Organization Profile - Parole Board of Canada

Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Corrections and Conditional Release Act

The Parole Board of Canada consists of not more than 60 full-time members and a number of part-time members appointed by the GIC, on the recommendation of the Minister, to hold office during good behaviour for periods not exceeding ten years and three years, respectively. The GIC shall designate one of the full-time members to be the Chairperson and, on the recommendation of the Minister, one of the full-time members to be the Executive Vice-Chairperson. Each member of the Board, other than the Chairperson and the Executive Vice-Chairperson, shall be assigned to a division of the Board specified in the instrument of appointment.

NOTE: This guide reflects the composition and distribution of the current membership. Vacancies for part-time member positions are not shown since appointments are only made as required in each region depending on the workload.

There shall be a division of the Board known as the Appeal Division, consisting of not more than six full-time members — one of whom shall be designated Vice-Chairperson, Appeal Division — and a number of part-time members designated in both cases by the Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister, from among the members appointed.

There shall be regional divisions of the Board consisting of the members assigned to them, who shall exercise such functions of the Board, under this or any other Act of Parliament, as are designated by the Chairperson of the Board for a region or, where there is more than one regional office in a region, for the portion of a region designated by the Chairperson. A full-time member shall be designated by the GIC, on the recommendation of the Minister, to be Vice-Chairperson for each regional division of the Board. The Board shall maintain at least one regional office at a place determined by the Chairperson, after consultation with the Minister, in each of the following regions of Canada, namely, the Atlantic region, Québec, Ontario, the Prairie region and the Pacific region. Full-time members of the Board assigned to a regional division shall reside within reasonable commuting distance of the office of that division.

A part-time member of the Board has the same powers and duties as a full-time member of the Board.

All members of the Board are ex officio members of every division of the Board and may, with the approval of the Chairperson, sit on a panel of any division of the Board, subject to such conditions and during such periods as are approved by the Chairperson.

In the event that a full-time member of the Board is absent or unable to act, the GIC, on the recommendation of the Minister, may appoint a substitute member to act in the place of that member. A substitute member has all the powers and duties of a full-time member of the Board, subject to any limitation on those powers and duties that the Chairperson directs.

The Chairperson is the chief executive officer and as such has supervision over and direction of the work and the staff of the Board, and the Chairperson shall chair general meetings of the Board.

In the event of the absence or incapacity of the Chairperson or a vacancy in the office of Chairperson, the Executive Vice-Chairperson may exercise all the powers of the Chairperson.

In the event of the absence or incapacity of, or a vacancy in the offices of, the Chairperson and the Executive Vice-Chairperson, a full-time member of the Board designated by the Minister may exercise all the powers of the Chairperson.

The Chairperson may authorize any full-time member of the Board to exercise any of the Chairperson's functions, in accordance with any conditions specified by the Chairperson, and a function so exercised shall be deemed to have been exercised by the Chairperson.

A full-time member of the Board shall not hold any office or engage in any occupation incompatible with the exercise of the member's functions under this or any other Act of Parliament.

An employee of the Public Service appointed as a full-time member of the Board shall be given leave of absence without pay from the Public Service.

Members appointed to the Board shall be sufficiently diverse in their backgrounds to be able to collectively represent community values and views in the work of the Board and to inform the community with respect to unescorted temporary absence, parole and statutory release.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee of the Board shall consist of the Chairperson, the Executive Vice-Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson (Appeal Division), the regional Vice-Chairpersons and two other members of the Board designated by the Chairperson after consultation with the Minister.