'Inmates are not just being double-bunked in some places they are triple-bunked and sleeping on cots in every available bit of floor space. To add to this problem is a recipe for disaster.' - James Clancy.
Ottawa (22 June 2010) - The report released by Canada's Independent Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) on the cost to the provinces of implementing Conservative legislation ending two-for-one sentencing serves to reinforce repeated warnings by National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE).
James Clancy, the union's national president, says it is misleading for Public Safety Minister Vic Toews to suggest that the double bunking of inmates will largely offset the impact of the policy change.
"For the minister to say that the price tag won't be so large because they will double-bunk inmates completely flies in the face of the reality in our provincial facilities," Clancy says.
"We already have a serious overcrowding problem in provincial facilities. Inmates are not just being double-bunked – in some places they are being triple-bunked and sleeping on cots on every available bit of floor space. To add to this problem is a recipe for disaster."
Not first time concerns raised with minister
Clancy says NUPGE is frustrated that the observations and warnings of front-line provincial correctional officers have been ignored by the Harper Conservatives.
"We have written repeatedly to explain the crisis in our provincial facilities. We have offered to meet and discuss the problems," he notes. "The minister has pretty much brushed off our concerns. This is becoming a huge public safety issue and a very real danger to our members!"
The report from the PBO reaffirms many of the concerns that the union has expressed.
"Our officers agree that two-for-one sentencing is a problem. Is some of it caused by accused and their lawyers working the system - sure. But the bigger problem is lack of staff in the system. Cuts to court stenographers, lack of security escorts and sheriffs, cuts to legal aid, all of these factors contribute significantly. And the list goes on," Clancy added.
Parliamentary Budget Officer's report
Kevin Page, the Parliamentary Budget Officer, has released a report estimating the cost of one new law -- ending two-for-one sentencing credits for time already served in custody -- as $8 billion by 2016. The overwhelming majority of this is expected to be pushed down onto the provinces.
That is the total projected cost of building new prisons as a consequence of the act. While the federal cost is expected to be about $1.8 billion the PBO's report estimates that the provinces will be responsible for roughly $6.2 billion.
The new law, passed in February, end's a judge’s discretion to consider the amount of time spent in pre-sentence detention when handing out a sentence - the so-called two for one sentencing.
Many of the experts involved in the research for the PBO's report say it is the most extensive and thorough costing exercises done to date and uses very sophisticated economic models of analysis.
As for the government, Toews disputes many of the figures cited in the report but has conceded the cost will be much higher than the Conservatives had originally indicated.
Previous estimates from Toews' office of $89 million – for the first year under the new law – soared to the $2 billion range in advance of the report.
Toews has repeatedly said that the government does not plan to build new prisons but will instead renovate some existing facilities and rely on greater double-bunking of prisoners.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE
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