91ÅÝܽ

Howard Sapers

BA Criminology, 1980 

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, Howard Sapers was the Correctional Investigator of Canada.  In 2017, Mr. Sapers was appointed by the Ontario government to conduct a two-year independent review of Ontario Corrections that resulted in 3 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 91ÅÝܽ’s School of Criminology and, between 2018 and 2024, a Visiting Professor at the University of Ottawa Department of Criminology. As of July 15, 2025, Mr. Sapers began a new chapter in his career as the Executive Director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

Mr. Sapers has consulted domestically and internationally on human rights and corrections, correctional policy and practice, the prevention of deaths in custody, and 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 Chairperson (Prairie Region) of 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 Chairperson of the Department of National Defence/Canadian Forces Ombudsman Advisory Committee.  Mr. Sapers is currently a member of the CanFASD Board of Directors, on the Board of Trustees of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (where he also serves as Chair of the Governance Committee), a Director on the Board of the Canadian Juries Commission, and a member of the Legal Aid Ontario Prison Law Advisory Committee.  He has received significant recognition for his work, including an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Ottawa, the Canadian Psychiatric Association President’s Commendation, named as a 91ÅÝܽ Outstanding Alumni and presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for Exemplary Service.