Evidence of meeting #49 for Public Safety and National Security in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was offenders.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Lynn Garrow  Chief Executive Officer, CORCAN
Don Head  Commissioner, Correctional Service of Canada

10:25 a.m.

Liberal

Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE

The only other area relates to the correctional plan. I understand this has to fit into the correctional plan. How do you work with these offenders with newly added skills when they're released into the community in terms of assisting them in gaining gainful employment?

10:25 a.m.

Chief Executive Officer, CORCAN

Lynn Garrow

We have a limited footprint in the community from a CORCAN perspective. We have three: Community Industries in Moncton, the national engineering centre that I referenced earlier in Laval, and our CORCAN warehouse in Kingston. Through those three we have hired about 103 inmates. That gives them a transition to the community, and most of those people do leave us to go on to other jobs with private employers.

The other thing is we share the labour market trends and where the opportunities are, because the interesting thing about ESDC's data is that it doesn't just talk about what job opportunities there are in certain areas, it gets pretty specific about, for example, new construction that will be going on in a certain region, opportunities that are coming down the pipe. We do highlight those to the community employment counsellors to say, listen, this is happening in your backyard and it will be coming down the pipe. It depends on the timeframe of the project, but we do share that. There are 17 community employment counsellors located across the country who work with offenders.

As well too we can never forget the NGOs. We have Elizabeth Fry and John Howard who also work with the offenders to prepare them for release and assist them with resumé writing and other issues as well.

10:30 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Daryl Kramp

Thank you very much.

Colleagues, on behalf of the entire committee I'd like to thank our witnesses for appearing here today.

We will just suspend very briefly to go in camera for future business.

[Proceedings continue in camera]