(Canada) Government awards $2-million contract for prison religious counselling to private company
Tobi Cohen, Postmedia News | 11/11/13 11:11 AM ET
OTTAWA — The federal government has awarded a private company a $2-million contract to deliver religious counseling to prisoners, including minority faith services, as part of a system overhaul quietly rolled out over the last six months.
It comes little more than a year after the government came under fire for cutting loose about 50 part-time minority faith chaplains after a Correctional Service of Canada ad for a Wiccan service provider, in particular, struck a nerve with then public safety minister Vic Toews, who said he was concerned about the use of taxpayer dollars.
Kairos Pneuma Chaplaincy Inc., a company started by a handful of current and former federal prison chaplains in direct response to the request for proposals issued in May, won the bid. Since October, about 30 full and part-time chaplains of all denominations, including Wicca and including many who worked in the federal prison system perviously, have been serving prisoners across the country, according to company president John Tonks.
There are still about 81 chaplains working in the federal prison system and those employed by Kairos only account for about 22 per cent of the total. Most, he said, are still operating under multiple individual contracts signed between various faith communities and the government. But as those contracts expire, he explained, their positions will be replaced under the single contractor. Kairos, which was among at least three bidders, has the contract for a year and will have to bid again as the changes roll out over three years.
http://life.nationalpost.com/2013/11/11/federal-government-awards-2-million-contract-for-prison-religious-counselling-to-private-company/
http://kpc-inc.ca/
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