Union finds parole safety report lacking

The union representing parole officers says last week's report into the death of Yellowknife parole officer Louise Pargeter failed to ban the practice of visiting convicted criminals in their homes.

The president of the union, John Edmunds, says he was hoping that would be one of the 71 recommendations made in the report on the October 2004 death of Pargeter.

Pargeter was killed by a client she was visiting. Eli Ulayuk pleaded guilty to murder last month and was sentenced to life in prison.

• FROM FEB. 22, 2006: Man pleads guilty to killing Yellowknife parole officer

"I just cannot see any way where we can guarantee the health and safety of our staff entering someone's home where they have the ultimate control," says Edmunds, president of the Union of Solicitor General Employees.

One of the reasons Pargeter was visiting Ulayuk was to check for evidence of drug use. Edmunds says that can be determined by a blood or urine test.

Corrections Canada spokesperson Jeff Campbell says the visits help determine how a parolee is reintegrating into the community.

"It gives a good indicator of how their situation is, whether it's deteriorating or if they're making a successful reintegration effort," he says. "So it's important to consider any place they might go and all their interactions with people in the community."

• FROM MAR. 9, 2006: Report on parole officer's death released

Campbell says parole officers have always been able to ask for another officer to go with them on a visit if they felt they were being put in danger. But last week's report says that option wasn't often used.

Campbell says Corrections Canada has no plans to eliminate home visits entirely.

But Edmunds says it makes no difference how many officers are involved in a visit: he says public places would be better for meetings.

Edmunds also says he'll keep pressuring the department to act on the union's concerns.