If I may read some numbers here, approximately 10% of Canadians have criminal records. That is 3.8 million Canadians. Ninety per cent of those with criminal records have not received record suspensions or pardons. Seventy per cent of offenders entering prisons have unstable job histories.
One study of men at one year after release from prison found that those who were unemployed had a recidivism rate of 40% compared to 17% for those who were employed. Think about that. The percentage went from 40% to 17% because they had employment.
Seventy per cent of female offenders are mothers with children under the age of 18. We have great conversations with Judy Murphy of the Elizabeth Fry Society in Saint John, and 100% of the Elizabeth Fry Society's clients have criminal records. In 2016 the Sophia Recovery Centre for women reported that 50% of their clients had criminal records.
According to the Parole Board of Canada, 96% of those who were pardoned never reoffended. So you go back again—