Ms. Minna, I think you raise an important sentiment, which on the one hand is that you recognize the principal importance of this bill. On the other hand, I also hear an important compassionate tone about wanting to ensure that those people in Canadian society are properly cared for, as we as a society have agreed to. This bill does allow for those individuals to receive the payments both in their first and last month of incarceration, as opposed to depriving them of those particular months.
If I may respond with respect to the savings aspect, let me try to look at it in a different way and see if that takes us anywhere.
I think it's unfortunate that the corollary of that argument would be that someone who doesn't have many expenses while they're incarcerated would have the opportunity to bank that money to then further help themselves afterwards. I think that puts them at a competitive disadvantage, if you will, compared to how we provide for those people who aren't incarcerated. To a certain extent, they actually get an added benefit.
It's not that I'm suggesting prison is fun or wonderful, but those seniors on fixed incomes who are struggling to make ends meet don't have the benefit of being able to bank the extra cash. When those necessities of life are provided by the state, by taxpayers, I think they ought not to have that extra cash.
Now, it's an important question to talk about when people are out.... Whether or not they're prisoners or regular seniors on fixed incomes, I think it's an important conversation that parliamentarians have about how we, as a society, best provide for those people who need to make ends meet.