Hello everyone.
Mr. Chair and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today as part of your study.
My name is France Gratton, and I am the assistant commissioner for correctional operations and programs with the Correctional Service of Canada. With me today is Tony Matson, assistant commissioner for corporate services and chief financial officer.
Protecting the safety and security of our institutions and our communities while promoting the safe rehabilitation of offenders remains our biggest priority.
By its very nature, managing offenders poses various challenges, including the ongoing threats posed by the introduction and circulation of contraband. Contraband is defined as any item that could jeopardize the security of the institution or the safety of persons when that item is possessed without prior authorization.
As per our legislative authority, contraband such as electronic devices will be seized. In response to the risk posed by the presence of contraband cellular phones and illicit drugs, CSC must leverage technologies to aid in detection and in intelligence development.
In this context, CSC secured tools to extract digital information for intelligence purposes. We do not use these tools to conduct investigations on devices that are owned by staff, visitors or volunteers. Access to these tools is limited and controlled. The tools are used only on stand-alone computers that are not connected to any corporate network. Strict safeguards are in place to limit access to any extracted data.
In the past, CSC has undertaken the privacy impact assessment checklist on CSC's digital forensic activities. As the use of enhanced tools to combat criminal activity has expanded over the past few years, CSC has committed to renewing the initial assessment and to completing an updated checklist.
We remain committed to upholding our privacy obligations with established and appropriate safeguards in place.
Thank you. I welcome any questions that you may have.