Some ICPs relied more than others on the opinions of assessors in making their decisions. This seemed to result from the different ideas the ICPs had concerning the assessor's role, but could also be because no guidelines had been established and no resource persons had been identified for their referral. The new Corrections and Conditional Release Act stipulates that the Minister will nominate a Senior Independent Chair person who will, among other duties, act as adviser to the other ICPs. This will undoubtedly make the process more consistent. The evaluation also showed that the Independent Chairpersons Program does not have a centralized information system to record information relevant to the processing of offences.
Some institutions are better than others at registering the information and tracking cases.
Although basic principles and rules do exist, controversial practices remain and influence individuals' perceptions of the program. However, this is not the fault of the program itself, and corrective measures can be taken. We do not believe that major changes are needed. It remains, then, to determine whether the expenses incurred are reasonable and warranted. As far as costs are concerned, they are closely related to local administrative decisions.