Public Safety Minister Vic Toews responds to a question during Question Period in the House of Commons in Ottawa, Tuesday June 12, 2012. Canada's prison population has not exploded, contrary to opposition critics' dire predictions about the government's anti-crime laws, Toews said Wednesday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
July 11, 2012 - 1:37 PM
WINNIPEG - Federal Public Safety Minister Vic Toews (TAYVZ') says predictions of an explosion in the prison population are not coming true.
Toews says the country's inmate population stood at just under 15,000 as of June 30 — almost 3,000 below what was estimated a few years ago by the Correctional Service of Canada.
Toews says the numbers refute opposition suggestions that the government's tough-on-crime laws would put a lot more people behind bars.
Toews says the lower-than-expected numbers will allow the government to spend almost $1.5 billion less over the next seven years by not building new prisons.
Ottawa has already announced it is closing two older prisons, but adding 2,700 more beds to existing jails.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012