黑料社入口-Lake Country MP Tracy Gray wants federal prisoners to have access to addiction treatment and she received the support of city council on Monday.
Her private member鈥檚 bill titled the End the Revolving Door Act, would amend the Canadian Criminal Code to provide that, on request to a judge, a prisoner could serve a sentence, or a part of it, in a penitentiary that has been designated as an addiction treatment facility.
Bill C-283, currently at second reading in the House of Commons, also amends the Corrections and Conditional Release Act to provide for the designation of a penitentiary as an addiction treatment facility and require the Correctional Service of Canada to ensure this prisoner is placed in the facility as soon as reasonably possible.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have the government鈥檚 calendar yet,鈥 Gray told city councillors at their 10 a.m. meeting. 鈥淪o the approximate timeframe would be sometime likely in February. And then, it would be up to the government to decide when it would be voted on. Really this would happen over the next couple of months.鈥
In talking to those who work in criminal justice, 鈥渢hey feel there would be a lot of people that would be interested in this,鈥 she said, adding she spoke to an individual who went through a similar pilot provincial program felt it changed their life.
The exact same program in Texas is 鈥渁 great success.鈥
Coun. Loyal Wooldridge asked about housing for prisoners so they don鈥檛 become homeless.
Gray promised to take that question back to Ottawa.
At council鈥檚 1:30 p.m. meeting, Mayor Tom Dyas proposed sending a letter of support and councillors agreed.
