Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor,

February 22, 2012

To the Honourable Mr. Guy Lauzon Member of Parliament for Stormont, Dundas and South Glengarry

900 Pitt Street, Cornwall, Ontario

Dear Mr. Guy Lauzon:

Re: Act to Amend The Corrections and Conditional Release Act

It’s very interesting that your legislation is advocating an increase in punishment for inmates in Canada’s penal institutions. Taking a person’s freedom isn’t enough; your Party wants prisoners to be defenseless, with no means of protecting themselves from any form of abuse while in custody. Why sue if a guard breaks your back or breaks your neck, none of the money to compensate for damages will come to the aggrieved inmate if Guy Lauzon and his cohorts get their way in Parliament.

As you must be aware the prisons across Canada incarcerate more Aboriginals than any other ethnic group. The most recent statistics show that over 25% of all inmates are Aboriginals. They make up 6 times what they should be in jails. Aboriginals should make up only 3.71% of the inmate population.

You had to know these statistics, because you are the one proposing these drastic measures to be imposed by your legislation. 1 would like to see the in-depth research you did. Why such enormous vehemence aimed against the Aboriginals, and other defenseless persons behind bars? Why squeeze them so much harder? Looking at four walls and almost never seeing sunlight is pretty destructive to inmates as it is now.

If a Judge awards an inmate a monetary award, for such a trivial items as a broken back or broken neck due to a beating inside a jail by guards or other inmates, why shouldn’t the inmate get just-compensation for his injuries.

I guess the proponents of your legislation think, “So what if a Judge might think an inmate deserves compensation”. Are you guys greater than that Judge? Your legislation is really saying “Give the injured inmate nothing”. In 1999 The Supreme Court of Canada in the Gladue decision told Canadian society to “Stop taking out your collective hatred against the Aboriginals” “Quit putting so many Indians in jail”. The Court was really saying “Why do you hate Indians so”?

Since the 1999 Gladue decision, the percentage of Aboriginal that are inmates in penal institutions in Canada went from about 14% to over 25%. This is because Red-Neck Parliamentarians have castigated The Supreme Court as being too liberal, too soft on crime. This encouraged an attitude to develop in which Canadian Society now wants to throw more and more Indians into prison.

Now your legislation not only want Aboriginals in jail, it wants to take away the only means they have of fighting back if they are unjustly treated in jail.

The Prison System will now really have the Indians at their mercy. The Indian will have no means to protect themselves from abuse.

We all know what happened to Indians in Residential Schools. Now the Canadian Penal system will continue the abuse that was started in those schools.

You want to shut the mouths of the poor Indians in jails across Canada.

Yours truly,

FRANK HORN

Cc The Federal & Provincial Crowns in Cornwall

Cc The Grand Chief & Council, Akwesasne

Cc Bob Rae, Liberal Leader, Ottawa

Cc XDP Leader, Ottawa

Cc Dan Parkinson, Chief of Police, Cornwall

Cc RCMP Detachment, Cornwall

Cc OPP Detachment, Long Sault & Lancaster