Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith.
Today, I am here to rise in the House and speak to the motion introduced by the member for Battle River—Crowfoot.
We all know that protecting the safety and security of Canadians in our communities and upholding the rights of victims remain top priorities for our government. The Correctional Service of Canada works to keep Canadians safe and support and assist federal offenders in their journey to becoming law-abiding citizens by promoting rehabilitation and safe reintegration. Research has found that their programs and services work to reduce the rates of recidivism. I want to acknowledge the tremendous work of correctional staff, who assist offenders by identifying problematic behaviours and attitudes and by targeting risk factors related to their criminal behaviour.
One way CSC works to reduce recidivism is through the provision of correctional programs for offenders under its care. CSC's correctional programs are empirically based interventions grounded in structured behavioural, social learning and cognitive approaches. Offenders are referred to correctional programs at an intensity matched to their level of risk. Research demonstrates that this enhances program effectiveness.
CSC offers a broad range of correctional programs to offenders in institutions and in the community, addressing multiple types of criminal offending in a comprehensive and integrated manner. All correctional programs are delivered by qualified, trained and certified correctional program officers and indigenous correctional program officers, and the service applies ongoing measures of quality control to ensure that correctional programs are delivered as designed.
To be fully effective, CSC provides correctional follow-up services to offenders who complete institutional correctional programs as part of a consistent continuum of care throughout the correctional process. This aftercare often includes participation in institutional and/or community maintenance programs. When looking at all correctional program streams combined, men who completed the programming had lower rates of any revocation during their first release than eligible non-participants, at 23% versus 41%.
Further to correctional programs, I would also like to discuss another one of CSC's notable programs that effectively supports offender reintegration, which is CORCAN. This program works to successfully contribute to a safe environment, both in our federal institutions and in the community. One way that our government is working to enhance public safety is by providing offenders with employment and employability interventions and services, including on-the-job and vocational training. This allows them to gain experience and the skills they need to become productive, law-abiding citizens and skilled workers when they return to community.
We have seen several research documents, dating back to 2014, that have noted a connection between employment and positive reintegration results. Offenders who are employed in the community were almost three times less likely to have their release revoked for a new offence than those who were not employed. To further these successes, vocational certifications, essential skills training and employability-related training are all available at all federal institutions, in addition to CORCAN-operated on-the-job training sites, which are at 36 federal correctional institutions across the country and seven community-based operations.
Furthermore, the service provides apprenticeship opportunities to offenders through on-the-job training assignments in all institutions, as well as during transitional employment in community industries. Such training results in both technical and transferable skills that are needed in the Canadian labour market; the goal of training is to provide offenders with knowledge and skills that are transferable to many community workplaces.
It is really important to remember that when it comes to criminal justice policies, we will continue to be guided by evidence. Research shows that our communities are best protected when, rather than being released at the end of their sentence with no controls or supports, an offender is gradually reintegrated into society through supervised release. I will highlight some statistics to demonstrate this success.
In terms of parole, since 2015 and 2016, 99% of day parole supervision periods for violent offenders have not ended in a return to custody for new offending. The rate for violent offenders returning to federal custody for new violent offending has not surpassed 0.5% over this time frame.
To promote safer communities, CSC strives to gradually release and safely reintegrate federal offenders through structured community supervision, and it works with criminal justice partners to ensure that this goal is met. CSC has improved safety and security by enhancing its intelligence capabilities and capacity through dedicated officers who participate in release planning and consult with staff on supervision strategies for offenders in relation to risk assessments.
To ensure better protection of the public, parole officers work with and share information with police agencies to assist in enhancing each offender's ability to reintegrate into the community as a law-abiding citizen, while ensuring public safety. If the risk an offender poses is assessed to be too high, necessary actions will be taken in a timely manner to address problems that could lead to potential harm to community members. This approach includes intervening and supervising offenders effectively so they are less likely to violently reoffend, as well as exploring options to enhance supervision and community partnerships.
One last area of the criminal justice system I would like to reflect on is victims and the government's commitment to upholding their rights to information, protection, participation and restitution. CSC, as well as the Parole Board of Canada, is committed to ensuring that victims of federal offenders have an effective voice in Canada's criminal justice system. CSC has a national victim services program to provide services to victims and survivors of crime, which centres on an exchange of information intended to assist victims in two important ways.
First, it gives victims a voice at a time when their well-being and dignity may have been undermined. This can help them regain a sense of control over their life and restore their confidence in the justice system and in society as a whole.
Second, the information victims receive may assist them in pursuing their life in the aftermath of the tragic circumstances they have experienced. The program has adopted a victim-centred, trauma-informed approach as the basis for its interactions with victims and survivors of crime. This demonstrates CSC's commitment to acknowledging the harm done to victims of crime, validating their concerns and providing them with the information they need to uphold their right to protection.
CSC encourages victims to provide a victim statement related to the continued impact the crime, incarceration and release of the offender have had on their life. These statements can include relevant information about the offender, along with any safety concerns the victim may have, requests for conditions and the location of the offender. This is the principal way victims exercise their right to participation within the corrections and conditional release process. It is important that we support them.
CSC presently has over 9,000 victims who are registered to receive information about the offender who harmed them, as well as tens of thousands of contacts with victims. To ensure that all victims have access to the information they are entitled to receive, CSC continues to raise awareness about its program.
To further reach additional victims who may want to receive information from CSC, Bill S-12, which was passed into law, will require courts to inquire whether a victim wishes to receive information about an offender and their progression throughout the course of the sentence. Courts will also forward the name and contact information to CSC for any victim who wishes to receive such information. Once the provision comes into force, CSC will begin proactively contacting these additional victims to explain their rights and offer services that may be helpful to them. To prepare for this change, CSC is currently working with all provinces and territories to establish information-sharing arrangements.
I am thankful for the opportunity to share the great work of CSC with everyone here today.