Background

Canada's six prison farms are located at,

• Pittsburgh and Frontenac Institutions in Kingston, Ontario
• Westmorland Institution in Dorchester, New Brunswick
• Rockwood Institution in Stoney Mountain near Winnipeg, Manitoba
• Riverbend Institution near Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
• Bowden Institution in Innisfail near Calgary, Alberta

On February 24, 2009, the Kingston Whig Standard broke the story that Correctional Service of Canada would be shutting them down over the following two years.  The wheels are in motion to dismantle them.

In response, the Save Our Prison Farms national campaign has been taking actions and building a broad, national movement to:

• Research and analyze the viability and benefits of the prison farm program.
• Educate the public and demonstrate popular support for the prison farm program from across the political spectrum.
• Urge the federal government to reverse this short-sighted decision and immediately halt the dismantling process.  Continue negotiations on preserving and revitalizing the prison farms with Correctional Service of Canada and the Public Safety Minister, Vic Toews.
• Revitalize and re-orient the program toward sustainable farming that will feed the inmates in the long-term, and train them to participate in the sustainable local food systems that will feed our communities in the future
• Connect this issue with the need for the Government of Canada to carry out a comprehensive review of all policies on farming and food.  Canadians want food that is healthy, as local as possible, supports farm and food sector incomes, and is sustainable in light of climate change, peak oil, water scarcity and global population growth
• Raise funds to carry out promotions activities and continue the campaign as long as necessary.

Please see the Events and Media Coverage pages to get a sense of the amazing scope of public engagement and support for Canada's prison farms that has emerged during this campaign.

This issue brings so many communities together: farmers; land conservationists and environmentalists; local food system activists; food security and justice communities; rehabilitative justice advocates; labour unions concerned about the privatization/outsourcing of the food and the food services; and people who support the idea of inmates increasing the self-sufficiency of the prison system by growing their own food.

Please see the Organizations page for details on how your group can support the campaign and sign onto the national position statement.

We wish to acknowledge the  previously established campaign web presences set up by the Union of Solicitor Generals Employees and the National Farmers Union. The purpose of this new site is to offer a communication tool not affiliated with any one organization - one representing the national campaign as a whole.