Evidence of meeting #35 for Justice and Human Rights in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was process.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:10 p.m.
Commissioner, Correctional Service of Canada
I believe it requires a legislative change, but I'd have to get back to you on that.
4:10 p.m.
NDP
Joe Comartin NDP Windsor—Tecumseh, ON
Do you have any idea when you'll come to a conclusion as to whether you're going to move with that legislation?
4:10 p.m.
Commissioner, Correctional Service of Canada
4:10 p.m.
NDP
Joe Comartin NDP Windsor—Tecumseh, ON
For the ones who are denied at the interim application, have you kept statistics on how many are denied for the full ten years—that is, who can't apply until the 25 years are up—and how many have specific shorter days?
4:10 p.m.
Commissioner, Correctional Service of Canada
We have a chart of those we know of for whom reductions occurred. Most of them appeared to be one-year reductions. Several had five-year reductions, but in terms of the ones with...no, we don't collect that data.
4:10 p.m.
NDP
Joe Comartin NDP Windsor—Tecumseh, ON
I'm sorry. Did you say the number that appeared was a one-year...? I don't understand the term “reduction”.
4:10 p.m.
Commissioner, Correctional Service of Canada
I'm sorry. It's when they had their parole eligibility period reduced from 25 years to 24, or from 18 to 17; that's what I meant by reductions—after it's gone through the jury phase, phase two.
4:10 p.m.
NDP
Joe Comartin NDP Windsor—Tecumseh, ON
I'm sorry, I wasn't asking about the jury phase; I was asking about the interim phase.
4:10 p.m.
Commissioner, Correctional Service of Canada
On the phase one, no, we do not collect that data.
4:10 p.m.
NDP
Joe Comartin NDP Windsor—Tecumseh, ON
Do you know whether the victims' families are notified when the interim application is turned down?
4:10 p.m.
NDP
Joe Comartin NDP Windsor—Tecumseh, ON
I'm not clear from both the briefing and the answer you gave Ms. Jennings: if a person says to you prior to one-year release eligibility that they're not going to apply, do you begin preparing that documentation anyway?
4:10 p.m.
NDP
Joe Comartin NDP Windsor—Tecumseh, ON
Okay. So what happens then? Do they have to come to you somewhere after—let's use the standard 15 years. Do they have to come to you then and advise you they now want to apply?
4:10 p.m.
Commissioner, Correctional Service of Canada
There are two avenues that can occur. One is that they will come to us at a later point, or, just as part of normal case management engagements with the offender, the parole officer a year or two years down the road will engage the offender again and ask them if they have any interest in pursuing that.
4:10 p.m.
NDP
Joe Comartin NDP Windsor—Tecumseh, ON
Do you do that on an ongoing basis each year or so afterwards?
4:10 p.m.
Commissioner, Correctional Service of Canada
Yes, but not necessarily as a matter of policy.