MPP Oosterhoff’s Motion Seeking to Support Prison Chaplains and Make Streets Safer Passes
June 5, 2023
Toronto – A Private Member’s Motion seeking to make streets and communities safer and support rehabilitation and reintegration in the lives of criminal offenders, sponsored by Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West, was unanimously passed with all party support in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario today.
“Motion 55, calling for the inclusion of multi-faith chaplaincy work in Ontario’s correctional institutions, is an important step towards improving the reintegration of offenders into society and promoting community safety,” said MPP Oosterhoff.
“Having extensively consulted with a number of faith-based communities, as well as prison chaplains in Ontario’s correctional institutions, I was pleased that the Motion was unanimously passed, and I am grateful to my colleagues in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for their engagement and support.”
The text of the Motion 55 states:
“That, in the opinion of this House, the value of Ontario’s prison chaplains in providing spiritual care and preventing crime and recidivism should be recognized, and Community Reintegration Tables should include the involvement of Chaplains and Indigenous spiritual leaders, elders or healers in their governance structure with spiritual group representation added to their membership in order to provide connections to religious and spiritual services for those offenders who express interest.”
“The Muslim Association of Canada expresses its support for MPP Oosterhoff’s Motion calling for the inclusion of multi-faith chaplaincy work in the Ontario prison system,” said Abdullatif Bakbak, President of the Muslim Association of Canada.
“We applaud MPP Oosterhoff’s efforts to ensure that religious and spiritual group representation is added to the Community Reintegration Table membership. This will ensure that the needs of all faith communities – including Muslims – are represented and met.”
“I applaud the efforts of MPP Oosterhoff in recognizing the work of prison chaplains and support his proposal to include chaplains at Community Reintegration Tables,” said Rabbi Ronald Weiss, Director of Chaplaincy Services with Jewish Family and Child Services of Greater Toronto.
“I know many individuals who have been inspired and encouraged to build a productive life in the community as a direct result of the involvement of prison chaplains serving in the institution where they had been incarcerated.”
“We fully support MPP Oosterhoff’s Motion calling for religious and spiritual group representation to be added to the Community Reintegration Table membership,” said Stacey Campbell, President and CEO of Prison Fellowship Canada.
“Motion 55 recognizes the vital role of prison chaplains in providing spiritual care and preventing crime and recidivism in Ontario’s correctional facilities.
“There is good social science evidence that religious programming in prison, which chaplains often help facilitate, helps reduce recidivism after release,” said Rev. Dr. Andrew Bennett, Program Director of Faith Communities at non-partisan public policy research organization Cardus.
“Prison chaplains play an important role in making our prisons safer for inmates and staff.”
Canadian and American studies on recidivism rates shows that offenders who access spiritual care and meaningful chaplaincy support services while incarcerated are seventy percent less likely to reoffend.
There are currently twenty-five correctional institutions in Ontario served by forty-five Institutional Prison Chaplains.