The End of Prison CEGEP w/ Samuel Rochette

Federal inmates in Quebec are about to lose a key program that aids in their rehabilitation. For almost as long as CEGEPs have existed in Québec, they have been providing educational opportunities to inmates in federal institutions’ prisons across the province. This program has supported rehabilitation for thousands over 52 years. However, Correctional Service Canada announced in February 2026 that it would end its funding, causing concerns that the program’s loss could damage rehabilitation efforts.Samuel Rochette, a psychology teacher who has taught in Quebec’s federal prisons, is among those pushing back against the decision. He joins Local 514 host Kalden Dhatsenpa to explain what the program’s closure could mean for incarcerated students.Funding has been extended through September, beyond the program’s original June 30 end date, to allow some incarcerated students to finish their diplomas. But Rochette says the credential is only one part of what students stand to lose. He argues that the routine, responsibility, and sense of direction that come with post-secondary study are just as important, citing research linking prison education to lower reoffending rates. He says he’s seen those changes firsthand in the classroom.Without the program, Rochette says many of his students are uncertain about what comes next. Some have told him they expect to return to drug use simply to pass the time, while others say the classroom was one of the few places in prison where they felt treated as human beings. Those accounts show what could be lost if a long-standing pathway to rehabilitation were to disappear.