To maintain the balance between the legitimate interests of the government and the legitimate interests of the citizen, and to try and ensure that any conflict between the two is resolved in a peaceful manner, it becomes essential, particularly on behalf of the party with less power, to focus on the question of what remedies are available to ensure that the government powers so delegated are exercised in accordance with the law and that the parties affected thereby are similarly protected by the law. It should always be remembered that the lack of effective peaceful alternative remedies is a primary factor relied upon by those who resort to self-help or violence to achieve their objectives or to defend themselves. Consequently, the effectiveness of remedies provided by law can, to some extent, be measured in a prison law context by the amount of violence resorted to by prisoners in an endeavour to address what they consider to be legitimate grievances. To ensure that governments act within the Constitution and within the principle of fairness, depends to a great extent on the remedies available and the willingness of the courts to apply them to prevent injustices and to rectify them after they have occurred.

    The remedies available to federal prisoners can be divided into two categories, the first consisting of internal remedies, such as the inmate grievance procedure and office of the Correctional Investigator (Ombudsman), and the second consisting of judicial remedies, in the Federal Court of Canada, both trial and appellant divisions, and in the provincial courts at all levels.