Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to welcome the witnesses.
I am a bit surprised by the presentations we have heard this afternoon, in that someone who has not read the bill and who is listening to the testimony may think that sentence credits have been completely eliminated. But that is not what we are talking about. What we are talking about is bringing sentence credit proportions down to fairer levels, namely, one for one and, in certain cases where it is explicitly indicated or reasons are provided, up to 1.5.
Obviously, we have all read the Supreme Court rulings that explain why we need to take into account time spent in custody, for reasons that everyone knows and that you have also presented to us. But it seemed like the system was sometimes out of whack. For example, I have seen mob bosses receive sentence credits that I considered excessive. It has become a practice, as it were; it is not done on a discretionary basis. When we look at court judgments, we see that it has become a relatively common practice.
I have two questions, one for Mr. Sapers and one for the gentleman seated next to him. I will start with Mr. Sapers. What proportion of individuals in pre-trial custody are in federal penitentiaries? Clearly, we cannot disregard that, but, as lawmakers, we cannot not correct abuses, and there definitely seem to be some. I am keeping in mind the figures you presented. You are concerned. What do you suggest we do to rectify the situation?
Then, I would like to hear from your neighbour, who seemed to be talking about a lack of fairness in terms of bail. I want to come back to that point.
Let us start with you, Mr. Sapers.