Public Safety committee  I am aware of the potential. I am not aware that, in fact, it has destroyed all Canadians' confidence, but I am certainly aware of the potential. I'd say to this committee, too, that the Parole Board is one of the least understood, and I would say grossly misunderstood, organizations in the criminal justice system.

Public Safety committee  Sorry, I believe they did express huge concern. They said that this was unacceptable and was not to happen.

Public Safety committee  I don't think they knew before the actual hearing, but the board of investigation might show something else.

Public Safety committee  I believe that the board of investigation will probably look into that. In the end, it is an independent decision. They took all the information they had before them and the decision was made. I'm not here to justify it; I am not here to condemn it. Each board member's decision is a decision in and of itself.

Public Safety committee  No, I am saying that I am going to wait for the board of investigation to report back to us and then see if there were things that could have been done that should have been done and how we can improve in the future.

Public Safety committee  I'm going to say that he was released in March. He had been released in March, earlier. This was a second.... By law, we must review those released on day parole every six months. He had been released, actually, in March. This was a second release. I would say to anyone who is disappointed that I think we're all disappointed.

Public Safety committee  I believe they're both professors of criminology at two different schools somewhere in Quebec.

Public Safety committee  I do not have an exact date, other than I'm quite certain that it was presented as part of the release plan at his hearing on September 19.

Public Safety committee  They don't work for the Parole Board. As far as I know, they don't work for the Correctional Service of Canada. They both have been professors. I have their CVs.

Public Safety committee  Yes, they have a number of options in terms of their decision-making.

Public Safety committee  No, I don't, because it's actually in the law, section 102. There are two elements in terms of how board members are going to make their decision. One is the offender will not, by reoffending, present an undue risk to society. That's where that comes in, and that reflects the law.

Public Safety committee  I will not go there. Each board member's decisions are independent, so the question is actually quite irrelevant.

Public Safety committee  They were not present board members.

Public Safety committee  Absolutely not. We actually encourage our board members—and it's not an unusual happening—to have an adjournment, to take a break to ask questions of policy. There might be a question of law they want to consider. They can reach out to their own staff in their regions. From time to time, they'll reach out to our legal staff at the national office to get a clarification.

Public Safety committee  Yes, they were made aware of that. They said that this could not happen at all, to stop immediately this activity, and included as a condition of his release that he was to report any kind of relationships with women, sexual or non-sexual, to his parole officer. The board of investigation will hopefully shed some light on what happened between the period that he was instructed that this was not to happen and the murder of Marylène Levesque.