Howard Sapers (Ontario)

Howard Sapers’ experience includes work in public safety related operations and policy, with a focus on justice, corrections, ombudsmanship and accountability. Between 2004 and 2016, Mr. Sapers was the Correctional Investigator of Canada. In 2017, he was appointed by the Ontario government to conduct a two-year independent review of Ontario Corrections that resulted in three major reports containing over 160 transformative recommendations. On April 15, 2021, the federal Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness appointed Mr. Sapers Chair of the Structured Intervention Units Implementation Advisory Committee. Mr. Sapers is an Adjunct Professor at Simon Fraser University’s School of Criminology and, between 2018 and 2024, a Visiting Professor at the University of Ottawa’s Department of Criminology.

Mr. Sapers has consulted domestically and internationally on human rights and corrections, correctional policy and practice, the prevention of deaths in custody and at the intersection between mental health and criminal justice. He has served as the Executive Director of the John Howard Society of Alberta, an elected member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Director of Canada’s National Crime Prevention Centre Investment Fund and Vice Chair (Prairie Region) of the Parole Board Canada. Mr. Sapers is a past President of the Canadian Criminal Justice Association, was a long serving member of the Board of Directors of the Forum of Canadian Ombudsman, and between 2012 and 2016, was a North American regional representative to the International Ombudsman Institute. Mr. Sapers represented the community of small federal departments and agencies on the Government of Canada Small Department Audit Committee and was Chair of the Department of National Defence/Canadian Forces Ombudsman Advisory Committee. Mr. Sapers is currently a member of the CanFASD Board of Directors, the Board of Trustees of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (where he also serves as Chair of the Governance Committee), the Board of the Canadian Juries Commission and the Legal Aid Ontario Prison Law Advisory Committee. He has received significant recognition for his work, including an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Ottawa and the President’s Commendation from the Canadian Psychiatric Association. He was named as a Simon Fraser University Outstanding Alumni and presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for Exemplary Service.  

Mr. Sapers joined CCSA’S Board of Directors in February 2026.