This December 16 letter to the Minister of Public Safety belongs in the two assigned categories. When our government panders to its voter base in the face of common sense, it deserves to be throttled as much for its stupidity as it does for the corruption it creates in the administration of justice.

December 16, 2014

The Honourable Steven Blaney,
Minister of Public Safety,
Ste. 306, Justice Building,
House of Commons,
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6

Re: Solitary confinement/segregation in our federal prisons

Minister Blaney:

House of Commons, Monday, December 8 (reported in the Globe and Mail, Tuesday, December 9)……Canada’s prison practices are “fully aligned with Western countries’ modern practices and we fully trust our correctional services to do the appropriate thing.”

House of Commons, Wednesday, December 10 (reported in the Toronto Star, Friday, December 12)….regarding segregation, “This is a procedure that is applied with a lot of common sense by our correctional officers.”

Really? Assuming the newspapers quoted you accurately, the fingers of both hands must have been crossed behind your back.

Only the uninformed or anyone with an agenda that skirts the truth would believe this, and there are tens of thousands of us in the community who are embarrassed on your behalf. Imagine. A Minister of the Crown giving voice to such nonsense! One wonders what causes an intelligent person to support such counterproductive measures. Thankfully for you, this is a country where armchair activism wins over street protests.

There will come a time when you are no longer in public life, and an opportunity to have you reflect upon your present positions from that perspective would be welcomed by many.

Yours truly,

Charles H. Klassen
cc turnoverarocktoday.com
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