Thank you.
The purpose of correctional services is of course to ensure that criminals are behind bars in order to protect society, and also to facilitate their return to civil life later so that they may once again contribute to society; that is clear.
As you know, Mr. Norlock, our government thinks it is important to put an end to practices that caused people to lose trust in our justice system. They were, in fact, under the impression that there was a lack of balance. More generally speaking, I was proud over the past few weeks to accompany the Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, and the Minister of Justice to put victims back at the heart of our legal system.
We adopted over 30 bills or measures in that regard. For instance, we put an end to the famous two for one credit which meant that the offender had his prison sentence reduced. These measures have meant that there has been a certain increase in the number of persons in our establishments, but it is barely greater than the increase in the general population.
We see the results clearly. Statistics show that in most cases, the crime rate is going down. Of course, there are issues we must address. Unfortunately, crimes of a sexual nature are on the rise. We also see that some segments of the population are more affected by crime and we must continue to devote efforts to that. That is why we have put in place the National Crime Prevention Strategy.
Last week I was in Vancouver to announce that we are, for instance, going to assist young aboriginals who are more vulnerable. We think that this project is going to give results.
To get back to your question, essentially, the projected increase in the inmate population did not materialize. Because of that, today we are returning $119.5 million to the public purse. However, this will in no way affect the care and services provided to inmates.