Public Accounts committee  We're changing that. At the local level and at the regional level, a lot of work is being done. Both Mr. Tousignant and I have been regional deputy commissioners, I in the Pacific region, Mr. Tousignant in Quebec. In the last three years, 200 beds have been added. This is in large part because of the work done at both the local and regional levels.

Public Accounts committee  At both the local and the regional level, work was being done.

Public Accounts committee  It's because they know their population. For example, in the Pacific region a lot of work was being done. We knew we had a number of offenders with mental health issues so we opened a halfway house called Maria Keary Cottage for those offenders. A number of offenders were aboriginal, so the district director was extremely involved in working with community partners to find available space.

Public Accounts committee  Yes, that's true. It costs quite a bit less to keep offenders in the community than it does to keep them incarcerated.

Public Accounts committee  I certainly don't mean to be defensive. We accept the Auditor General's findings and recommendations. As I said before, in some cases, it's a question of documentation. In other cases, again on the frequency of contact, if the frequency changes during the month and it's not properly documented, unfortunately the Auditor General will be looking for four contacts a month when actually there are two that are required.

Public Accounts committee  Again, having worked in the community with offenders, if it's something that happens all the time, that every month you meet with the inmates three times within six days, that would be concerning if it's month over month. But in the community, there are instances where offenders may go through a crisis.

Public Accounts committee  Yes, for very good reasons.

Public Accounts committee  At this point, it's true. Once offenders have completed their sentences, we don't follow them up. However, we are working with both Public Safety Canada and StatsCan to look at an automated way of capturing that data. We do routine studies as well. With the social data linkage project with Stats Canada, we hope to be able to cover both post-release employment and income as well as health outcomes and also, obviously, readmissions to both province and territories.

Public Accounts committee  I would like to start by saying that we do have an increase in the number of offenders in the population, but we also have a corresponding decrease in the number of revocations, which speaks to the work that is done by parole officers. As I explained previously, frequency of contact is one element of a broader community supervision framework.

Public Accounts committee  We have a ratio of parole officers in the community: one parole officer for 13 offenders. Right now when we look at the number of parole officers and the ratio, we have 715 parole officers, and the ratio is around 1:13. It varies a little.

Public Accounts committee  Yes.

Public Accounts committee  I started my career as a parole officer 35 years ago. I worked both in the institutions and in the community, and it was among the best jobs I have had. Certainly as a community parole officer, frequency of contact, which is mentioned by the Auditor General, is one key element among many elements that comprise the community supervision framework.

Public Accounts committee  Mr. Chair and honourable members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the findings and recommendations of the Auditor General's performance audit on community supervision. Again with me today are the senior deputy commissioner, Mr.

Public Safety committee  No. Inmates will be offered the opportunity to go outside, that's true. If the weather does not allow that, they can still leave their cell.

Public Safety committee  What the parole officers have shared with us, which is very encouraging, is that it's not only the quality of the reports for indigenous offenders, but they're looking at every offender differently and looking at their unique circumstances.