Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to thank the witnesses for being here today. This is an important matter, and I do not think we will ever have heard too many points of view.
Ms. Bordelais, I listened to your description of the horrors of detention. You are not the only one to mention this, as Mr. Spratt and other witnesses also talked about it. I recognize that prisons are far from being a safe place where people can thrive. Clearly, that is not their purpose. I also recognize that there is a lot to be done to truly make prisons centres for rehabilitation.
That said, a large segment of the population is appalled by the rate of recidivism. We have to make sure that individuals who receive bail after being charged with serious offences, such as firearms offences, do not reoffend. I will spare you the stories of repeat offences, since you are probably as familiar with them as am I. This risk is worrisome to the public. My colleague Mr. Moore said earlier that all the provincial premiers are calling on the federal government to take action on this.
If we do not increase the number of individuals in pretrial detention, how can we address this demand from the premiers? We want to assuage public concern and make the facilities safer, without being stricter with people accused of serious firearms offences, among other things.