Want a free trip to London, England paid for by taxpayers? Correctional Service Canada may be able to help, but chances are you can’t enter the contest.
Correctional Service Canada, or CSC, hosted a contest to send one “lucky person” across the pond to attend the International Correction and Prison Association conference in October. To qualify, an employee had to donate to the Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign (GCWCC) managed by the United Way.
Global News received a copy of an internal email sent by Amy Jerrette, acting assistant commissioner of the CSC, which outlines five prizes up for grabs including five special coins, a lunch with commissioner Don Head, and the coveted London trip.
In her email dated Dec. 7, Jerrette encouraged employees to donate “by tomorrow at 4 p.m.” and wrote “we are only 15 pledges away from one lucky person winning the grand prize, a trip to…the conference in 2017.”
READ MORE: Toronto police officers offered time off in exchange for donations to United Way
Correctional Service Canada confirmed the authenticity of the email and the existence of the contest, saying it was among several initiatives offered to encourage the staff to donate.
“The Correctional Service of Canada is a proud supporter of the Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign, and encourages its employees to participate in charitable giving and volunteer opportunities,” said J.P. Surelle, a communications advisor with CSC.
Surelle said the conference will provide developmental opportunities, increased knowledge of correctional issues and foster professional networks. He says the incentive has not increased the fixed annual budget set aside for learning and development.
But Christine Van Geyn, Ontario director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said taxpayers shouldn’t be picking up the bill for a contest to encourage government employees to be generous.
READ MORE: Toronto police chief defends free days off for police who donate to United Way
“The government already gives generous tax receipts and credits for any donation you make to charity,” said Van Geyn.
“We don’t need the taxpayer subsidizing special prizes to government bureaucrats because they donated.”
This isn’t the first time a government agency has used taxpayer money to implement a donation incentive program. Global News revealed in December how the Toronto Police Service offered cash prizes and time off as a reward for providing donations to United Way Toronto and York Region. Winners were drawn from the names of active donors.
At the time, Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said “shame on you” to a reporter for reporting the story, pointing to the money raised by employees on behalf of the United Way. Other police employees said they did not make contributions in order to win time off.
READ MORE: OLG another institution that offers time off in exchange for donations to United Way
The provincially-run Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) admitted that it also used time off as a prize to encourage employees to donate to charity.
Correctional Service Canada declined an on-camera interview to discuss its incentive program and did not answer questions about the cost of the incentive program or whether the winner’s attendance would be required in London.
Katherine Aylesworth contributed to this report
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