Isn't that wonderful? They spent $200,000 on a task force on security and $70,000 for international travel by the commissioner in one year. They have a plan in place to get more and more inmates into the communities. They are reducing the number of inmates. The cost of running the system has gone up tremendously. Expenses to operate penitentiaries have gone up but there are less inmates. It does not make sense. Should they not be going down?
What about the correctional officers, the professional people who work on the frontline, who put their necks on the line every time they go to work? They have not seen a raise for ages. There was a time when they were fairly comparable to the RCMP and other police forces. Now they are a way down.
When they ask for such things as vests that will protect them from knife wounds, the answer is no, that there are no funds. They ask for protective equipment when they make their rounds. They would like to carry more than just a flashlight in dark corners in the event they run into problems. When they ask for a little better backup, the answer is no, that there are no funds available.
There is an easy solution. The commissioner should be fired and a guy put in there who will do the job. No. He follows fuzzy, touchy-feely, good Liberal stuff. It is all a bunch of nonsense.