QUESTION PERIOD — Public Safety

Senator Moreau, the Correctional Service of Canada spends approximately $2.6 billion annually on the current custody of federally incarcerated individuals. The average cost exceeds $150,000 per inmate per year, rising to over half a million dollars annually for individuals held in isolation or segregation.

The Office of the Correctional Investigator repeatedly noted that Canada operates the most highly resourced, most expensive correctional system in the world with staff to inmate ratios of roughly one to one compared to one to three and a half in Europe. Yet, European systems achieve better outcomes with lower recidivism at significantly lower costs.

With this government’s focus on addressing crime, is there a planned review of the structure and delivery of federal correctional services with a view to using examples of global best practices that will reduce costs to taxpayers while improving outcomes?

Thanks, Senator Moreau. I appreciate that.

Canadians are already paying the highest incarceration costs. The Parliamentary Budget Officer, or PBO, stated in 2019 that paying for the treatment of a person in a mental health hospital would cost less than keeping them in a prison in isolated conditions. I’m far from an expert, but the evidence suggests that what we have as a correctional system in Canada is more of a punishment system. Other models globally show very different approaches, so I’m hoping the government will consider a serious study on this issue.