Since March, the number of inmates in federal institutions has dropped by 713 inmates.
According to Canada’s Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the reduction of the inmate population by that number is unprecedented and quite significant.
Bill Blair says this is a direct result of the work of both Correction Service Canada and the Parole Board of Canada to speed up the process for inmates who qualified for early release. This morning Blair confirmed that there is now only one active case of COVID-19 in Canada’s federal correction systems. He says over the past three months, 360 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed inside federal prisons.
Blair also said the federal government will be providing up to $500,000 to five National Voluntary Organizations (NVOs) to develop pilot projects that will help reintegrate offenders under supervision at community-based residential facilities or halfway houses.