Inmates of Canada's overcrowded and under-serviced women's prisons are likely to be most affected by a new proposal to revamp parts of the prison system, according to one advocate.
A five-member prison review panel, commissioned by the federal government last April, is expected to include a recommendation to end early release for prisoners who have served two-thirds of their sentence.
Kim Pate, of the Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, told CTV's Canada AM she was pleased the review took place, but said it was too narrow in scope and didn't adequately address women's issues.
She said women are the fastest-growing segment of the prison population.
"The idea for having statutory release is based on research and evidence that corrections themselves have done for many, many decades, and that is that the best way to keep the public safe is to have people released gradually into the community under supervision in a structured way, not to just release them at the end of their sentence," Pate said.
"Add to that that we've got overcrowding particularly in the women's prisons, and with the new legislation, if it's passed, we'll see many more people in prison and the reality is the more people in prison, the less access to programs people will have."
The panel is headed by Rob Sampson, a former Ontario cabinet minister in the Mike Harris government, who helped create Canada's first private jail.
Sampson is also expected to call for millions of dollars to be injected into the prison system.
A source familiar with the report, to be made public by Oct. 31, said the recommendations will move to put the onus back on the offender if they want to be released early.
"You don't just get out because the law says they have to let you out. At two-thirds, you'd have to show why you deserve to be released. It'll put more people in, so they're going to need more resources,'' the source told CP.
Under current law, those serving life or indeterminate sentences are not granted early parole.
Statutory release can also be blocked if a prisoner is deemed likely to commit another crime involving harm or death, a sexual attack on a child or a serious drug crime.
The panel will also recommend that Corrections Canada start teaching prisoners trades like carpentry and plumbing, focusing on those industries where the country lacks workers.
While some prisoner advocates have said such a program would be welcome, Pate has expressed skepticism about how it would be implemented.
"The issue is how many will actually benefit from it, how many will actually have access to it, and how many will actually get jobs," she told Â鶹´«Ã½ on Monday.
