Evidence of meeting #8 for Justice and Human Rights in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was aboriginal.
Conservative
Stephen Woodworth Conservative Kitchener Centre, ON
Could I stop you for just a minute? We have such a limited time available.
What I was really trying to do is to get a snapshot of what each agency's total annual budget is and what each agency thinks should be an optimal total annual budget. Maybe I could also sneak in a question about how many young people you think you reach with that.
Director, Client Services, Macdonald Youth Services
Our operating budget is about $24 million, and that is child welfare. We have a small amount from the justice department, but certainly the work we do with child welfare would be the majority of the work that we do.
An optimum budget, I am not sure how to answer that with the diversity of the programming. I'm sorry.
Executive Director, Gang Awareness for Parents
I just started. I'm very grassroots. I have a $100,000 provincial grant for a one-year term. Vic Toews has indicated that they will probably match that somehow.
I did appear at the western Canadian justice ministers conference a while back. I've got all four western provinces interested, so mine will eventually, I hope, become national. So my budget is going to be a lot, because it's for gang awareness for parents. What that is right now I can't tell you.
Executive Director, Resource Assistance for Youth Inc.
I just raised $1.4 million to purchase a new building and renovate. I got $99,000 from government out of that. The rest was from the private sector.
My budget is around $800,000. I have 18 staff and we have been working for 15 years in a 1,500-square-foot site. We see 60 to 70 kids a day. We tend to see more. Now we have more services: showers, food, and stuff like that.
Ultimately it is not about the size of budget. It's about stable core funding for me. It's about I can pay my staff right, that we can have a pension plan, that I can keep my staff staffed.
Project funding is always available. If you're my fairy godmother, I would say $1 million would be great.
Executive Director, Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg Inc.
Our budget this year will be about $3 million. Of that, we serve 4,000 kids in our clubs.
Our club budget I think is about $1.6 million. I think I worked it out to it costs about $1.20 a day per child for us to provide a good preventative program.
Project Coordinator, Just TV Project, Broadway Neighbourhood Centre
Our budget is just shy of $170,000 a year, specifically for the Just TV program. That is not for all of Broadway.
We serve 20 youths a year with that. However, more return. Optimally, something we would like to do moving forward pending funding is double that. In order to double that with our current resources we would need $250,000 a year, and that would be specific to continuing with our regular programming, but offering a program for 12- to 16-year-olds that is more prevention-focused, but the same program.
Conservative
Conservative
Brent Rathgeber Conservative Edmonton—St. Albert, AB
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to all the witnesses for your excellent presentations and for your attendance here this morning.
Mr. Owen, you quoted a statistic I was intrigued by, and I would like to know more about it. You said that a dollar paid in prevention is seven times more effective than a dollar spent in incarceration. I was wondering if you could source that for me, because I have never heard that ratio. If true, it is intriguing.
Executive Director, Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg Inc.
I'm not sure that I can find that right now, but it is sourced, and I did put my document in with the footnotes there.
Executive Director, Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg Inc.
Yes. It was also part of a presentation that Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada did for the preliminary budget hearing.
Conservative
Brent Rathgeber Conservative Edmonton—St. Albert, AB
Again, you may have to check your notes or your sources, but when you say “seven times”, do you know what was being measured? Was it the protection of society that was being measured, or was it the ability of the individual to rehabilitate himself or herself that was seven times more effective?
Executive Director, Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg Inc.
It is saying that primary prevention is seven times more effective than incarceration in terms of turning people around.
Conservative
Brent Rathgeber Conservative Edmonton—St. Albert, AB
So it is seven times more effective with respect to the individual, as opposed to the protection of society, as you understand it. Thank you.
Mr. Wiebe, I certainly share the feelings of the other members of the panel who have expressed condolences to you and your family, and I really appreciate your coming here to share your story, as painful as it is. From my perspective, victims of crime and families of victims are the people the criminal justice system ought to be protecting, and I was curious as to whether you or your family has ever used the services of the federal ombudsman for victims of crime.
Executive Director, Gang Awareness for Parents
We are not doing so currently. I was vice-president of the Manitoba Organization for Victim Assistance for several years. It is a Manitoba group that helps victims of homicide go through the court system. In fact, I almost applied for the ombudsman job when it came up three years ago--
Executive Director, Gang Awareness for Parents
Yes, I know, but I'd have to move to Ottawa. Move it here and I'll be okay.
I came this close, though, believe me. That position is incredible, and it is becoming more and more useful. My wife and I have not accessed it personally, but I know people who have.
Conservative
Brent Rathgeber Conservative Edmonton—St. Albert, AB
You are familiar with some of its programs, I take it.
Conservative
Brent Rathgeber Conservative Edmonton—St. Albert, AB
Obviously you support that initiative and counsel other families of victims to access its services when necessary.
Executive Director, Gang Awareness for Parents
I do, very much so, and so do your parole service people. We just had parole services meet with us two weeks ago, and there were many victims in the room who didn't know about it. The Government of Canada is also promoting to victims that it is available, and it should absolutely be kept. It is a very important component.
Conservative
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Ed Fast
Thank you.
That brings us to the end of our time. We want to thank each one of you. We've gained a little different perspective from you, because you're representing the intervention and prevention side of the equation.
Executive Director, Gang Awareness for Parents
We didn't get together on this.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Ed Fast
It was very powerful testimony from each one of you, so thank you to all of you.
We will suspend for a few minutes.
