That's a good question, sir.
First, I would like to tell you that we at the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers believe in rehabilitation. We believe in programs. We believe that the majority of inmates can be rehabilitated. Every possible effort has to be made.
Double-bunking is definitely one of the problems that the act will raise. We are opposed to double-bunking, and we don't believe it will do anything good for inmates.
On the other hand, to help inmates, we sometimes have to put forward measures to supervise them and help them move forward in their rehabilitation. I'll give you the example of a school class. If you have two or three students in the class who intimidate the other 30, you also have to take care of the two or three students who are doing the intimidation. Similarly, you have to have programs to help inmates move forward and make institutional progress.
Currently, the climate of tension among inmates is one of the aspects that considerably undermines their rehabilitation. You have criminal gangs; you have people who don't want to be rehabilitated. They want to make money on the backs of other inmates by selling them their canteen, by selling them drugs, by offering protection for their family on the outside.
You have to draw a distinction between "engaged" and "unengaged". We believe in inmate programs. We have to have them. We hope the necessary funding will be provided for in the act. It isn't enough to open the door, push the inmate in, close the door and tell him we'll see you in five years. If we do that, we'll fail in our efforts. To avoid failing, we need tools.
Disciplinary systems are one of the tools that we need and that no one has mentioned. Currently, 40% of offence reports that inmates incur for assaulting staff or other inmates or for breaking government equipment are dismissed because the offenders aren't heard. What is an institutional disciplinary court? It's a court where an independent judge examines the offence reports and where there is a lawyer to represent inmate rights, which is fine. In addition, a staff member acts as a hearing advisor. Then a hearing of the report results in a disciplinary regime.
Unfortunately, this system doesn't work, and yet it's the cornerstone of rehabilitation and inmate management.