Public Safety committee  I think CSC hoped that going through the ion scanner would be a deterrent for people smuggling drugs in, but that ship sailed a long time ago. People know that there are so many false positives that they could care less. If they want to smuggle drugs in, they're going to try it.

Public Safety committee  On the specificity, I have hit positive I don't know how many times at this point for everything on their sheet except methamphetamines. I've hit for opiates, cocaine, morphine—

Public Safety committee  Yes, ecstasy, marijuana.... For whatever else is on their sheet, I've tested positive.

Public Safety committee  MOMS as a group has spoken with the senior policy adviser in Minister Goodale's office, Justine Villeneuve, about several issues, this being a major one. MOMS as a group has spoken with many high-level members of CSC. They keep repeating the same dogma that they have on their website and in their policy.

Public Safety committee  Well, we have discussed this a lot. On thing I would like to say is that CSC policy does place a priority on the safety of staff, inmates, and visitors. I can tell you that the prisoners will say that the feelings of anger, etc., that they feel after a visit is cancelled fly in the face of safety, because they are so frustrated and angry that they take these feelings back to their ranges with them.

Public Safety committee  Good morning, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. My name is Anne Cattral. I am also a member of Mothers Offering Mutual Support. As part of our advocacy mandate, if we want to call it that—such an important word for an informal group—we launched a petition in 2015-16 to have a review of the ion scanner within the federal institutions.

Public Safety committee  This is such a momentous occasion for us. If nobody minds, I will read from my notes. It might be easier on everybody.

Public Safety committee  You are, you really are, but so friendly that it's good. In 2015 and 2016 MOMS initiated a petition calling on the Correctional Service of Canada to review its use of the ion mobility spectrometer, better known as the ion scanner, as a drug-detecting tool to screen visitors entering federal institutions.