Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, could the Minister tell us how many inmates the current facility serves and how many the new facility will serve? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Sebert.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am just looking over the statistics. I understand that the initial capacity for the new facility will be 23 beds, with a possible provision for expansion, and that the current capacity is 20. I don't think there are 20 inmates there currently. It looks like there are 10 currently, nine of whom are sentenced and one on remand. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Sebert. Ms. Green.

Thank you. Is no increase in staffing required because there will only be 10 in the new facility? Is that the premise for not increasing the staffing? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Sebert.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Certainly that will be subject to operational requirements. I suppose, if we find that there is a great increase in the number of inmates and that we need more staff, we would have to look at that at that time. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Sebert. Ms. Green.

Thank you. Given the number of inmates who are in the old facility and the capacity of the new facility, can the Minister remind us why the new facility was sized the way it is? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Sebert.

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair. The old facility was not appropriate for women. In fact, there was a bit of an overflow, I think. Some of the space was used in a residence across the street. Also, as I say, it was not built to be a correctional facility initially. It was different things over different periods of time. Clearly, it was inadequate for modern usage. A larger facility was required. For that reason, the new facility was built. The old one had many issues, which is not surprising in view of the fact the building was many years' old. I am not sure when it was built, but it was a long time ago.

Again, it was not built as a correctional complex. It was absolutely necessary that something new be built. We wanted to make sure that it was large enough to accommodate a possible increase in the number of women who would be housed there. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Sebert. Ms. Green.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, having seen the current facility, I don't have any questions about why it was necessary to replace it. Given the overall trend of declining incarceration, I do wonder why the new facility was sized to house at least 23 women. Why was that decision made? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Certainly, the new facility is much larger than the old one, but it also contains a large space for programming, which is, of course, a necessary component in a modern correctional complex. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Sebert. Ms. Green.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that there is room for programming, and that is a good idea. What I am asking about is the number of, let's say, beds that it was sized for, at least 23 inmates with the number of beds. How was that decision made, given falling incarceration rates and the fact that the current facility is not full in terms of bed capacity? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Sebert.

Yes, I understand that a study was done several years ago. The conclusion was that we needed a bigger and better place. I think that it is probably better, and this is true not only of this correctional facility, but virtually all infrastructure, that it is better to build a bit bigger than you might expect than too small, because if it was too small, then we would have to expand, which would be incredibly expensive. Certainly, it is larger. It may be larger than what we need right now, but it does have, as I say, the initial capacity of 23 beds and provision for a possible expansion. I think it was a wise decision to make it large enough to accommodate possible increases in the numbers that we currently have incarcerated in Fort Smith. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Sebert. Ms. Green, your time is expired, but we can put you on again if you wish. Thank you. Next, we have Mr. McNeely.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. My question is related to page 276, detail. This budgetary number of 179 supports this transitional program. It seems to be consistent, so it tells me that there is a demand. Could the Minister explain an example or examples of this cost allowance, if there are clients transitioning underneath this offender reintegration program? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McNeely. Minister Sebert.

I am not sure I entirely understand the question. There is an amount set out there for offender reintegration. If that is the number that is being referred to, the $179,000, that number has been the same. Perhaps I should let Ms. Bolstad answer this question, rather than getting information second-hand and perhaps getting it wrong. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Sebert. Ms. Bolstad.