Public Safety committee  The bill uses the term “offender”, and this term is defined in the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, so it will include both an inmate who is in prison and someone who is in the community under the supervision of the Correctional Service of Canada.

Public Safety committee  Certainly, if they are an offender, they are an offender. It's easy to determine whether somebody is or isn't an offender. In the circumstance you have, it wouldn't be a lawsuit against the Government of Canada if they sued the city.

Public Safety committee  On actions? There would be different types—

Public Safety committee  If it's an action, it could go on for a number of years. That's a lawsuit where there is a claim for damages. Judicial review applications tend to go a little faster.

Public Safety committee  It would depend on whether he continued to pursue it. Of course, the ball is usually in the plaintiff's court as to whether or not he or she is going to continue with the lawsuit. It would depend on whether the offender, after he is no longer an inmate, decides to continue.

Public Safety committee  It would be hard to say, objectively.

Public Safety committee  The only comment I would make is that, obviously, so long as he is an offender, he will fit the definition of an offender before the appeal process goes through. Since the bill uses the term “offender”, he would be an offender so long as that appeal process has gone on.

Public Safety committee  Of course, that wouldn't be known until after the appeal process has been concluded. So if you were to look at today, would somebody fit the definition of offender? You would say yes or no, depending on the status of the appeal, and then it's only once the appeal process has been

Public Safety committee  I think it would depend on the context.

Public Safety committee  I would say that it would really depend on the particulars of that issue.

Public Safety committee  Again, my area of expertise is correctional law, so unfortunately I can't speak to that. Thanks.

Public Safety committee  If you would like me to jump in, is this in terms of the monetary awards that an offender would receive?

Public Safety committee  As we understand it, these would be awards against Her Majesty in right of Canada, meaning the federal government. It would be the one making the monetary award. Obviously in many cases CSC would be aware of that.

Public Safety committee  We would be aware of those, and then for other government departments, presumably arrangements could be made to determine those.

Public Safety committee  That's right.