In February 2009, it was discovered that Canada’s-then Public Safety Minister, Peter Van Loan, alongside the Correctional Service of Canada, had planned the closure of all six of the prison farms owned by the people of Canada and operated by CORCAN – the branch of the Correctional Service that operates rehabiliation programs that provide employment training to inmates. The farms are located in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick. The closure of the farms resulted in a wave of opposition across the country from organizations, unions and individuals who see the farms as playing an important rehabilitative role, they further the growing interest across the country to support local agricultural infrastructure, they produce food for their own operations, and they hold the potential to become even greater models of economic, environmental and social sustainability.
Having now devoted four episodes to covering the closure of Canada’s prison farms, this Part 5 of our coverage might mark a disappointing chapter for Canadians who have been hoping for a halt to the closures. While all six of these rehabilitative and job-training programs have been progressively dismantled over the past year, the August 9…