Public Safety committee  I agree that inmates do learn skills, as noted in the letter. However, when you talk about welding, the skills of those who are not in vocational welding are not credited as quantifiable hours toward an apprenticeship, which in my view would give them more employable skills down the line.

Public Safety committee  Yes, a lot of the programs we are now looking at are apprenticeship types of programs with vocational hours that will lead toward vocational apprenticeships. I should also note the employment aspect is but one aspect, as there are still inmates with other deficits, and there are many ongoing programs for substance abuse, violence prevention, and elements along that line, plus the educational component.

Public Safety committee  All jobs that inmates work at, whether farm skills, cleaning jobs, or vocational training, afford those skills for inmates.

Public Safety committee  We have no programs right now that lend themselves toward mental health improvement based on working with animals.

Public Safety committee  I think that is a matter of looking at research and what's available and giving that some consideration.

Public Safety committee  I think it's a very positive aspect in terms of the public safety results, and that is what we've been talking about here, the relativity of obtaining an employable skill. It is very intuitive and very well understood that if you gain employment, the likelihood of recidivism is less.

Public Safety committee  Yes, it is a positive thing in terms of public safety results.

Public Safety committee  I mentioned the ability of inmates to obtain employment in the first six months of their work, to have real, sustainable employment that can have them return to work as productive citizens. There's a very good correlation between recidivism and staying out in the community.

Public Safety committee  Could I just finish?

Public Safety committee  If I could, Mr. Chair, perhaps I could give an example here. In Ontario region we buy eggs and milk from CORCAN, which of course is our special operating agency. We spend under $2 million on those purchases. When we stop buying milk and eggs from CORCAN, when it no longer has those products for sale, we will be going to government tenders for the provision of those eggs.

Public Safety committee  If I may, if you're actually looking for the specific supplier—

Public Safety committee  Again, I can't speak to their availability next week. We can pursue that quite quickly. The other thing we could do is that if there are elements that are not able to be answered today, we can undertake to get back to the committee. That's another option.

Public Safety committee  What I am telling you is that the labour market demand for agricultural work is very low--

Public Safety committee  Well, I just mentioned evidence that only a very small portion--

Public Safety committee  Construction trades and general labour are very clear here, and I think that's evident in the statistics we have there. Many construction workers look for employability, marketable skills, such as areas where there's apprenticeship and vocational training.