Dave Barrett elected

In 1972, the New Democratic Party formed the
government in British Columbia. This event
had an unusually direct influence on
cotrectional issues for two main reasons:

1. Dave Batrett, the new Premier, was a former
employee of the Correctional Service in B.C.
As a social worker, Barrett developed a
strong position related to correctional reform.

2. The change in government reflected the first
significant change in the politics of B.C. in
approximately 22 years. This fact alone
would have prompted bureaucratic shifts
and program changes, regardless of new
directions taken by the leader of the party in
power.

David Barrett made several public speeches in
quest of the CCF nomination in Dewdney
before becoming premier of British Columbia
in 1972, He was known within the B.C.
Corrections community and among B.C,
government employees after being dismissed as
a personnel officer at Haney Correctional
Institution in July 1959,

His dismissal resulted in a review by the
Employees’ Association concerning the
relationship between civil servants and politics.’
In addition, both the Vascouver Sun and
Vancouver Province newspapers editorialized on
behalf of “precise rules and definitions in these
matters.”

NDP government reforms corrections

The new government was interested in the
reform of the whole administration of justice as
well as corrections. This immediately
strengthened the ability of corrections to
compete for public resources. One example was
a change in the status of the head of corrections
to deputy minister in 1973. The office of the
head of corrections moved from Vancouver to
Victoria.

As a deputy minister, the head of corrections
had more ditect access to the minister, and was
better positioned to place policy issues of
correctional reform before the attorney general

and cabinet committees. No previous directors
of corrections had such influence.

Other initiatives achieved significance. In 1972,
a Task Force on Correctional Services and
Facilities was established by the attorney
general, through joint ministerial agreement. Its
putpose was to inquire into correctional
administration and practice in British Columbia.
The report of this committee, submitted in
1973, became a resource document for changes
in program planning. Malcolm Matheson,
Deputy Director of Correction, was one of its
principal authors.

3 Refer to reports in The Provinal, a publication of the B.C. Government Employees’ Association, September, 1959.

Era of Reintegration (1970-1979)

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