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Moratorium Committee on Prison Construction Newsletter
Publisher: Moratorium Committee on Prison Construction, Ottawa, CanadaYear Published: 1979 Pages: 14 Resource Type: Serial Publication (Periodical) Cx Number: CX1018 The Moratorium Committee on Prison Construction (MCPC) was formed in February 1978 by representatives from civil liberties associations in Quebec and Ontario. This move was a response to the federal Solicitor-General's annoucement of plans to construct 24 new penitentiaries by 1984. The MCPC immediately launched a campaign of public education, press conferences and meeting with senior correction officials. It contacted many individuals, religious organizations, MP's and groups involved in correction across Canada. Abstract: The Moratorium Committee on Prison Construction (MCPC) was formed in February 1978 by representatives from civil liberties associations in Quebec and Ontario. This move was a response to the federal Solicitor-General's annoucement of plans to construct 24 new penitentiaries by 1984. The MCPC immediately launched a campaign of public education, press conferences and meeting with senior correction officials. It contacted many individuals, religious organizations, MP's and groups involved in correction across Canada. This issue of the newsletter contains a report on the MCPC's first conference, held in March 1979. The conference was attended by representatives from across Canada as well as two from the U.S. Moratorium Committee. The conference said federal corrections officers present three major rationales for continued prison construction: 1. building and staffing new prisons creates jobs; 2. the prisons are a response to current and past patterns of growth in prison populations, and 3. increases in violet crimes. The MCPC concludes these were not adequate explanations or justifications for prison expansion. Instead, the committee suggested the real reason was the current fiscal crisis in Canada. One speaker noted that imprisonment and repression have generally increased during times of economic recession. The conference concluded with a plenary session discussing strategies for future action. The newsletter also includes contact for the MCPC in different parts of the country. Other articles in the newsletter examine alternatives to imprisonment and traditional forms of probations, ways of helping the victims of crime, and an open letter to Allan Lawrence and other corrections ministers in Canada. Periodical profile published 1979 Subject Headings |