Public Safety Committee on Dec. 3rd, 2014

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

First, the correctional services are doing a remarkable job with the population in federal penitentiaries. There are medical services. As you know, there are also rehabilitation services and training services.

Once again, the commissioner will be able to provide details on all the provisions put in place to adapt to the changing profile of inmates in the institutions.

I can assure you that the correctional services officers do a remarkable job. I have had the opportunity to visit the institutions, and I can assure you that inmates are receiving top-quality medical services.

[The Chair, Conservative, Daryl Kramp]

Thank you very much. The time has expired.

Ms. Ablonczy, you have five minutes.

[Diane Ablonczy, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Thank you to all of you who are here.

It strikes me that in this Christmas season of peace and goodwill to all, you deal with the other side of the coin. We know that's not an easy task. We appreciate the fact that people like you are carrying a heavy load on behalf of the rest of us, so that we can feel secure and contented, not just at this time of year but all year round.

Minister, we were just looking at a section of the budget implementation act that had to do with expanding the DNA indices, the kind of information that law enforcement can now collect in terms of DNA.

Why do you think this expansion of the DNA bank is so important and what do you believe will be the benefit to Canadians?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

I really want to thank you for your question because we can be proud as a country of the DNA system we have put in place.

Once again, this is a system that has been ongoing for many years without any major change or improvement, and the technology is evolving. The current DNA missing persons index.... Actually, we will be given the opportunity to support tonight very important votes that will take place. Not only will we support the budget implementation act but also this very important bill.

There are five indices that will be added to the current system. Our deputy commissioner knows this issue very well. Let me just put the emphasis on those indices that will allow the collection of DNA at a crime scene, DNA of a missing person, DNA of relatives of a missing person, and also DNA of people working on crime scenes, so that the results are not conflicted when they are doing these analyses.

This is a major step, a major improvement. This is done in a very reasonable and practical manner. One objective is to bring closure to families of the fallen, like Ms. Peterson, or any other family who is wondering what has happened. This is the objective. Those indices will be added.

One important issue is that the current.... There will be a barrier established between the DNA of a relative and the DNA of a criminal. There are firewalls to protect privacy and the rights of those who are sharing information. These provisions are in the bill. It has been very well crafted and I would be happy to provide you with more detail.

Once again, we're going to make a leap forward to help victims in their willingness to seek the truth on what sometimes happens in tragic events.

[Diane Ablonczy, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Minister, obviously, you're aware of the testimony we heard from Judy Peterson. We were all so impressed with her courage because she's been working, after the disappearance of her daughter, for 20 years to get changes to the DNA bank.

I know my colleague, Mr. Easter, was very helpful to Ms. Peterson and she gave him credit for that and appreciated that. I know she appreciates that, hopefully. Finally, tonight, this expansion that she's been working for will take place. We're happy about that.

On a different topic, a lot of people I talk to are really worried about people, especially young Canadians, some of whom have lived all their life in this wonderful country, becoming radicalized and even leaving the country to fight against the values that have made us all safe and secure here.

Could you talk about what your department is doing to address this radicalization?

[The Chair, Conservative, Daryl Kramp]

Mr. Blaney, that would probably require a lengthy response, I understand, to that question, but you have about 15 seconds to do that.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

The four pillars of our counterterrorism strategy are oriented toward prevention, detection, denying someone from committing an attack, and responding. So in the realm of prevention, the RCMP is doing a lot of outreach towards communities throughout the country. We have cross-cultural round tables and we are also training our officers. I'm sure Deputy Commissioner Cabana can expand on this. Once again, if I may add, I think that the late Jim Flaherty will certainly wink at us, when the budget implementation act is adopted and Lindsey's law will become the law of the land, from his Irish paradise. He certainly can find some comfort in this.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Daryl Kramp]

Thank you very much.

That concludes our first hour.

Minister Blaney, we will suspend very briefly and certainly you'll be leaving, sir. Then we'll go right back at it.

[The Chair, Conservative, Daryl Kramp]

We're now back in session.

Yes, on point of order, Mr. Garrison....

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Given that the minister wasn't able to appear until today, we are I think beyond the period in which we could actually vote on the supplementary estimates. I'm just asking if my understanding is correct.

[The Chair, Conservative, Daryl Kramp]

That's correct.

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

So we will not be able to vote on these because the minister was saying he'd like to have our support, and of course it's disappointing for us. If he could have appeared earlier, he would have had our support on these supplementary estimates, but because of the timing he wasn't here in time for us to cast those votes. Because we do a lot of committee business in camera, that's all I can say about that. But since he did raise the topic, we would have been voting in favour of these supplementary estimates had he been here in time for us to do that.

[The Chair, Conservative, Daryl Kramp]

Thank you very much. I appreciate that.

Of course, these reports are deemed back without an amendment. So at that point then there is no report on that, but I thank you for your point of order and I think you've made your point.

Thank you very much. We will now go to first round of questioning.

Ms. James, please, you have seven minutes.

[Roxanne James, Conservative, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to all of the officials who are here today.

I'm going to start with the deputy minister for public safety on the cyberbullying campaign.

Could you talk a little bit about what we've done so far. It's something that I fully support. I actually did an announcement for phase two of this back in September at a local grade 7 and grade 8 school in my own riding. I'm going to ask you to elaborate on this, but it was the introduction of an interactive campaign so that students or youth could actually log on—or someone my age if we wanted to see what it was all about—and based on what you typed in, the results came back with the person on the screen either smiling and happy with the comments that someone might have typed on the screen versus something that someone typed in that made them feel uncomfortable or sad.

It was quite an extraordinary thing to see. It was interesting to also witness the students who were present for that announcement because they were smiling at parts of it, and in the other parts when they're seeing what the results were on the screen it was quite interesting to see how they reacted, as well.

I'm just wondering if you could talk a little bit about that and where we are on that, and perhaps even how well used that website has been to date.

[François Guimont, Deputy Minister, Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Thank you for the question.

In the past, the department sponsored cyberbullying campaigns that were very effective, and a bit—if you wish, I'll use my own words—passive in nature. You've probably seen youths looking at something, passing it on to a friend, and then you see a police officer asking questions. The resources that we got—and your question is very timely in the sense that the Treasury Board provided us with approval to move forward with this new campaign, which is more interactive in nature, as you stated.

Our folks at Public Safety worked with specialists in trying to create something that was more, I'm tempted to say, attractive to youths. For those of you who have seen this tool, it's quite impressive. The first time I saw it before it was made public, I was very much surprised to see how interesting it is in the sense of you being able to literally interact with an individual and punch in a few words and see what their reaction is, which is, as you stated, either a rewarding type of reaction or body language, or a more negative one.

The obvious question I asked was—I remember asking this question—how new is this? Has this been used in the past? It's fairly recent. It has been used elsewhere, but it's fairly rare, if you wish. So I was quite pleased to see that the department would be moving to the leading edge. It's been very popular for that very reason. I don't have the numbers here with me, but I can certainly file it with the committee for sure, and it is evolving, as you might imagine, every day. The feedback that I got from my folks was that it was very much enjoyed by the youth. It gives them an appreciation for what words mean, which is essentially at the core of what that interactive video is.

[Roxanne James, Conservative, Scarborough Centre, ON]

I remember when I did that announcement and there were a few giggles or something in the audience at some of the comments, but once they saw the expression of the person who was reading on the other end it became silent in the room. I think that was the key to the Stop Hating Online campaign. Anyone who's listened to this committee simply has to go to the web and type in “stop hating online campaign“ and you'll find it. I think it's an excellent resource tool for parents to check out.

I have a question for the RCMP as well. The RCMP accountability act came into force this week. There was an announcement that you did with the Minister of Public Safety, not yourself, but the commissioner. I know with my previous committee work on the status of women, the commissioner was at that committee. He came in to testify. We were studying harassment in the workplace. I know that some of the things that were discussed in that committee have played into the RCMP accountability act with regard to some of new things that are involved in that act about the new code of conduct, and so on. I'm wondering if you could comment on some of these changes. I know it had significant changes because the act hadn't been significantly changed in almost 25 years with regards to harassment in the workplace, codes of conduct, and so on. Could you speak to that for a few moments?

Thanks.

[D/Commr Mike Cabana]

Absolutely. Thank you very much for your question. I could probably speak on it for the rest of the time that we have.

As you pointed out, and as Minister Blaney pointed out, it provides for the RCMP a whole new regime for management of human resources and code of conduct issues, including harassment. Harassment now has its own regime separate from the code of conduct processes. It also led to an expansion or creation of a new agency, an oversight agency, for the RCMP. I'm not quite sure what else I could provide in terms of details.

[Roxanne James, Conservative, Scarborough Centre, ON]

The legislation passed in 2013, I believe, but it did take a period of time to come into force with the scope and nature of this particular act. I know from when the commissioner did appear, and even in the status of women talks, discussions were ongoing with employees, senior management, and other stakeholders across the country. When we take a look at how quickly it was implemented, that's a terrific achievement.

[D/Commr Mike Cabana]

Thank you. There was a lot of work that was done as you pointed out. Consultation was very extensive, including with the employees of the RCMP and regular members, as well as public service employees and the civilian members.

[The Chair, Conservative, Daryl Kramp]

Thank you very much, Ms. James.

Now we'll go to Mr. Garrison, please for seven minutes.

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I neglected in my last round to add our concerns for the wounded RCMP member in Kamloops. I understand he's a 13-year veteran and father of two, and we all hope for a speedy and complete recovery.

I'm going to ask my question to Mr. Cenaiko from the Parole Board of Canada. We had a change to recast pardons as record suspensions. We had an increase in the fees from $150 to $631. These are for people who have finished their sentences, are trying to get back into employment, and are trying to get their lives back together having paid the penalties they were ascribed. I have two questions.

One is that last year we were seeing a drop in applications for record suspensions that was attributed by many people to the increase in the fee to $631, which is something very tough for someone who needs the record suspension to get a job. The second is that last year we had a backlog of some 15,000 applications. I want to know if you had enough resources to make a dent in that backlog.

[Harvey Cenaiko, Chairperson, Parole Board of Canada]

Thank you very much for the question.

There was a drop in the number of record suspensions that individuals applied for. However, that also has to do with the fact that, under the new legislation, the timing has gone from three years to five years for summary conviction offences. For indictable offences, the new waiting period has gone from five years to 10 years, so there was a drop in the number. However, this past year we did still receive approximately 14,254 applications, and we accepted 9,500 that were completed as processing through.

In relation to the second part of your question in relation to the backlog, the board has been able to make significant progress in reducing the backlog over the last two years with funding through internal efficiencies. We had a total of 22,230 files that were being reviewed in the backlog, and we're now at 10,186 applications.

The board is currently focusing its efforts on clearing the backlog of applications, including some related to offences tried summarily, and we'll continue with those for summary offences. We're working on approximately 3,500 of those right now, which we hope to have completed by the end of this fiscal year, so over the next three and a half months. Also, we have approximately 6,700 applications related to indictable offences, which we'll continue to work on as resources permit. With our current resources, we expect to have close to 70% of the backlog cleared by March 31 of this fiscal year. As we move into the new fiscal year, we'll remain committed to working on the backlog, including that related to indictable offences, as resources permit.

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Thank you. The progress you have made is very encouraging.

I wonder if you have any estimate of time for that last 30%. What's the plan for clearing that last 30% of the backlog? What timelines are available?

[Harvey Cenaiko]

I can't give you a timeline, but I can tell you that we will work on it as resources permit, because the record suspension staff will continue to work on the record suspensions. We are governed by statute and timelines on record suspension. For a summary conviction offence, we have to have that. Once it's accepted and we are able to process it because everything has been submitted properly, we have six months to complete the file. For indictable offences, we have one year.

Those are ongoing as we speak, and we're maintaining our timelines under the User Fees Act. In the case of the pardons, we're completing those as we can with the resources we have.

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

So you are staying within those timelines.