Madam Speaker, as stated, correctional interventions work to provide meaningful employment and employability program opportunities for offenders, increasing the likelihood of safe and successful reintegration. As part of this, CSC works with partners in the academic, private and not-for-profit sectors to access learning materials that mirror those available to the general public and to develop courses in line with community employment standards. The resulting vocational certificates are issued, in most cases, by the third party.
The collaboration between CSC and existing partners provides offenders with the support, referrals and services to address their employment needs and contributes to offenders' ability to find and maintain employment in the community. Research clearly demonstrates that offenders who are employed in the community are less likely to reoffend or return to federal custody. This benefits offenders by providing them with the means to support themselves and their families and by creating community support networks.
For Canadians, there are benefits in safer communities through less recidivism as well as by adding to the workforce availability and through the socio-economic benefits such as offenders' custody—