By arthur Weinreb
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Greetings. Just read your article on inmate pay. For the record, I never suggested inmates receive minimum wage. (all the media outlets that falsely reported this have published corrections.) I did recommend that inmate allowances, a tool used in most modern correctional systems, be adjusted to reflect the reality of the current cost of canteen items. The current maximum allowance is $6.90 per day. Very few offenders collect this rate, and those who receive over $140 per month have a portion taken back as a contribution towards "room and board".
Howard Sapersauditor General Sheila Fraser, issued a scathing report concerning Ron Stewart, Canada's former correctional investigator. Stewart, a former Ottawa Rough Riders football star and Hall of Fame member, served as the correctional investigator for 26 years beginning in 1977. The office of the correctional investigator is independent from Corrections Canada and acts as an ombudsman to the country's federal inmates. Fraser, who conducted an audit of the period between april 1, 1998 and March 4, 2004, made the following findings:
Fraser has given her findings to the RCMP and asked them to investigate for possible criminal wrongdoing.
Considering that the much of the audit period overlapped with the period of time that the sponsorship scandal was taking place, if the allegations against Stewart are true it's hard to see what all of the fuss is about. It is just a further example of the nature of corruption that was rampant in Ottawa during the Jean Chrtien years. Stewart will simply become another in a long list that includes George Radwanski, another government appointee feeding at the overflowing trough. The information that was contained in Sheila Fraser's report is indicative of behaviour that we as Canadians have come to expect in Canada under a Liberal government. He was, as David Dingwall put so well, entitled to his entitlements. While Stewart may vary in degree from others who, like Radwanski at least showed up to work, he was just another hack feeding at the trough.
What is more troubling than the regular fudging of expense accounts is what the current correctional investigator had to say in a report that was also released this week. Howard Sapers is arguing that the amount of pay that federal inmates receive should not only be increased but that they should be paid the minimum wage for work that they perform while being held against their will in Her Majesty's institutions.
according to Sapers, inmates are currently allowed to earn $6.90 and this amount hasn't been increased in 20 years. While there may be an argument for increasing the 20-year-old standard amount of pay, Sapers is not only recommending that prisoners receive the minimum wage which varies from province to province, but he's also recommending that their wages be indexed to the rate of inflation. The theory is that by being paid the minimum wage, the inmates will become happy little campers, their self esteem will be raised and they will be better able to integrate back into society after their release.
What complete and utter nonsense. Inmates who earned six figure incomes robbing banks or selling drugs will now be so happy with their minimum wage that they will head to the nearest McDonald's after their release and spend the next few years leading a crime-free burger flipping life. Right, Howard.
Sapers' proposal is an insult to all Canadians, especially those who work hard all day for payment at or near the minimum wage.
another reason for the correctional investigator's proposed wage increase is to cut down on black market activities within institutions. Prisoners have their own underground economy in prisons that sometimes leads to in violence when prisoners cannot repay their debts. The theory is that by paying inmates the minimum wage (adjusted of course for inflation), this problem will be lessened. The thought that inmates think so small that by making minimum wage, the black market will disappear is almost as insulting to the inmates as it is to Canadians on the outside.
It is sometimes said that that the inmates are running the asylum; if only they were instead of giving the job to a political hack, the country would be far better off. We can only hope that Stockwell Day (whose ministry Corrections Canada falls under) will put an end to this type of nonsense.
as for Ron Stewart, if the allegations against him prove to be true he could end up being convicted of fraud and sent to the pen. Let's hope for his sake, he'll be able to make at least the minimum wage by then. and hopefully the prison administration will at least ensure that he shows up for work.
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