Human Resources committee  In our discussions with Correctional Services--and that was my responsibility--what we were concentrating on was the case of the OAS and how we can prevent OAS being paid to people while they are incarcerated. When we looked at section 78 and at other means, and some of the limit

Human Resources committee  That's another question that I will come back to. The other issue is one that I think the commissioner raised as well when he was here. His concern was that if Correctional Services starts to go after a lot of funds, they would spend more time trying to collect money than in pur

Human Resources committee  No. For the OAS, as I said earlier, whether or not there are children is not taken into consideration. If there are needs for children, there are other federal programs--and provincial programs, by the way--to support children in these circumstances. These will continue, of cours

Human Resources committee  With your permission, I will provide a quick answer. There are two components. The spouse that is not incarcerated continues to receive Old Age Security benefits; that is not in question. As regards the Supplement that the spouse not serving a prison sentence can receive—the Sup

Human Resources committee  I think the commissioner provided some information on this. I'm not the specialist on the cost of incarceration. A main source of information for me would be Statistics Canada, but I think your numbers are most likely close to the reality.

Human Resources committee  It would work the same way as what we are considering doing with federal correctional services. There would be an equivalent agreement signed with correctional services in Quebec. On a most likely monthly basis—that is what we are suggesting at the federal level—we would receive

Human Resources committee  I would say the way you describe the challenges is correct. When we look at section 78 and compare it to the objective we wanted to achieve, it was a very complicated and limiting tool that the Correctional Service had in its hands. That's why our conclusion was that what is bein

Human Resources committee  I will give you a two-part answer. First of all, I do not know whether they have that information, and the Correctional Service of Canada does not seem to have been able to answer your question. As far as we are concerned, information about the spouse is important because, for O

Human Resources committee  I'll provide the first part of the answer, and maybe Mr. McCombs will answer the second part. The first thing is there are two components of universality for the OAS: OAS and GIS. GIS is not available to everybody. This is income tested, so it's targeted to low-income seniors.

Human Resources committee  To answer your question, yes, we did look at that option with Correctional Service officials. We concluded that, even if it were amended, section 78 would not meet the goals laid out in this bill, particularly since, as Correctional Service officials explained, they only have acc

Human Resources committee  I'd like to repeat what the commissioner explained, because I think it's very helpful. To begin with, money can only be withheld under very specific conditions. Furthermore, the commissioner stated that he only controls accounts inside the institutions. Consequently, he is not aw

Human Resources committee  No, not yet. Normally, information exchange agreements should be relatively simple. In a way, we are talking about two parameters: a person's identity and the age of 65. We have to ensure that we get that information so that we can do the work required.

Human Resources committee  The bill deals with incarceration. From the moment that people are no longer in prison per se, and move on to other places, we resume pension payments. As a matter of fact, prisoners in other situations often have costs to meet.

Human Resources committee  Actually, they have to pay some costs themselves that must be considered.

Human Resources committee  Realistically, they have activities outside the halfway house, so their situation becomes different from when they were limited by their incarceration.