Read the law. This makes it possible for the police to arrest the offender and to place him in custody.
As for an offender who has received permission for an unescorted temporary release, an order for suspension may be issued if the reasons for which the permission was issued have changed or no longer exist, or if there is fresh information which would have altered the initial decision if available at the time it was made.
As for offenders on parole or statutory release, Correctional Services Canada and the National Parole Board may, at any time, issue a suspension warrant if they deem this necessary and reasonable for the protection of society.
Such a mandate would permit the reincarceration of a delinquent until his case could be examined by the National Parole Board.
Some people might wonder why the police do not have the same power of direct apprehension with respect to delinquents under federal responsibility who are on parole as they do for probationers.
I would like to clarify a few points on this matter, by explaining the significant differences between probation under provincial jurisdiction and parole under federal jurisdiction, whether we are talking of conditional release, statutory release or unescorted temporary absence.
Probation is a court disposition which is not granted by the parole board. It is a breach of probation and is a criminal offence because it constitutes a violation of a court order. And when a breach of probation occurs, police have the same authority to arrest the person without a warrant, as they would any other person who is committing a criminal offence.
Parole, statutory release and temporary absence, on the other hand, are not court orders. They are forms of conditional release granted either by the National Parole Board or the correctional service of Canada. All three types of releases are designed to facilitate the reintegration of offenders into the community as law-abiding citizens.
Conditions of parole, statutory release and temporary absence constitute restrictions placed on the offender that assist the parole supervisor in managing the offender's risk while on conditional release. Because breaches of these conditions do not constitute criminal activity, board members and Correctional Service Canada staff are in the best position to determine when it is necessary to suspend the conditional release in order to manage the offender's risk and protect the community.
A person on parole, for example, may have advised his supervisor that, for good reason, he will be 15 minutes later than the time set for his return to the halfway house. In such a case, the supervisor can, in full knowledge of the facts, decide not to suspend parole.
Without such information, however, a police officer could arrest the delinquent for failing to meet the condition, even though he may be no immediate threat to society.
This would conflict with the parole plans approved by the National Parole Board and would weaken the board's authority.
Although it could be argued that the member's bill is aimed at more serious offences, I would like to stress that, when police officers surprise an offender on conditional release in the act of committing a criminal offence, or when they have reasonable grounds to believe that a particular offender has committed or is on the point of committing a criminal offence, they already have all the power necessary to arrest him again without a warrant.
Therefore the issue raised by the member's bill is not whether the powers of the police should be broadened in order to allow them to make arrests without warrants, but rather whether the powers they now have, and the correctional practices in effect, are sufficient to allow the police to take rapid action in situations where offenders on conditional release present a risk to the community.
Our priority is the protection of the public, as I have already mentioned, and our government has taken many measures in this regard. There have also been a number of initiatives in recent years to improve the transmission of information between the Correctional Service of Canada and the police, in order to ensure better management of offenders on conditional release under federal responsibility.
One key information sharing improvement is the ability to enhance information of the Canadian Police Information Computer Network, commonly known as CPIC. Through a link between CPIC and the Correctional Service Canada offender management system, police forces have direct access to information on conditionally released offenders including their conditions of release.
To enable police to respond promptly whenever they suspect a federal offender has breached a condition of parole or unescorted temporary absence, Correctional Service Canada has a national network of duty officers who are available 24 hours a day seven days a week.
This network is in place in each region of the Correctional Service Canada and all police departments have been notified of the duty officer's phone number. Upon being advised by a police officer of a breach or potential breach of parole, the duty officer can issue a suspension of warrant right on the spot, which gives the police the authority to arrest the offender and promptly bring him or her into custody.
Again, to ensure the police can respond as fast as possible, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act also authorizes the facsimile transmission of warrants and gives police officers the authority to arrest the offender, without warrant, on the knowledge that one has been issued.
As the hon. members will note, the police already have the powers and the means they need to intervene quickly when they see that a federal delinquent has failed to meet the conditions of his release.
The member's bill assumes that the police are limited in the measures they can take to protect the public or that they are subject to unreasonable time frames, but the fact is that this has never really been proved.
I would point out that, in the absence of such proof, provisions that would give the police broader powers to arrest without warrant people on parole who have not committed a criminal offence will most likely not stand up to a challenge based on the charter of rights.
In conclusion, the government fully supports the objective of better protection for the community, and we cannot support this bill.