KINGSTON, Ont. – Hundreds of farmers, local residents and prison-rights advocates who want the Conservative government to keep Canada’s prison farms open set up a blockade to the regional headquarters of the Correctional Services of Canada in Kingston, Ont., on Friday morning.
About 250 people showed up for the three-hour protest, which started at around 6 a.m. along the busy street. Campaigners said they want the government to reconsider its decision to close the farms, which are being phased out by the end of this fiscal year.
"We see the farm as an effective rehabilitation and job-training program that also provides food for the prison system," said Dianne Dowling, a member of the Save Our Prison Farms committee and local representative from the National Farmers Union.
The prison service currently operates six farms – each located in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, and two in Ontario.
About 300 prisoners work at the farms, operating machinery, taking care of animals and growing food for prisons.
The farms, which the prison service has operated since the 1880s, cost about $4 million annually. The government has said the money will be used to provide more relevant employment skills to rehabilitate prisoners in contemporary trades.
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