by arthur Weinreb, associate Editor,
September 10, 2004
The National Post reported that a "spa day" had been held at the Grand Valley Institution for Women, a federal penitentiary located near Kitchener Ontario. according to the story, the august 21 event was attended by child killer Marcia Dooley and cop killer Mary Taylor. The women were treated to manicures and pedicures and sipped tea from china cups while being serenaded by a harpist.
at first Correctional Services Canada (CSC) denied that there ever was a "spa day". a spokesperson for the institution said that the women were not given manicures and pedicures — rather they were instructed on cleanliness. CSC also denied that the two brutal killers were in attendance at the "spa day" or whatever they wish to call it.
Corrections later admitted that the women did indeed partake of tea served in china cups and that there was a harpist present. CSC tried to justify the event by saying that it was arranged by the Chaplaincy Office and staffed by volunteers, as if spending a few bucks out of the budget was really the point. CSC also stated that Dooley and Taylor were not in attendance; not because their horrific crimes made them ineligible but because they didn’t sign up to go. It seems they both had a prior engagement and "may have" wandered into the spa from the BBQ that commemorating black emancipation, was being held just outside where the spa day was taking place. So the newspaper’s source, a Grand Valley employee, can be forgiven for thinking that they were there.
Spa day was just the latest in a number of incidents that reflect the fact that Correctional Services is doing everything it can to make incarceration a joke and stick it to the average law abiding citizen who has to fork over tax dollars to pay for luxuries that they can ill afford.
The Grand Valley spa day was just the latest in a series of incidents that has incurred the wrath of the Canadians. a few years ago, pictures of a fashion show starring schoolgirl killer Karla Homolka strutting her stuff was splashed across newspapers and TV screens. Recently it was revealed that inmates at minimum security institutions were allowed, on special occasions, to order take out food. although the inmates paid for the food and it passed through metal detectors after arriving at the institution, it couldn’t be tested for drugs. according to one correctional officer, the only way items entering jails can be checked for drugs is with dogs and you can’t put a pizza in front of a dog and expect the dog to just sniff it. Some of the take out food was later found to contain herbs, spices and a variety of other ingredients that the Colonel never dreamed of.
Occasionally after some bad publicity, inmates are forced to really suffer. Who can ever forget poor Colin Thatcher? The former Saskatchewan MLa who is serving a life sentence for killing his wife in 1983 wound up having to give up his horse after an outcry from the public. No wonder he’s having difficulty getting parole. First they take away his liberty, then they take away his horse.
after the latest example of the lifestyles of the poor and infamous there was an outcry from the usual sources. Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino demanded a meeting with anne McLellan, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety even though what she will say is so predictable. The former university professor will promise to look into the situation and study it. and Bob Baltin, president of the Police association of Ontario stated that "the inmates are running the asylum".
With all due respect to Baltin, the inmates are NOT running the asylum and that may be part of the problem. From time to time prison riots occur and the inmates end up controlling an institution albeit for a short time. and while it is not unknown for inmates to make demands, they are not known for demanding tea served on china cups, harpists, fashion shows or even horses to ride. No, the problem is not that the inmates are running the asylum; the problem is that the government of Canada is running it. If the inmates did indeed run the prison system, prison life would conform more to what the public thinks that it should be like.
Canadians cannot keep re-electing governments that, when they are not being soft on crime, are being indifferent to the wishes of victims and taxpayers. Until Canadians can take that step, we can expect more pampering of inmates in Canada’s federal penitentiaries.