Conditional Release and Performance - Temporary Absence

Official Title:Performance Monitoring Report 2019-2020, Conditional Release and Performance - Temporary Absence
From: Parole Board of Canada

According to the CCRA s.102, the Parole Board of Canada may grant parole based on two key considerations:

the offender will not, by reoffending, present an undue risk to society before the expiration according to law of the sentence the offender is serving; and
the release of the offender will contribute to the protection of society by facilitating the reintegration of the offender into society as a law-abiding citizen^{Footnote 6}.

The Board’s performance indicators measure whether offenders who have been granted parole successfully complete their supervision periods in the community and do not reoffend, violently or non-violently, before and after warrant expiry.

This section provides information on the following operational areas of the Board:

temporary absence;
day parole;
full parole;
statutory release;
detention;
long-term supervision;
appeals;
post-warrant expiry readmission.

Temporary Absence

Tables 51-55

This section contains information on the temporary absence decisions rendered by the Board.

Temporary absences (TAs) are used for several purposes, such as: medical, compassionate and personal development for rehabilitation. Under the CCRA, the Parole Board of Canada has the authority to authorize unescorted temporary absences (UTAs) for offenders serving a life sentence for murder, an indeterminate sentence, or a determinate sentence for an offence set out in schedule I or II. CSC has authority for all other UTAs. The CCRA also allows the Board to delegate its UTA authority to the Commissioner of CSC or to institutional heads. This has been done for all scheduled offences, except where the schedule I offence resulted in serious harm to the victim, or was a sexual offence involving a child.

Since the adoption of Bill C-483 (An Act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (escorted temporary absence)) on December 16, 2014, PBC must approve/authorize all ETAs for offenders serving life as a minimum sentence until the first successful ETA after day parole eligibility. CSC retains the authority to grant ETAs for medical reasons, to attend judicial proceedings or coroner’s inquests for these offenders. CSC has a delegated authority for ETAs for other offenders.

In 2019-20, the number of ETA release decisions rendered by the PBC decreased to 404 (-7%) compared to 2018-19.
In 2019-20, the Board rendered 530 UTA release decisions, an increase of 9% when compared to 2018-19.

Figure 22. Temporary Absence Release Decisions

Text equivalent of Figure 22. Temporary Absence Release Decisions

	ETA	UTA
2015-16	574	551
2016-17	498	539
2017-18	471	419
2018-19	435	486
2019-20	404	530

Figure 23. Approval/Authorization Rates

Text equivalent of Figure 23. Approval/Authorization Rates

	ETA	UTA
2015-16	84%	85%
2016-17	83%	88%
2017-18	89%	83%
2018-19	88%	86%
2019-20	89%	89%

The ETA approval/authorization rate increased from 88% in 2018-19 to 89% in 2019-20.
Over the last five years, the Atlantic region reported the highest ETA approval/authorization rate (94%), while the Prairie region, the lowest (76%).
The UTA authorization rate increased to 89% in 2019-20 from 86% in 2018-19.
Over the last five years, the Quebec region reported the highest UTA authorization rate (91%), while the Pacific region reported the lowest (68%).
The five-year average ETA approval/authorization rate for men was higher than for women offenders (87%; 85%), while the five-year average UTA authorization rate was higher for women offenders (86%; 91%).
The five-year average ETA approval/authorization rate for Indigenous offenders was four percentage points lower than the rate for non-Indigenous offenders (84% v. 88%). The five-year average UTA authorization rate was seven percentage points higher for Indigenous offenders than for non‑Indigenous offenders (90% v. 83%).
Over the last five years, almost all (99.7%) ETA release decisions rendered by the Board were decisions for offenders serving life sentences with an average approval rate of 87%.
UTA decisions for lifers accounted for 69% of all UTA decisions rendered by the Board over the last five years, with an average authorization rate of 87%.

Table 51. Approval/Authorization/Renewal Rates for Temporary Absences (%)
Year	Atlantic		Quebec		Ontario		Prairies		Pacific		Canada
Year	ETA	UTA	ETA	UTA	ETA	UTA	ETA	UTA	ETA	UTA	ETA	UTA
2015-16	97	62	97	87	79	65	72	92	90	55	84	85
2016-17	98	95	92	97	85	80	73	92	78	49	83	88
2017-18	100	93	87	91	90	73	80	85	92	68	89	83
2018-19	85	90	87	90	91	80	86	89	88	76	88	86
2019-20	84	89	93	88	94	83	76	92	91	80	89	89
5-Yr. Avg.	94	85	91	91	87	76	76	90	88	68	87	86