Sask. women's organization gets funding to help women reintegrate after leaving custody
CBC
The Elizabeth Fry Society of Saskatchewan will be able to add much-needed services for women leaving incarceration after a boost in funding.
The Saskatchewan government has committed $330,000 over the next two years for the organization to provide reintegration supports for female offenders leaving custody.
Executive director Nicole Obrigavitch said the Elizabeth Fry Society has been speaking with the Ministry of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety about a serious gap in this type of programming for women leaving Pine Grove Correctional Centre in Prince Albert.
"Despite Pine Grove doing their best to make sure certain services are connected prior to release, that doesn't always follow once they are into the community," Obrigavitch said.
Obrigavitch said some women are being released without identification, housing or income assistance.
"Often if women are arrested when they were homeless, then when they get released they are also being released to homelessness," Obrigavitch said.
Part of the plan is hiring a reintegration systems navigator, who will work with women at Pine Grove, the North Battleford Hospital and the White Burch Remand Unit in Regina.
The goal is to make sure the women have ID, housing, and mental health and addiction support before their release.
"Basically just making sure that the day that they're released, they are being released to some structure and some options," Obrigavitch said.
Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Minister Paul Merriman said in a news release that it can be hard for people leaving custody to know about the programs and services available to them.
"Female offenders face additional challenges when securing housing and other support necessary to reunite with their children and loved ones," Merriman said. "This expanded service agreement will ensure more women in our facilities, including those on remand, can be supported by the Elizabeth Fry Society's programming and services."
U.S. authorities alerted the RCMP about Ryan Wedding's imminent arrest days before he was taken into U.S. custody in Mexico last week, Commissioner Mike Duheme has told CBC News.
Ontario’s police watchdog says it is not investigating the case of a lawyer who is alleging that multiple Durham Regional Police Service officers slammed her head on a desk without provocation and dragged her to the basement cells of the Oshawa courthouse last week.
Warning: This story deals with suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, you can find resources for help at the bottom of this story.
Shilo Nosyk was camping with friends and family last summer in Alberta's Elbow-Sheep Wildland Provincial Park when her then-15-year-old son's throat started to close.
Daniel Martell, the stepfather of two Nova Scotia children who disappeared nearly nine months ago, has been charged with sexual assault, assault and forcible confinement, CBC News has learned.
Baffinland Iron Mines says it can move forward with construction of the Steensby component of its Mary River iron ore mine on Baffin Island, after receiving "all relevant authorizations."
British Columbia Premier David Eby says Alberta separatists meeting with the U.S. administration for financial backing is an act of "treason" and it's an issue he'll raise as the premiers gather with the prime minister in Ottawa on Thursday.
A London economist is applauding Mayor Josh Morgan's plan to absorb development fees for homeowners, but some city politicians say they have questions about who will benefit from the program before they agree to support it.
Videos making false claims about Canada's immigration policies are popping up on TikTok and Instagram in an attempt to scam travellers coming to FIFA World Cup matches this summer, according to immigration and anti-fraud experts.
Alberta broke housing construction records in 2025 and led the country in housing starts per capita — a massive upswing in homebuilding that comes after a period of similarly massive population growth.
Social services advocates in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., are voicing their concerns over the number of people who are released from jail and going straight into homelessness.
As the provincial government continues its efforts to spur more housing development in Nova Scotia, MLAs on a legislative committee heard Wednesday that data on vacancy rates for various segments of housing do not exist.
A Miramichi man is questioning why the Liberal MLA who represents him in the New Brunswick Legislature has blocked him from his Facebook page.