Mr. Speaker, I have a question regarding the cost. The hon. member probably would know that the average cost of keeping a person in jail is anywhere between $52,000 to $100,000 per year depending if there are programs added on. The minimum is about $51,454 per year.
If this bill becomes law, a very minimal conservative estimate of the operating costs would be approximately $250 million. As a former mayor the hon. member could probably tell us if we have that kind of funding to provide support for young people to provide preventive work so that we can keep people out of jail and so that we can provide community support. If we have the funding, what are some of the programs we can support to reduce crime?