Hundreds of Kingston area citizens have signed up to prevent, by civil disobedience if necessary, the government's plan to sell the dairy herd at the Frontenac Institution prison farm in Kingston, Ontario.
The Save Our Prison Farms campaign is establishing Citizens On Watch Stations (COWS) around the Frontenac Institution, to monitor the heritage dairy herd there. The government has announced it plans to sell the 300-head herd, including 130 milking cows, in the next couple of weeks. The first COWS was scheduled to be in place around noon on Monday, June 14.
“Kingston area citizens of all ages and backgrounds have volunteered in the hundreds to keep watch outside Frontenac Institution, 24/7, to make sure Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) doesn’t try to move the prize-winning cattle out,” said Dianne Dowling, president of Local 316 of the National Farmers Union and a member of Save Our Prison Farms.
“We already have an extensive emergency mobilization group, so we can have hundreds of people outside the prison on a few minutes notice, day or night. People are determined not to allow a single cow to leave the farm.”
In addition to monitoring the herd, Save Our Prison Farms worked with First Nations people and the federal opposition parties to organize a demonstration on Parliament Hill on June 15.
On June 6, about 1000 people attended a rally and march in Kingston to demonstrate their support of the prison farms. Led by writer Margaret Atwood, prison farm supporters marched to CSC regional headquarters to post a notice demanding government action to save Canada's prison farms.
“We posted a letter addressed to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, as well as a large yellow sign, saying 'Prison Farms belong to all Canadians. Stop Ignoring Democracy. Save the Farms now!',” said Dowling.
“While CSC informed us that the letter was forwarded to Harper and Toews, they also told us the poster went to the recycling bin,” Dowling said. “The dumpster isn’t an appropriate response to a message from sincerely concerned citizens, addressed to the prime minister – especially one who promised accountability and transparency in government.”
“In Ottawa, we will be carrying the same message we posted on CSC’s door on June 6, but this time we are going to make sure the government gets it,” said McCann.
CSC says the prison farm program does not provide employment skills because few inmates get farm jobs upon release. Supporters of the prison farms argue working on the farms provides an effective training and rehabilitation program for inmates, as well as producing food for the prison system, and supporting local farm suppliers, which, in turn, helps local farmers.
“During this campaign, there have been two Ministers of Public Safety (Peter Van Loan and Toews), both of whom have farm backgrounds. It is stunning to hear them say farming does not provide relevant job skills,” Dowling said. “The inmates learn specific skills, like equipment operation, maintenance and repair, animal husbandry and food processing. More importantly, they develop essential work attitudes such as teamwork, taking responsibility and co-operation with fellow employees and with employers.”
Supporters have been working since February 2009, to get the government to reverse its decision to close the prison farm program. A motion passed in April by the House of Commons Public Safety and National Security Committee calls on Toews to halt the dismantling of the prison farm program, order a thorough, independent study of the value of the program, and report the study findings to the committee and to the House of Commons.
For more information, visit: www.saveourprisonfarms.ca
