Mr. Speaker, by next year the Conservatives will have to spend $3 billion on prisons. That is in one year. What is all that money buying? Corrections Canada reported a 44% jump in gang members in prisons in the past five years. In his report this week, the correctional investigator said that public safety was being compromised by prison overcrowding.
When will the minister admit that his tough on crime prisons agenda is not only unaffordable but is also putting corrections workers and, ultimately, the public at risk.