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Operational and Program Delivery Context – Reviews and Decisions

Official Title: Performance Monitoring Report 2019-2020, Operational and Program Delivery Context – Reviews and Decisions
From: Parole Board of Canada

Reviews and Decisions

Tables 42-50

Over the past five years, efforts have been made to streamline PBC’s case management processes, which resulted in changes to reporting practices. Therefore, caution should be exercised when comparing totals over the past five years as the definition of workload has changed.

Figure 19. Federal and Provincial Reviews
Text equivalent  of Figure 19. Federal and Provincial Reviews
  Atlantic Quebec Ontario Prairie Pacific
2015-16 1,676 3,906 3,527 4,374 2,290
2016-17 1,673 3,886 3,406 4,249 2,237
2017-18 1,606 3,476 3,495 4,394 2,328
2018-19 1,641 3,463 3,629 4,745 2,321
2019-20 1,553 3,350 3,476 4,366 2,429
  • In 2019-20, the Board conducted 14,686 federal reviews and 488 provincial reviews. Compared to the previous year, the number of federal reviews decreased (-3%) as did the number of provincial reviews (-20%).
  • In 2019-20, federal reviews for discretionary release (reviews for release on day and full parole) decreased 4% (from 6,668 in 2018-19 to 6,378 in 2019-20). The Prairie region accounted for the majority of the decrease (-14%).
  • In 2019-20, federal reviews for workloadFootnote 5  decreased 4% to 22,036 (7,336 reviews conducted with one Board Member and 7,350 reviews conducted with two Board Members).
  • In 2019-20, the number of Elder-Assisted Hearings (EAHs) increased 3% (from 720 to 743) compared to last year. The Prairie region accounted for 51% of all EAHs in 2019-20.

The Board’s workload is also affected by the number of waivers and withdrawals, as well as postponements.

Note: Waivers and Withdrawals

A day parole review is conducted following receipt of an application from the offender. If an offender no longer wishes to be considered for day parole, they may choose to withdraw the application for a day parole review. If an offender wishes to proceed with the review without attending the hearing, then the offender may choose to waive the hearing, which would result in a review on file.

Full parole review is a legislated review, and as such, if an offender wishes not to undergo the review or not to attend the hearing, they must officially declare so by means of a waiver. In cases where an offender was denied full parole, but wishes to be reconsidered for full parole before the date prescribed by regulations, they cannot submit an application, in most cases, for a full parole review until one year following the previous review, unless recommended by CSC for an earlier review. Unlike legislated full parole reviews requiring waivers, offenders may withdraw this type of full parole application if they choose to do so.

Figure 20. Federal and Provincial Decisions to Delay a Review of a Case
Text equivalent of Figure 20. Federal and Provincial Decisions to Delay a Review of a Case
  Waivers Postponements Withdrawals
2015-16 4,151 4,509 1,506
2016-17 3,867 4,877 1,462
2017-18 3,218 5,584 1,572
2018-19 2,789 6,294 1,548
2019-20 2,918 6,782 1,309
  • In 2019-20, the Board rendered 2,916 decisions to accept a waiver of a federal parole decision (+5%); 6,700 decisions to accept a postponement of a federal parole decision (+8%); and 951 decisions to accept a withdrawal of a federal parole application (-13%) compared to 2018-19.
  • In 2019-20, the Board rendered two decisions to accept a waiver of a provincial parole hearing (three fewer decisions than the year before); 82 decisions to accept a postponement of a provincial parole decision (13 more decisions than the year before); and 358 decisions to accept a withdrawal of a provincial parole application (99 fewer decisions than the previous year).
Figure 21. Decisions Rendered by the Parole Board of Canada

*Includes ETAs and UTAs, One Chance Statutory Release, Detention and LTS.

Text equivalent of Figure 21.  Decisions Rendered by the PBC
  DP FP SR Other*
2015-16 6,034 4,634 9,305 2,453
2016-17 6,638 5,093 8,568 1,997
2017-18 6,952 5,345 7,891 1,884
2018-19 7,149 5,560 8,194 1,814
2019-20 6,779 5,225 8,134 1,844
  • In 2019-20, having conducted 15,174 federal and provincial reviews, the Board rendered 21,982 decisions. The number of PBC decisions decreased 3% compared to 2018-19.
  • In 2019-20, pre-release decisions decreased 4%, post-release decisions remained stable (-0.2%), and detention decisions increased 22%.
  • Statutory releases accounted for the majority of decisions rendered by the Board in 2019-20 with 37%, followed by day parole with 31% and full parole with 24%.
  • In 2019-20, the Board made less day parole (-5%) and full parole (-6%) decisions while statutory release decisions remained stable (-0.7%) compared to the previous year.
Table 42. Federal and Provincial Reviews
Jurisdiction Region 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20
Federal Atlantic 1,509 1,513 1,479 1,527 1,454
Quebec 3,906 3,886 3,476 3,462 3,350
Ontario 3,524 3,404 3,495 3,629 3,475
Prairies 4,259 4,102 4,233 4,599 4,241
Pacific 1,927 1,892 1,966 1,970 2,166
Canada 15,125 14,797 14,649 15,187 14,686
Provincial Atlantic 167 160 127 114 99
Quebec - - - 1 -
Ontario 3 2 - - 1
Prairies 115 147 161 146 125
Pacific 363 345 362 351 263
Canada 648 654 650 612 488
Canada Atlantic 1,676 1,673 1,606 1,641 1,553
Quebec 3,906 3,886 3,476 3,463 3,350
Ontario 3,527 3,406 3,495 3,629 3,476
Prairies 4,374 4,249 4,394 4,745 4,366
Pacific 2,290 2,237 2,328 2,321 2,429
Canada 15,773 15,451 15,299 15,799 15,174

Note: The provincial cases in the Quebec and Ontario regions were federal sentences which were completed in less than two years after the sentence was reduced by court order.

Table 43. Federal and Provincial Reviews by Review Type
Jurisdiction Review Type 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20
Federal In-person 2,918 3,436 2,446 2,737 2,942
Videoconference 1,967 2,307 3,904 3,772 3,152
Teleconference 5 13 6 12 20
Community 1 2 4 8 7
Interpreter 18 22 25 31 11
Paper 10,215 9,017 8,264 8,627 8,554
Total 15,125 14,797 14,649 15,187 14,686
Provincial In-person 21 45 52 51 26
Videoconference - 6 20 16 5
Teleconference - - 2 6 8
Community - - - - -
Interpreter - - - - -
Paper 627 603 576 539 449
Total 648 654 650 612 488
Canada In-person 2,939 3,481 2,498 2,788 2,968
Videoconference 1,967 2,313 3,924 3,788 3,157
Teleconference 5 13 8 18 28
Community 2 2 4 8 7
Interpreter 18 22 25 31 11
Paper 10,842 9,620 8,840 9,166 9,003
Total 15,773 15,451 15,299 15,799 15,174
Table 44. Federal and Provincial Reviews for Workload
Region Year One Board Member Two Board Members
Federal Provincial Federal Provincial
Atlantic 2015-16 701 164 808 3
2016-17 737 155 776 5
2017-18 675 124 804 3
2018-19 701 110 826 4
2019-20 653 98 801 1
Quebec 2015-16 2,194 - 1,712 -
2016-17 1,966 - 1,920 -
2017-18 1,735 - 1,741 -
2018-19 1,750 - 1,712 1
2019-20 1,685 - 1,665 -
Ontario 2015-16 1,978 - 1,546 3
2016-17 1,720 2 1,684 -
2017-18 1,656 - 1,839 -
2018-19 1,749 - 1,880 -
2019-20 1,690 1 1,785 -
Prairies 2015-16 2,344 113 1,915 2
2016-17 2,199 144 1,903 3
2017-18 2,262 151 1,971 10
2018-19 2,407 140 2,192 6
2019-20 2,336 120 1,905 5
Pacific 2015-16 1,045 357 882 6
2016-17 958 335 934 10
2017-18 909 350 1,057 12
2018-19 927 342 1,043 9
2019-20 972 260 1,194 3

Note: The provincial cases in the Quebec and Ontario regions were federal sentences which were completed in less than two years after the sentence was reduced by court order.

Table 45. Federal and Provincial Decisions
Jurisdiction Region 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20
Federal Atlantic 2,102 2,176 2,112 2,173 2,110
Quebec 5,600 5,800 5,056 5,099 4,860
Ontario 4,680 4,522 4,714 4,848 4,757
Prairies 6,446 6,202 6,385 6,967 6,558
Pacific 2,745 2,711 2,896 2,783 3,014
Canada 21,573 21,411 21,163 21,870 21,299
Provincial Atlantic 237 231 185 150 146
Quebec - - - 2 -
Ontario 3 2 - - 1
Prairies 174 220 242 218 178
Pacific 439 432 482 477 358
Canada 853 885 909 847 683
Canada Atlantic 2,339 2,407 2,297 2,323 2,256
Quebec 5,600 5,800 5,056 5,101 4,860
Ontario 4,683 4,524 4,714 4,848 4,758
Prairies 6,620 6,422 6,627 7,185 6,736
Pacific 3,184 3,143 3,378 3,260 3,372
Canada 22,426 22,296 22,072 22,717 21,982

Note: The provincial cases in the Quebec and Ontario regions were federal sentences which were completed in less than two years after the sentence was reduced by court order.

Table 46. Federal and Provincial Pre-Release Decisions
Jurisdiction Region 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20
Federal Atlantic 1,664 1,679 1,624 1,700 1,655
Quebec 4,169 4,460 3,883 3,833 3,557
Ontario 3,518 3,470 3,701 3,711 3,656
Prairies 4,956 4,885 4,980 5,517 5,067
Pacific 1,995 2,052 2,167 2,082 2,273
Canada 16,302 16,546 16,355 16,843 16,208
Provincial Atlantic 214 210 166 132 141
Quebec - - - 2 -
Ontario 3 2 - - 1
Prairies 172 211 232 207 168
Pacific 405 394 445 425 331
Canada 794 817 843 766 641
Canada Atlantic 1,878 1,889 1,790 1,832 1,796
Quebec 4,169 4,460 3,883 3,835 3,557
Ontario 3,521 3,472 3,701 3,711 3,657
Prairies 5,128 5,096 5,212 5,724 5,235
Pacific 2,400 2,446 2,612 2,507 2,604
Canada 17,096 17,363 17,198 17,609 16,849

Note: The provincial cases in the Quebec and Ontario regions were federal sentences which were completed in less than two years after the sentence was reduced by court order.

Table 47. Federal and Provincial Post-Release Decisions
Jurisdiction Region 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20
Federal Atlantic 400 479 457 458 441
Quebec 1,334 1,284 1,127 1,233 1,262
Ontario 1,075 1,023 956 1,109 1,072
Prairies 1,358 1,257 1,330 1,397 1,433
Pacific 672 620 684 674 693
Canada 4,839 4,663 4,554 4,871 4,901
Provincial Atlantic 23 21 19 18 5
Quebec - - - - -
Ontario - - - - -
Prairies 2 9 9 11 10
Pacific 34 38 37 52 27
Canada 59 68 65 81 42
Canada Atlantic 423 500 476 476 446
Quebec 1,334 1,284 1,127 1,233 1,262
Ontario 1,075 1,023 956 1,109 1,072
Prairies 1,360 1,266 1,339 1,408 1,443
Pacific 706 658 721 726 720
Canada 4,898 4,731 4,619 4,952 4,943
Table 48. Detention Decisions
Region 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20
Atlantic 38 18 31 15 14
Quebec 97 56 46 33 41
Ontario 87 29 57 28 29
Prairies 132 60 76 53 58
Pacific 78 39 45 27 48
Canada 432 202 255 156 190
Table 49. Federal and Provincial Elder-Assisted Hearings
Jurisdiction Region 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20
Federal Atlantic 21 24 27 31 26
Quebec 50 69 64 77 81
Ontario 48 64 105 97 77
Prairies 194 282 299 383 379
Pacific 91 164 182 131 178
Canada 404 603 677 719 741
Provincial Atlantic - - - - -
Quebec - - - - -
Ontario 1 - - - -
Prairies - 2 2 - 1
Pacific - - 2 1 1
Canada 1 2 4 1 2
Canada Atlantic 21 24 27 31 26
Quebec 50 69 64 77 81
Ontario 49 64 105 97 77
Prairies 194 284 301 383 380
Pacific 91 164 184 132 179
Canada 405 605 681 720 743

Note: The provincial case in the Ontario region was a federal sentence, which was completed in less than two years after the sentence was reduced by court order.

Table 50. Delays and Cancellations
Region Year Waived Postponed Withdrawn Rescheduled
Fed. Prov. Fed. Prov. Fed. Prov. Fed. Prov.
Atlantic 2015-16 477 - 339 22 159 93 11 -
2016-17 433 1 350 24 124 144 7 -
2017-18 374 - 367 9 114 134 17 -
2018-19 310 2 552 17 124 127 19 -
2019-20 334 - 753 19 136 87 39 -
Quebec 2015-16 694 2 1,644 - 145 - 48 -
2016-17 582 - 1,444 - 146 - 52 -
2017-18 474 - 1,414 - 140 - 99 -
2018-19 380 - 1,361 1 152 - 29 -
2019-20 374 1 1,419 - 111 - 27 -
Ontario 2015-16 1,199 2 857 2 294 - 117 3
2016-17 1,223 1 1,042 8 286 1 312 18
2017-18 909 2 1,353 - 328 - 351 7
2018-19 880 2 1,544 1 303 - 317 9
2019-20 1,043 - 1,369 - 277 - 324 1
Prairies 2015-16 1,190 1 1,119 5 303 132 44 9
2016-17 1,109 2 1,274 14 244 209 47 11
2017-18 1,048 - 1,609 32 327 229 516 77
2018-19 807 1 1,887 31 303 195 786 87
2019-20 816 - 2,304 50 261 190 319 73
Pacific 2015-16 586 - 499 22 187 193 89 2
2016-17 515 1 692 29 155 153 93 1
2017-18 410 1 781 19 159 141 315 29
2018-19 407 - 881 19 209 135 295 14
2019-20 349 1 855 13 166 81 209 -
Canada 2015-16 4,146 5 4,458 51 1,088 418 309 14
2016-17 3,862 5 4,802 75 955 507 511 30
2017-18 3,215 3 5,524 60 1,068 504 1,298 113
2018-19 2,784 5 6,225 69 1,091 457 1,446 110
2019-20 2,916 2 6,700 82 951 358 918 74

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