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e-1774 (Correctional facilities)

E-petition
Initiated by Calvin Neufeld from Perth, Ontario

Original language of petition: English

Petition to the Government of Canada

Whereas:
  • Correctional Service Canada has a mandate to provide effective rehabilitation and reintegration programming for prisoners;
  • Prisoner rehabilitation should not involve sexual or physical violence;
  • Joyceville Institution is establishing a dairy operation which will involve prisoners inseminating animals and assisting in the slaughter process;
  • Violence towards animals will put prisoners at risk of trauma and emotional dissonance;
  • Prisoners at Joyceville Institution have voted against a dairy program and in favour of plant-based agriculture and a sanctuary model of animal therapy;
  • Animal agriculture is not a model of animal therapy;
  • Prison programs should not be used to advance commercial interests;
  • Milk from the prison program will reportedly go to the Feihe International infant formula factory where it will be processed and shipped to China;
  • The government is committed to implementing evidence-based practices and policies;
  • Research finds that even the lowest impact meat and dairy products cause much more environmental harm than the least sustainable plant products; and
  • Prison farms should uphold justice in relation to prisoners, animals, and the environment.
We, the undersigned, citizens of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to:
1) overturn the decision to establish prison dairy operations;
2) establish prison farms that prioritize ecological sensitivity and climate change solutions; and
3) prevent use of animals in rehabilitation programs except under sanctuary or animal therapy models.
Government response tabled on March 18, 2019 (Sessional Paper No. 8545-421-155-04)
Open for signature
July 9, 2018, at 2:26 p.m. (EDT)
Closed for signature
November 6, 2018, at 2:26 p.m. (EDT)
Presented to the House of Commons
Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
February 1, 2019 (Petition No. 421-03169)
Government response tabled
March 18, 2019
Photo - Elizabeth May
Saanich—Gulf Islands
Green Party Caucus
British Columbia