34 Quebec prisoners released by mistake in 2009

Quebec Liberals were performing damage control after an internal document obtained by Radio-Canada revealed 34 prisoners in Quebec jails last year were accidentally released too soon.

The document was made public on a Radio-Canada newscast Tuesday.

Public Security Minister Jacques Dupuis said Wednesday that an investigation has been launched into why the prisoners, who were serving jail sentences of two years or less, were accidentally released.

A specialist to train correctional workers on how to calculate the correct length of jail terms will be brought in, he said.

But all things considered, he said, the number of improper releases isn't unreasonable.

"Of those 34 persons, 33 of those persons were brought back to the jail within seven days," he said. "So, there was no harm that was done to society, thank God."

Bertrand St-Arnaud, the Parti-Québécois public security critic, said the 34 releases shed light on a bigger problem.

Many others convicted of offences fail to show up for weekend jail time or court appearances, he said.

"So there are probably hundreds and hundreds of people right now in Quebec, who are illegally at large," he said.

Quebec needs stricter measures such as those in Ontario, where special squads track down fugitives and put them back behind bars, St-Arnaud said.

About 40,000 people serve time in Quebec jails each year.