Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to provide an answer to a question raised in the House by the hon. member for Shefford, on March 21.
At the time, the hon. member expressed concern about the bid submitted by CORCAN, following a call for tenders by the Corporation d'achat régionale de biens et services de la Montérégie. He felt that CORCAN was an example of unfair competition on the part of the federal administration.
I want to explain that CORCAN is a special operating agency under Correctional Service Canada, which is accountable to Parliament, through the Department of the Solicitor General. The purpose of CORCAN is to promote rehabilitation of inmates into Canadian society by providing them with job and training opportunities during their stay in federal penitentiaries and for brief periods once they are released.
There are always around 1,900 federal inmates working for CORCAN. These working inmates get job-related training and experience. According to a 1994 study, former inmates who had worked for CORCAN were much less likely to be sent back to a federal penitentiary. Since these individuals do not reoffend as much, programs like CORCAN improve public safety.
CORCAN has five areas of activity: manufacture, agro-business, construction, services and textile. Its 32 workplaces are distributed among the 58 federal correctional facilities. CORCAN sells its products to federal, provincial and municipal governments and to institutions such as hospitals, schools, universities and charitable organizations.
As a special operating agency, CORCAN receives no appropriations but must borrow the money it needs to operate through a revolving fund. This money must be paid back with interest. CORCAN's operating costs must be recorded in its financial
statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting practices.
CORCAN is always trying to minimize the adverse effects of its activities on the private sector. An independent review of CORCAN's operations demonstrates that it holds-