Justice committee  No, they didn't. They were in court every day, but they did not.

Justice committee  I did. I was a high-school dropout, so I finished high school. I did my BA in psychology through Queen's University, I completed my honours year in criminology, and I did most of my master's degree while I was still inside.

Justice committee  That's correct. In order for me to come here today, I needed to have a travel permit. I need to have a travel permit to go outside the area that I'm in. If I don't, that's a violation of my parole. I can be sent back to prison for that.

Justice committee  I'm going to have to report not for 25 years, but for the rest of my life. When you're on parole with a life sentence in Canada, you're on parole for the rest of your life, and if you don't get parole you never get out. So there are many men and women serving life sentences who are never going to get out of prison.

Justice committee  I'm in kind of a unique position because I go back into the prisons and work with men and women--men mostly--serving life sentences. I go back inside and go through ion scans and everything else. If I get pulled over by the police, the first thing I have to do is show them my parole papers.

Justice committee  I made application in the 15th year, but then you have to go through the process. A judge has to be picked and a crown attorney. You can only begin the application process after 15 years. You can't begin the process prior to that.

Justice committee  That's correct.

Justice committee  My preparation began when I was convicted and went into the prison system. I'd never been in prison before. I'd never spent one second in jail before. I looked at the sentence, and I looked at the prison environment where I was serving my time, and I knew that was not a place for me.

Justice committee  You're only eligible to apply after you have 15 years in. You have to wait for 15 years.

Justice committee  Thank you. I'm pleased to have this opportunity to speak today, but without the faint hope clause, I wouldn't have been able to be here. In preparation for coming today, I was talking to my grandson this morning, and he asked me what Bill C-36 was about. He asked me to explain it to him in terms he might understand.