Evidence of meeting #62 for Finance in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was work.
A video is available from Parliament.
4:40 p.m.
Director General, Policy and Operations, Parole Board of Canada, Public Safety Canada
The board is still looking at the same information that is presented from correctional authorities.
4:40 p.m.
NDP
Peggy Nash NDP Parkdale—High Park, ON
You're saying there will be no difference in the outcome. You anticipate no difference.
4:40 p.m.
Director General, Policy and Operations, Parole Board of Canada, Public Safety Canada
The difference would be that the offender wouldn't have an in-person hearing with board members.
4:40 p.m.
NDP
Peggy Nash NDP Parkdale—High Park, ON
I understand that, but do you think the outcome of the paper review versus the panel review would be identical?
4:40 p.m.
Director General, Policy and Operations, Parole Board of Canada, Public Safety Canada
I would think so. The risk assessment is basically for each of the specific cases, and board members assess each of the factors within those cases.
4:40 p.m.
Conservative
4:40 p.m.
Liberal
Scott Brison Liberal Kings—Hants, NS
Has your department conducted a constitutional or legal analysis of the potential consequences of the legislation and the constitutionality?
4:40 p.m.
Director General, Policy and Operations, Parole Board of Canada, Public Safety Canada
The amendments were reviewed by justice, so it's not necessarily our department, the parole board, that conducts the review. The justice department does review all the amendments to legislation.
Again, I would like to emphasize that all the areas in terms of procedural safeguards are still adhered to. The offender still receives the information that's being used for the board member to make their determination in advance of the review. They still have the opportunity to appeal the decision to the board, and they also have the opportunity to make written representation to the board in advance of the hearing. So there are certain aspects in terms of fundamental justice and procedural safeguards that remain in place.
4:40 p.m.
Liberal
4:40 p.m.
Director General, Policy and Operations, Parole Board of Canada, Public Safety Canada
I don't necessarily have a legal opinion with me, but I can confirm with the legal counsel that works for the parole board to determine what was available or what was made in writing.
4:40 p.m.
Liberal
4:40 p.m.
Director General, Policy and Operations, Parole Board of Canada, Public Safety Canada
I can ask for that information, yes.
4:40 p.m.
Liberal
Scott Brison Liberal Kings—Hants, NS
Do you have any statistics on how many times an in-person hearing helps, for instance, to correct information on a parolee's file? It would happen quite frequently, wouldn't it?
4:40 p.m.
Director General, Policy and Operations, Parole Board of Canada, Public Safety Canada
I would say that this situation could come up at a hearing, it could be a point of clarification by the offender. It can come up in advance of a hearing. The offender is provided information in advance of the hearing and can make representation to the board to say they'd like to clarify certain aspects. And it can happen following a decision with the appeals board. If they feel that information wasn't assessed or shared properly, they can appeal the case, appeal the decision.
There are a number of ways this can occur. It's not necessarily specific to a hearing.
4:40 p.m.
Liberal
Scott Brison Liberal Kings—Hants, NS
Has there been any analysis of how this change will affect one offender population or another, or which offender populations will be affected more significantly?
4:40 p.m.
Director General, Policy and Operations, Parole Board of Canada, Public Safety Canada
We haven't necessarily broken it down by the offender groups. Again, the risk is assessed by board members based on case-specific factors. Each case can be different.
If you're talking about demographics...or is that what you're referring to?
4:45 p.m.
Director General, Policy and Operations, Parole Board of Canada, Public Safety Canada
Again, it would be very difficult to determine, because each particular case may have different factors associated with it: different criminal record, different sentence length, involvement in programs, etc. It's a little complex to pull the demographics and associate—
4:45 p.m.
Liberal
Scott Brison Liberal Kings—Hants, NS
Yes, these issues are inherently complex, and that's why the in-person hearing sometimes can be helpful.
4:45 p.m.
Director General, Policy and Operations, Parole Board of Canada, Public Safety Canada
That's why the board will still have the authority and the discretion to conduct a hearing. It just won't be required by law in these particular cases.
4:45 p.m.
Conservative
4:45 p.m.
NDP
Wayne Marston NDP Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Welcome. I never thought, when I came on this committee, I'd be learning about fisheries, rail safety, the parole system. I thought we were dealing with finance.
Anyway, I really appreciate the work you do. We have halfway houses in Hamilton. We have a number of facilities. We've had some serious negative events there, but we've also had a long history of some good-quality service to our community, and it's appreciated.
I was wondering when your department first decided that this was a necessary change.
4:45 p.m.
Director General, Policy and Operations, Parole Board of Canada, Public Safety Canada
This amendment falls under the deficit reduction action plan, so this—
