Public Safety committee  I think there are probably lots of good opportunities. I think this committee has an opportunity to look at electronic monitoring not just in the context of having it versus not having it, but in the context of having it along with other programs and other ways of monitoring peop

Public Safety committee  About 70% of the incarcerated population in Manitoba is aboriginal. Seventy per cent of the clients my agency works with are aboriginal, and aboriginal people are about 15% of the total population. So there certainly are some real issues. I was a little floored by Mr. Trottier w

Public Safety committee  I think it is possible to have a human monitoring program in bail situations when you're using a group such as the John Howard Society. We are not part of the corrections system, so the person could voluntarily agree to be in our supervision. I think it is possible to create a

Public Safety committee  My experience is limited, but in the Winnipeg example of the young men who were stealing cars, seven of them got their bracelets off very easily. These were teenagers. I guess the question would be, are you creating a false sense of security by saying if you release the person o

Public Safety committee  Absolutely.

Public Safety committee  I was looking at the comments from the fellow from England. He said that where electronic monitoring had been successful, they were using it with high-risk youth. It was one of about six or seven different forms of intervention. There may be a case where it is important to know t

Public Safety committee  That's correct.

Public Safety committee  Perhaps I may have been speaking fairly quickly. I'm a little nervous. I did make this point, but perhaps I made it too quickly. What I wanted to have the committee consider is that when you're comparing costs you're not comparing the cost just with, say, incarceration—I think yo

Public Safety committee  Thank you, and thank you for the opportunity to appear in front of you today. I think I have a slightly different experience, and I hope you don't mind having both of us here. The John Howard Society of Manitoba runs two programs that monitor offenders and ex-offenders in the c

Public Safety committee  An aspect we haven't talked about is that it's very important to also have a criminal record check before you can volunteer at your own school, at your child's school, or the community club. It's not just about work, it's also about having a fuller role in the community. You don

Public Safety committee  I will be quick. I think the process of rehabilitation begins in prison and in jail. And parole is a tool a probation or parole officer can use with clients to encourage them, even before they've left the institution--“here is something you can work towards”. We would be taking

Public Safety committee  As I said in the brief, in my experience working with victims, it is very important that the victims have an opportunity to understand what happened and why something happened. And they want to have some assurance that it's not going to happen again so that they feel safe. I thin

Public Safety committee  At the time that first came up into the news, I did speak in the media about it. I said that if he qualified for a pardon, my understanding--

Public Safety committee  As I was saying, I saw nothing wrong with Mr. James getting a pardon if he had in fact met the criteria, had not committed any new offences and was living a crime-free life. I think it's important to recognize the size of this carrot. Barrett talked about it as a carrot. For man

Public Safety committee  I'm going to speak very narrowly. Because I was asked to come and speak to Bill C-23B, I should keep my comments focused on that. As I've said, I don't see a lot in this bill that would help victims groups. I do want to say that the John Howard Society also works with victims.