Public Safety Committee on Dec. 3rd, 2013

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

You refer to the double-bunking assessment process. Your own audit shows that the double-bunking assessments were done in less than half the cases when people were double bunked. This is a CSC audit. Fifty percent of the time you're not doing those assessments that you say you're relying on. Isn't this a significant contributor to things such as assault within the prison system?

[Anne Kelly]

Yes, there was an audit, but we've taken steps to ensure that those assessments are indeed completed.

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

I have one last quick question. Has Corrections Canada been requested to provide a report on the implementation of the new directive on treatment of prisoners with mental health issues? Have you provided the minister with a report on the success of the implementation of that directive, or has that even been requested?

[Anne Kelly]

I don't know the answer to that.

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Okay. Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Daryl Kramp]

Thank you very much.

We have another committee coming in here. We have votes that we will be participating in here today. We also have instructions to the clerk from members of our committee.

We will suspend now and thank our witnesses very kindly for coming in today. Please come back and see us again.

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

A point of order, Mr. Chair.

We're scheduled to sit until—

[The Chair, Conservative, Daryl Kramp]

That's fine, but we have votes that have to be done on this issue today, sir. That is why the chair is.... We have to get through the votes.

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

I didn't understand. You're moving directly to the votes.

[The Chair, Conservative, Daryl Kramp]

We proceed directly to the votes.

[The Chair, Conservative, Daryl Kramp]

Thank you very much, colleagues. I appreciate your cooperation today.

We will now be voting on the supplementary estimates (B), and there are nine sections. We will have to do them one at a time; they cannot be done en masse.

The committee should also be notified that we can adopt them—which is hopefully where we are going with this—but the committee can also reduce or negative each one, and of course you cannot increase the amount before you here today.

We will start.

PUBLIC SAFETY AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

Department

Vote 5b—The grants listed in the Estimates and contributions..........$714,000,000

Canada Border Services Agency

Vote 10b—Operating expenditures..........$35,718,818

Vote 15b—Capital expenditures..........$40,937,047

Canadian Security Intelligence Service

Vote 20b—Program expenditures..........$5,178,867

Correctional Service of Canada

Vote 25b—Operating expenditures..........$5,592,264

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Vote 45b—Operating expenditures..........$172,950

Vote 50b—Capital expenditures..........$157,575

Vote 55b—The grants listed in the Estimates and contributions..........$5,833,485

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Public Complaints Commission

Vote 65b—Program expenditures..........$4,289,937

(Votes 5b, 10b, 15b, 20b, 25b, 45b, 50b, 55b, and 65b agreed to on division)

Shall I report the supplementary estimates (B) 2013-14 to the House?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

On division.

[The Chair, Conservative, Daryl Kramp]

We'll have a recorded vote.

[See Minutes of Proceedings]

Colleagues, just before we break, we also had requests for information from Mr. Bélanger to Ms. Kelly and also to Mr. Paulson. The first one, of course, was on the plans in the budget for repairing the existing prisons. The second one is for the past cost of the RCMP move from Mr. Paulson.

Yes, Ms. James.

[Roxanne James, Conservative, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Thank you.

I believe a third item was to be submitted. Mr. Norlock was speaking with Ms. Kelly at the end and was talking about some sort of graph or report that showed the original estimates versus the actual numbers of the increase in the prison population, I believe. She agreed to provide it.

[The Chair, Conservative, Daryl Kramp]

I'll ask the clerk to check the blues. I'm assuming we're into a reasonable cost allowance on something like this. We don't need to spend half a million dollars on a request, I would hope. However, if the committee members wish to go down that road, I am at your discretion.

Are we comfortable with the clerk following through with this matter from the blues and reporting back to this committee with the information?

We're all comfortable. Is there any further business today?

This meeting is adjourned.