Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to go back over the security level assessment process.
From what I understand of what's been said so far, it's not necessarily the members of your two unions who conduct this type of assessment. I nevertheless want to relate that to the assessment done by parole officers.
It's no secret that people in the system are overworked. A survey conducted of the Union of Safety and Justice Employees in 2019 shows that those people were clearly being overworked, a fact that was reported by several print media outlets. I'm going to read an excerpt from one of those articles because I think we can draw a parallel, or make a connection, with the people responsible for assessments within the system. Here's an article from a May 2019 issue of La Presse, but, based on discussions I've had with the union in recent months, this is still a problem.
The article reads as follows:
Canadian parole officers say an “insurmountable” workload has brought the country's correctional system to a critical juncture, a situation that they say presents a public safety risk. A survey of parole officers conducted by the Union of Safety and Justice Employees, the USJE, reveals that more than two thirds of officers are afraid they can't properly protect the public because they don't have the time to assess, supervise and prepare for inmate releases. The union, which represents the officers, says this means that many offenders are slipping through the cracks—people who, in some cases, may offend again and harm others or themselves. David Neufeld, the union's national vice-president, contends that the problems are the result of budget cuts under the former Conservative government, which have resulted in staff reductions and increased workloads. Since then, says Mr. Neufeld, measures taken by the Trudeau government to provide more programs for Indigenous offenders and the mentally ill have required more work. The union is calling for more staff and resources within the correctional system so that inmates can be properly assessed to determine the risk they present on parole.
I realize these are two separate points, but I'd like to hear your opinion, Mr. Ménard.
Is this still a problem for parole officers? Can we make this connection with officers or individuals who conduct security level assessments on inmates? As far as you know, are officers labouring under excessive workloads that could undermine public safety?