 85% The authority of the Office rests with its power of persuasion, quality and integrity of its investigations and reporting since its recommendations are non-binding. This indicator measures how recommendations are addressed by the CSC and considered for implementation. Every OCI recommendation that is addressed by the CSC results in a policy shift or enhancement to correctional practice and contri… | Not met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 90% | 2022 | 80% As indicated in the 2021-22 actual results column of the Results Achieved table OCI has not been able to meet the establish target for it’s two performance indicators. This is due to an inconsistent data collection approach which we are reviewing. | Not met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 90% | 2023 | 80% As indicated in the table above, the OCI has not been able to meet the established target for its two performance indicators. This is due to an inconsistent data collection approach which we are currently reviewing. | Not met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 100% | 2024 | 80% Over the last three reporting cycles, the Office of the Correctional Investigator has been steady in the achievement of actual results as it relates to recommendations made in advancing its corporate priorities. Moreover, the organization is currently reviewing its Departmental Results Framework with a view to developing updated targets and and enhanced reporting. | Not met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 100% | 2025 | 80% The result achieved in the reporting period is consistent with results in previous years. While the aim is that all recommendations are addressed, limitations in the OCI’s level of influence, given that its recommendations are non-binding, means that achieving 100% on an annual basis is not realistic. Work has been undertaken to revisit indicators and targets to better reflect performance of the… | Not met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | — | 2027 | — | Planned |
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | — | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $3.6M | $4.3M |
| 2019-20 | $4.3M | $4.5M |
| 2020-21 | $4.4M | $4.7M |
| 2021-22 | $4.4M | $4.2M |
| 2022-23 | $4.6M | $4.2M |
| 2023-24 | $4.5M | $4.3M |
| 2024-25 | $5.2M | $5.1M |
| 2025-26 | $5.8M | — |
| 2026-27 | $5.7M | — |
| 2027-28 | $5.6M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $5.3M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 32 | 35 |
| 2019-20 | 36 | 35 |
| 2020-21 | 35 | 33 |
| 2021-22 | 35 | 30 |
| 2022-23 | 32 | 28 |
| 2023-24 | 35 | 26 |
| 2024-25 | 35 | 30 |
| 2025-26 | 38 | — |
| 2026-27 | 36 | — |
| 2027-28 | 36* | — |
| 2028-29 | 33* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $3,585,768 | $3,541,353 | $3,541,353 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $4,292,743 | $4,316,189 | $4,316,189 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $4,444,854 | $4,272,778 | $4,272,778 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $4,430,383 | $4,431,677 | $4,431,677 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $4,577,806 | $4,437,408 | $4,437,408 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $4,516,164 | $4,516,164 | $4,516,164 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $5,223,687 | $5,586,003 | $5,588,572 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $5,832,410 | $5,835,100 | $5,835,100 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $5,670,743 | $5,590,718 | $5,336,026 | ||||||||
| Actual | $4,330,805 | $4,533,278 | $4,736,304 | $4,175,709 | $4,200,573 | $4,287,082 | $5,092,687 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
