Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses.
Maybe I could begin by talking about where our correctional system is today and the trajectory of where it's going.
I had the opportunity of being at the Grand Valley facility and to be in the cell in solitary confinement where Ashley Smith had passed away after more than eleven months in solitary confinement. She was an individual who was never diagnosed as having a mental health issue, but clearly did.
The report of the correctional investigator on that I think was disturbing, not because Ashley was so badly failed, although that was a great tragedy, but because the correctional investigator said this was symptomatic of what's happening generally. Ashley's story is unfolding every day in many prisons right across the country, and we are fundamentally failing in our approach to how we deal with mental health issues in our prison facilities.
Two days ago we had Dr. Jones before this committee, who's the executive director of the John Howard Society of Canada. His statement on the approach that's being taken right now, taken by the government, said it contradicts evidence, logic, effectiveness, history, justice, and humanity.
I'm wondering about your reflections on where we are right now. Do you agree that the current approach being taken in corrections is ineffective and, frankly, inhumane?