Ethnocultural Minorities and the Canadian Correctional System /

'My initial contact with the Canadian prison system was marked by a first observation. Here, I was told, everyone is on equal footing. A crime is a crime; one criminal is no different from another. He does his time and he returns to society at the end of his institutional journey. From the time he enters to the time he leaves, our programs strive to encourage his development in a secure space. Behind this perceived democracy and equal treatment, many other realities are well hidden. Each prison has its own identity. The prison populations vary from one institution to another. Each offender has his own personality and particular background. His ethnicity and culture make him both similar and different at the same time. Behind each type of crime condemned by the law is a human being with traditions, values, a migratory journey, and the story of his confrontation with the culture of others'--Introduction, p. 10.