Private prisons fundamentally flawed, say Greens

OTTAWA – The Green Party is expressing deep concern that the Conservative Tackling Violent Crime Act (Bill C-2) is moving Canada further toward a US model of privatized, for-profit prisons. It is estimated that the proposed “tough on crime” measures—mandatory minimum sentences, longer maximum sentencing, reduced chances for conditional sentencing—will lead to thousands more incarcerations across Canada, despite steadily falling violent crime rates.

“Our concern is that after Conservative policies lead to a massive and rapid increase in the prison population, Prime Minister Harper will then argue that Canada is left with few options other than privatization,” said Green Party leader Elizabeth May. “There are substantial problems with privatizing our prisons. Among other things, for-profit corporations have no incentive to rehabilitate prisoners because they make more money when cell blocks are full.”

The John Howard Society of Canada and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association have both recently expressed concerns that the Harper government is moving down the path to privatized prisons.

“Using a crisis to push through a controversial change comes directly out of the political playbook of Mike Harris’ Conservative government in Ontario,” said Justice Critic Jared Giesbrecht. “The same thing has also happened in the U.S. The crime crackdown of the 80s and 90s produced a sudden need for state and federal prisons, with governments turning to private corporations to build and operate many of these prisons.”

The Green Party has consistently highlighted the high social and financial costs of incarceration, opposed an increase in the number of mandatory minimum sentences, and supported opportunities for holding offenders accountable outside the prison system.

“By incarcerating offenders, the state places them in an extremely vulnerable position whereby they are especially susceptible to the loss of further liberties,” said Mr. Giesbrecht. “As such, the state incurs a special responsibility to safeguard the detainees’ residual liberties and this safeguarding simply cannot be accomplished by private corporations.”