Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government left the position of Canada’s prison watchdog vacant for several months, despite written warnings from the outgoing correctional investigator that doing so would seriously compromise the office’s powers to do its job protecting inmates.
Records obtained by CBC News under Canada’s Access to Information Act reveal that former correctional investigator Ivan Zinger advised Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree that the failure to fill his position before he left “would create a serious legal void.”
After around four months of sitting vacant, the role was filled by an interim investigator — a move that has itself raised concerns because of the role’s temporary nature.
The Office of the Correctional Investigator (OCI) acts as an independent watchdog for prisoners across Canada, dealing with an average 4,000-5,000 complaints a year.
In previous years its work has helped trigger significant inquiries, such as the commission of inquiry into Kingston’s Prison for Women in the mid-1990s that uncovered infringement of prisoners’ legal rights and “cruel, inhumane and degrading” treatment of women there.
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During his time as correctional investigator, Zinger flagged several problems in Canada’s prisons including lack of access to adequate mental health treatment and the over-representation of Indigenous inmates.
Last year he announced he would be stepping down early from his five-year mandate.
Zinger told CBC News that he gave the government seven months’ notice so it could find a new correctional investigator before he left in February.
“As my departure date came very, very close, I grew increasingly frustrated that the government had done nothing. No posting of the position, or there was no plan to replace me. So I grew concerned,” he said.
In a letter obtained by CBC News, dated Jan. 5, Zinger warned Anandasangaree that without a correctional investigator, the office couldn’t initiate any new, non-routine investigations into problems with Canada’s prison system; issue any special or annual reports; or warn prison psychologists or wardens about confidential information obtained during investigations such as suicide risks or an inmate’s plans to harm other prisoners or correctional service staff.
“As these examples demonstrate, the consequences of failing to appoint either an interim or permanent CI [correctional investigator] in a timely manner would be significant and far-reaching,” Zinger wrote. “In my view, ample notice was provided to allow for appropriate steps to be taken to identify a temporary or permanent successor.”
In an earlier letter to Anandasangaree, dated July 16, 2025, a couple of weeks after he announced he was going to step down, Zinger said it was “critical” that his position be filled before he left.
“The role holds exclusive statutory authorities and investigative powers that cannot be delegated,” he warned the minister. “As such, it is critical that the position be filled by February 2, 2026, to ensure the office remains operational, effective and compliant with its legislative mandate.”
Zinger’s letters provide a glimpse behind the scenes at a larger problem: delays in recent years in filling some government appointments, with some organizations being left for weeks or months without key positions being filled.
A CBC news analysis in 2023 of governor in council appointments to 206 government bodies or institutions found 416 of the 1,731 positions — almost a quarter — were either vacant or occupied by someone whose appointment had continued past its end date.
“It’s administrative delays after delays. And bureaucratic inertia, if not blatant incompetence,” Zinger told CBC News.
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Despite Zinger’s warnings, Anandasangaree has yet to name a permanent replacement.
His office says “a process to identify a full-time replacement is underway” but would not provide a timetable or say whether it will hold an open competition for the job.
In June, OCI executive director Valerie Phillips was named interim correctional investigator for up to one year.
In an emailed response to CBC News, Phillips said there were no delays in dealing with complaints while the investigator’s position was vacant and she was granted the power to disclose information in cases where there was an imminent risk of serious harm to an inmate or correctional staff.
However, she said there were challenges dealing with Correctional Service Canada’s headquarters and getting final signoffs for some reports.
Phillips said she now has the same powers as someone appointed on a longer-term basis and can initiate investigations. But she acknowledged an interim role can “create challenges when planning for longer-term strategic initiatives, implementing significant organizational change or making decisions with implications that extend beyond the interim period.”
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Zinger told CBC News that during the four months the position was vacant, Phillips, as executive director, didn’t have the authority to do anything beyond routine processing of individual complaints.
He says he is concerned he hasn’t seen any sign of a competition for the long-term job, a process he says can take five or six months.
Zinger said a key part of an ombudsman-type job like the correctional investigator is the ability to speak truth to power and not be afraid to criticize the actions — or inaction — of the government.
“If the minister goes ahead and hand-picks a person, the criticism that he may get at this point was that he [chose] somebody who will not be trying to rock the boat or would have reluctance to criticize his actions,” he said.
Sen. Kim Pate, a long-time advocate for prisoners’ rights, said leaving the investigator’s position vacant for four months is “a huge issue” and called on the government to appoint a permanent successor to Zinger.
“When you only have someone in an interim position, when they have no idea how long they’ll be in that position and whether a new investigator would actually follow up on those issues, it really curtails the incentive and the ability of them to investigate issues that may very well need important and in-depth investigation,” she said.
Emilie Coyle, co-executive director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, which advocates for issues affecting women, girls and gender diverse people in the justice system, said the OCI is the only body with authority to enter prisons unannounced and can compel records from Correctional Service Canada.
Coyle said the absence of a correctional investigator and, consequently, “independent oversight,” came as overcrowding was making conditions worse in prisons.
“It was the most critical time for people who are inside to have that independent oversight happening,” she said, adding that the delay in filling the position doesn’t bode well for the rights of those in prison.
New Democrat public safety critic Jenny Kwan said there are several issues in Canada’s prison system that have to be dealt with, including the over-incarceration of Indigenous people, inadequate mental health support and barriers to rehabilitation and reintegration into society.
“I think that this is not a priority for the government,” said Kwan.
Kwan said Zinger should not have had to warn Anandasangaree about the need to fill the position.
“To date, we still don’t have a permanent appointment, and there is no clear process of how the government will proceed with respect to that,” she said. “That should be alarming for everyone, for Canadians, for the minister who is in charge of Canada’s public safety.”
