is Important not to generalize on this
because there are valid differences in
practice between the urban and rural
setting,

Corrections Branch now has several years’
experience with the implementation of a
case management approach to probation
services. A number of observations are
worth making: Clients have become
fragmented, characterized as a series of
problems, which can be separated for the
purposes of referral. Our connection with
clients seems to have become focused only
on those with whom we must take legal
action... The dilemma of casework versus
case management must be more acute for
family court counsellors, Case management
does include casework, but I think we have
experienced functional drift due to work
pressures, and simple reductionism (from
the complex to the simple).2

Integration of community and institutional
interests and the introduction of a case
management policy were viewed as either
liberating or restricting. It all depended on the

type of work being performed and traditions
associated with it.

Two other important developments occurred at
this time—one at the provincial level and one at
the federal level. At the provincial level, Tim
Stiles was permanently appointed Director of
Information Services in the Corrections
Branch. The director’s job was to co-ordinate
information and communication on policy and
program decisions. The result was a more
professional approach to information-sharing
concerning developments at the provincial and
national levels.

At the federal level, the Law Reform
Commission of Canada produced its second
working paper. This paper, Imprisonment and
Release, contained a strong recommendation for
the development of alternatives to
incarceration. It set in motion initiatives across
Canada to develop pilot projects and
experiments in alternative programs, such as
fine options, community work service and
diversion. B.C. became involved in several
federal-provincial cost-shared correctional
programs, some of which continued into the
1980s.

Definite /indeterminate sentence declared inoperative

Legal challenges and legislative reform brought
unusual impetus to program change within the
Corrections Branch. One of the most important
was the 1973 decision of the B.C. Court of
Appeal, which declared the definite/
indeterminate sentence to be inoperative.
Amendments to the Criminal Code of Canada
(federal Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1977)

eventually removed the definite/indeterminate
sentence provisions from the Criminal Code.

Corrections in British Columbia had committed
a significant portion of its funding and
resources to use of the definite/indeterminate
sentence. This sentence was in effect in only
three provinces of Canada. Two of those
provinces had established parole boards or

12 Interview with Tim Stiles, 1989.

Era of Reintegration (1970-1979)

121