After consistent increases since 2021, admissions to N.W.T. jails shot up this year

This article is new today!

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-11-03 10:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Justice, Public Safety, Social Services]

Data from the Northwest Territories Department of Justice Corrections Service Annual Reports reveals that jail admissions across the territory surged to 901 in 2025-26, marking a significant increase from 616 admissions in 2024-25. Consequently, the North Slave Correctional Complex in Yellowknife has exceeded its designed capacity of 148, holding 163 inmates in late October and resorting to triple-bunking. Department officials attribute the multifaceted increase to factors including court decisions, crime rates, sentence lengths, remand admissions, and territorial and federal legislative changes, while recorded use of force incidents by corrections staff rose from six in 2021-22 to 30 in 2025-26.

Online harms to be added to definition of sexual exploitation: Alberta legislation

Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
Date: 2026-10-29 18:05:37.0
Tags: [Alberta, Justice, Public Safety, Social Services]

Alberta Children and Family Services Minister Searle Turton introduced Bill 36, the Supporting Alberta Families Statutes Amendment Act 2026, to modernize the province's Protection of Sexually Exploited Children Act. The legislation updates the definition of 'sexual exploitation' to encompass online grooming, cyber luring, coercion, trading sexual acts, child sexual abuse material (CSAM), human trafficking, and electronic abuse regardless of whether a child appears to consent. Additionally, the bill amends the definition of 'child harm' to include exposure to violence online or via electronic means, moving past older language focused strictly on prostitution and physical or emotional injury.

Saskatchewan Expands Ewikīwiyāhn Program to Improve Community Safety

Source: Saskatchewan - Government News
Date: 2026-10-15 23:00:00.0
Tags: [Saskatchewan, Justice, Public Safety, Indigenous, Social Services]

The Government of Saskatchewan is investing nearly $50,000 in the 2026-27 fiscal year to fund Phase Two of the Ewikīwiyāhn Indigenous Teachings and Healing Program across provincial adult correctional facilities. Created with guidance from Elders and Knowledge Keepers, the 15-session Indigenous-led curriculum combines traditional teachings like the Medicine Wheel and Seven Grandfather Teachings with practical life skills to support rehabilitation and reintegration. Phase Two focuses on training cultural coordinators to establish consistent, sustainable delivery across the adult correctional system following a successful pilot phase launched in March 2026 at the Whitespruce Provincial Training Centre and the Prince Albert Correctional Centre.

New EPS integrated stabilization centre already saving lives

Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
Date: 2026-09-28 11:15:28.0
Tags: [Alberta, Healthcare, Public Safety, Social Services, Justice]

The Edmonton Police Service opened a new 18-bed integrated stabilization centre inside its downtown headquarters, recording 98 admissions over its first three and a half weeks, with 12 individuals transferred directly to the Addiction Recovery Centre at Alberta Hospital Edmonton. The initiative forms part of the Alberta provincial government's broader Mental Health and Addiction portfolio, which has expanded its budget from approximately $80 million in direct funding in 2019 to $2.3 billion. Operating in partnership with Recovery Alberta, the facility aims to provide frontline police and health workers an immediate destination for individuals experiencing substance use crises and connect them with voluntary opioid agonist therapy programs.

Communities share feedback on Yukon’s MMIWG2S+ strategy

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-27 13:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Indigenous, Social Services, Justice, Public Safety]

The Whitehorse Aboriginal Women’s Circle visited 14 communities across the Yukon and northern British Columbia earlier this year to gather feedback on the territory's Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit strategy, which was released in 2020 with an implementation plan following in 2023. The findings will be compiled into a 'What We Heard' report to guide the implementation phase of the broader strategy led by partners including the Yukon's Women and Gender Equity Directorate. Key issues identified include a disconnect between colonial infrastructure and Indigenous oral traditions, resource disparities across northern British Columbia and Yukon communities, and a widespread public misconception regarding reporting a missing person to the RCMP.

Three Nova Scotia communities to launch crime prevention projects

Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
Date: 2026-09-17 18:29:37.0
Tags: [Nova Scotia, Municipal, Public Safety, Justice, Social Services]

The Nova Scotia government announced it will allocate $550,000 in federal funding from Public Safety Canada to three municipalities to establish tailored crime prevention projects. Provincial Justice Minister Scott Armstrong confirmed the initiative will help communities address complex local challenges such as mental health, addiction, housing instability, and poverty. In New Glasgow, Mayor Nancy Dicks noted the funding arrives as the town addresses escalating public safety issues and debates the future of a local 20-bed emergency homeless shelter.

City calls for 'provincial reintegration co-ordination framework' after video surfaces showing inmates dropped off in Chinatown late Friday

Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
Date: 2026-09-14 22:02:14.0
Tags: [Alberta, Municipal, Justice, Public Safety, Social Services]

Following a viral video showing correctional officers dropping off five men and three women from a shuttle in Edmonton's Chinatown area at approximately 8:45 p.m. on Friday, September 11, 2026, the City of Edmonton is calling for a provincial reintegration co-ordination framework. Mayor Andrew Knack noted that Edmonton houses 3,405 inmates across its eight prisons—representing 72 per cent of the provincial inmate population and 306 per cent more than Calgary—and urged the provincial and federal governments to implement a proper "warm handoff" to social services. O-day'min Councillor Anne Stevenson emphasized that leaving vulnerable individuals in parking lots without services immediately prior to the weekend sets them up to re-offend, while Ministry of Public Safety Director of Communications Sheena Campbell stated that corrections works with community shelters and individuals upon release, though approximately 80 per cent are on remand status with unpredictable release dates.

Ottawa invests $2.2 million to give Edmonton youths a literal fighting chance

Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
Date: 2026-09-09 23:22:54.0
Tags: [National, Alberta, Municipal, Justice, Public Safety, Social Services]

The federal government, through Justice Minister Sean Fraser, announced a $2.2 million investment from the Crime Prevention Action Fund to support the Empire Fighting Chance program in Edmonton. Administered locally through REACH Edmonton and operated out of Brave MMA and Fitness, the program adapts a model from Bristol, England, utilizing non-contact boxing, martial arts discipline, and psychologically informed mentoring to redirect at-risk youth away from crime and gang activity. Local municipal leaders, including Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack, alongside organizations like Native Counselling Services of Alberta, collaborated on the initiative to provide barrier-free early intervention and mental health resources.

Strengthening supports for survivors of intimate-partner violence

Source: British Columbia - Government News
Date: 2026-09-03 18:00:00.0
Tags: [British Columbia, National, Justice, Social Services, Indigenous, Public Safety]

The British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General is receiving more than $3 million in funding for the 2026-27 fiscal year under the federal National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence to advance recommendations from the 2025 Stanton Report. The funding will expand the Safe Supports Project in rural and northern communities, add up to three family court support workers, develop public-awareness strategies, review behaviour-change programs for men and boys, and advance the B.C. First Nations Justice Strategy by funding the Indigenous Justice Centres' Aunties Program. These investments complement B.C.'s broader Safe and Supported Gender-Based Violence Action Plan, which includes over $60 million annually provided by the Province to support approximately 475 victim-service and violence-against-women programs.

Task Force Prepares for Community Engagement With Discussions on Key Violence Prevention Initiatives

Source: Newfoundland & Labrador - Government Releases
Date: 2026-08-31 12:00:36.0
Tags: [Newfoundland and Labrador, Justice, Public Safety, Social Services, Healthcare]

The Task Force to End Gender-Based Violence in Newfoundland and Labrador met on August 25 and 26, 2026, to advance community engagement plans targeting diverse populations, including survivors, Indigenous communities, and 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals. Co-chaired by Stacey Hoffe and overseen by Minister of Women and Gender Equity Lela Evans, the 12-member task force discussed policy areas such as electronic monitoring, emergency protection orders, and post-release supports for incarcerated individuals in Labrador. The task force also received updates from various provincial bodies—including the Department of Social Supports and Well-Being, the Department of Health and Community Services regarding the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program, and the Department of Justice and Public Safety regarding the Policing Transformation Working Group report—ahead of delivering its first public report in fall 2026.

Ontario Safer and Vital Communities Grant

Source: Ontario - Ministry of the Solicitor General
Date: 2026-08-25 17:00:00.0
Tags: [Ontario, Public Safety, Justice, Social Services]

The Ontario Ministry of the Solicitor General is investing more than $1.7 million through the Safer and Vital Communities Grant over a two-year period to help 18 community-based, not-for-profit organizations protect communities from hate and violence. The funding recipients include Beth Ezekiel Synagogue ($92,806), The Regional Diversity Roundtable ($98,975), Malton Women Council ($75,807), Victim Services Toronto ($101,750), Lanark County Community Justice Program ($85,815), Building Multicultural Communities ($95,113), Reena Inc. ($101,750), STEPS Public Art ($101,230), Victim Services of Waterloo Region ($101,750), New Canadians Centre Peterborough ($100,936), Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto ($96,668), Muslim Resource Centre for Social Support and Integration ($100,733), Canadian Mental Health Association - North Bay ($101,750), Community Justice Initiatives of Waterloo Region ($97,754), Pinecrest-Queensway Community Health Centre ($96,525), Family Service Kent ($101,750), Camp Northland ($60,230), and the Jewish Russian Community Centre of Greater Toronto ($97,850). These grants are specifically targeted toward preventing hate-motivated crimes across the province.