Sylvain Martel, national president of the Union for Canadian Correctional Officers, accused Corrections Canada brass of applying a double-standard to men and women behind bars.

Pointing to past incidents of hostage-taking, forcible confinement, death threats, assault and serious property damage perpetrated by female prisoners, he said there's a critical need for a super-max holding spot for the nation's most violent women.

Right now there are four maximum-security units within women's institutions across the country, but Martel said there is greater freedom of movement, fewer controls and a lower staff ratio compared to the men's secure ranges.

"We call it the magical world of Harry Potter," Martel said. "For them, they are not inmates, they're victims. There is a whole philosophy that needs to change."

Martel fears that without a special unit with extremely controlled conditions, it's only a matter of time before a correctional officer or inmate is killed.

Lisa Watson, CSC's manager for the women offenders section, said the number of women inmates with extremely violent records doesn't warrant a special unit. There are now fewer than 40 women convicts classed for maximum security, and a management protocol provides a highly structured framework to safely manage the four women who are considered highly dangerous, she said.

Watson insisted women prisoners must be treated differently than men because they have often been marginalized by poverty and victimized by violence.

"That in no way negates the violence they have perpetrated against others, but there has to be some acknowledgment they have been victims of violence," she said.

Conservative Deputy Leader Peter MacKay, a former Crown prosecutor, doesn't buy the argument. He called it "naive to the extreme" to gauge one's capacity for violence based on their sex.

"Once that criterion has been met, I don't think you should discriminate in terms of who is and isn't capable of violence - particularly when it comes to the safety of guards, fellow inmates and the public at large. I think it's naive and frankly, quite irresponsible."

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