Section 84
With Native Clan’s partnership with Correctional Service Canada (CSC), Native Clan acts as the primary sponsor of Urban Section 84 releases to Winnipeg. This section of legislation is part of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA) that involves our relatives serving their conditional or statutory release into an Indigenous Community or Urban Area with the support of an Indigenous Organization.
What this looks like in practice is Native Clan’s Section 84 Coordinator makes contact with our relatives while they are serving their sentence in prison and holds a case management conference. During this conference, the Section 84 Coordinator will gather information about the person that is not present on their case records. This paints a current and realistic picture of where our relatives are in their journey, and which areas they may need support in when they are released. The Section 84 Coordinator will also inform the relative to services they might need as they are released and what they can benefit from now, while also providing information about resources they should be applying for while in custody to make their transition easier (status cards, identification, resume building, etc…)
Following this conference, the Section 84 Coordinator will upload this human-centered data into our relative’s case records and ensure that NCO has this information on hand for when the individual is released from custody. When our relative walks into the doors of Manitou House, they walk in with a mapped out plan of where they need support, an idea of resources they can access, and an easier transition into the community.
Many of our relatives who show interest in a Section 84 release into community, follow a variety of traditional/ cultural ways and teachings from many different families. Native Clan incorporates our Elder/Knowledge Keepers in providing supports to the many relatives who follow a traditional path to healing. It is important to acknowledge that a person applying for a Section 84 release does not need to identify as Indigenous, and this path will lead them to taking a very customized and adaptive path for their healing journey.
If you or anyone you know is in federal or provincial custody and would be interested in applying or approaching their healing from this style of release, please ask your case manager, parole officer, correctional staff, or others who are involved in your healing journey about a Section 84 release. A person who is applying for this style of release has to initiate the process themselves, and if you are applying and showing interest, Native Clan wishes you nothing but the best on your journey.
More Resources Regarding Section 84:
Corrections and Conditional Release Act
The application process information:
Acts, Regulations and Policy – Canada.ca
Section 84/Reintegration
Ryan Wengelinski – Reintegration Pathfinder/ Section 84 Coordinator
ryan.wengelinski@nativeclan.org
(204) 943-7357 ext. 2
