SECU Committee Report

Bloc Québécois Supplementary Report to the SECU Committee for the Study on the Parole Board of Canada and the Circumstances That Led to a Young Woman’s Death

The death of Marylène Lévesque touched us all deeply. This young woman was cowardly murdered by a recidivist killer who should never have been in the community. Marylène Lévesque’s avoidable death was a tragedy that compels us to overhaul our parole system to ensure such an event never happens again. These last few months have shown how widespread violence against women is, as Quebec has experienced a wave of femicides. We must move beyond partisan politics and do everything in our power to put an end to violence against women.

In the absence of a consensus and in order to present a report before the end of this session of Parliament, the Committee decided that the various parties would submit their recommendations to the House of Commons in supplementary reports. The Bloc Québécois recommendations arising from this study and the evidence heard are listed below.

• That the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) require that an experienced Board member be present when decisions are made about a dangerous sexual offender and that three Board members be required for cases with higher levels of dangerousness.
• That all Board members and workers receive a minimum number of hours of ongoing training on the cycles of violence and different types of violence.
• That, at the end of their training, new Board members be paired with an experienced Board member for a total of 18 months of training and pairing, which is the time needed for a Board member to be prepared to do their job.
• That a minimum of one-third of sitting Board members have more than 18 months of experience during an appointment process in order to maintain a minimum number of experienced persons on the Board.
• That the PBC encourage Board members to consult previous decisions in similar cases when making a parole decision in cases with higher levels of dangerousness.
• That the number of parole officers and community parole officers be increased.
• That high-risk offenders be rehabilitated in federal social reintegration centres rather than community residential centres.
• That appeal decisions be posted online.
• That universal conditions of parole be eliminated and that all conditions be adapted to the offender in accordance with statute and that the conditions be achievable.
• That an independent review of the instructions to parole officers be conducted to ensure that they comply with statute and PBC conditions.
• That victims be offered greater support, including by giving them more information and consulting them before and after an inmate is paroled.
• That the Government of Canada examine the need to create a public register of recidivist or high-risk offenders.
• That the collection and exchange of information on serious offences be simplified and facilitated between Correctional Service Canada (CSC), the PBC and the provinces.

In addition, the Bloc Québécois agrees with some of the recommendations or parts of recommendations of other members on the committee. These recommendations are set out below.

• That the Government of Canada implement all recommendations found in the CSC–PBC National Joint Board of Investigation report into the release and supervision of an offender on day parole charged in relation to a serious incident in Sainte‑Foy, Quebec, on January 23, 2020.
• That the Government of Canada encourage CSC to increase the number of parole officers in the community, to review and improve parole officer training and to conduct oversight to ensure they can effectively manage their caseloads; and that the Government of Canada ensure that CSC has the appropriate funding to do so by reallocation of resources or otherwise.
• That the Government of Canada review best practices for corrections and parole in other countries.

The Bloc Québécois would like to thank all the witnesses and groups that took part in this important study. Violence against women must end, and we need to make sure that Marylène Lévesque did not die in vain. Partisan concerns have to be set aside. This report must lead to institutional changes that will prevent this kind of tragedy from recurring.