Ont. Tories propose manual labour for prisoners

CBC News - May 26, 2011
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2011/05/26/ontar...

The Ontario Progressive Conservatives say if they are elected in the fall, they would force convicted prisoners in provincial facilities to work up to 40 hours a week of manual labour.

"An honest day's work never hurt anybody. In fact, it helps," Tim Hudak, the leader of the party, said Thursday at a news conference announcing the proposal.

Hudak criticized the current jail system for providing what he called prisoner perks such as yoga classes and writing workshops.

Under the Tory plan, prisoners would pick up garbage along rural highways, cut grass and clean graffiti along city streets, among other similar tasks.

They would receive "credits" for the work, which they could redeem for television, coffee time or other "rewards."

If the plan is implemented, Ontario would become the first province with a mandatory work program for inmates.

The program would cost about $20 million — five per cent of the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services budget.

Jim Bradley, the community safety and correctional services minister in the Liberal government, called the proposal reckless. The plan would "endanger communities by putting thousands of convicted criminals in our parks and neighbourhoods with our kids and families," he said.

"The McGuinty government believes convicted criminals belong behind bars, so that our communities, our kids and our families are safe and secure."

Hudak brushed aside such concerns.

"We'll have prison guards who will watch prisoners when they're out cleaning up garbage and cutting grass," he said. "We'll work with our superintendents in corrections on how to do that and ensure we maintain public safety."

Inmates in provincially run jails are serving sentences of less than two years.