Your report states that in 2009 Correctional Service Canada received approval to spend $751 million over five years to expand existing institutions. They also received approval in principle to construct five new penitentiaries at a cost of $960 million.
Also, you note that in 2012 Correctional Service Canada recognized that its offender population had not grown as much as they had expected and they consequently returned $1.48 billion that was earmarked for construction, including funding for operations that had been set aside and for growth in the offender population that didn't occur.
As a matter of fact, in your report, Correctional Service Canada projected a growth from 14,200 in 2009 to 18,450 by March 2013. In fact, in March 2013 the population had increased only to 15,224, which is a dramatic shortage versus what had been projected.
Can you provide any insight as to how the officials underestimated this so much, or did officials provide an explanation to you as to why they underestimated the prison population so much?