More prisoners postponing parole reviews, files show
OTTAWA — Canada’s correctional system is keeping an increasing number of offenders behind bars and costing taxpayers more money, a former high-level public servant says.
Parole Board of Canada documents, acquired by Postmedia News under access-to-information laws, contain figures that show the number of offenders asking to have their parole reviews postponed has spiked in recent years.
“Postponements, I think, are part of that atmosphere of denials and fear and overcautiousness on the part of both the board and (Correctional Service Canada),” says Mary Campbell, who was director general of corrections and criminal justice at the Department of Public Safety for 10 years.
By law, federal prisoners become eligible for full parole — a type of supervised release into the community — after serving one third of their sentence. At that point, they can schedule a review before the Parole Board of Canada, which will decide whether to grant parole. If denied full parole, offenders must wait two years before becoming eligible for another review.
Their other option is to ask to have their review postponed. According to an April 2014 briefing note to parole board chair Harvey Cenaiko about managing the agency’s workloads, the board considered a total of 2,239 postponement requests in 2012-2013.
Last year, requests jumped to 3,254 — an increase of slightly more than 45 per cent.
A parole board spokesperson was unable to say why postponements are on the rise. Campbell, who retired in 2013, says more offenders are likely asking to postpone their parole reviews because they believe their chances of being granted parole are slim. They’re opting instead to take more time to complete prison programs or work — anything to look better on paper, she says.