Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I note that the Conservative government is against anything and everything that deals with rehabilitation. That's why I am not surprised to see that they want to shut down prison farms. However, it seems to me that they should, like any other responsible government, try, at the very least, to make things right again, if possible. In this world, nothing is perfect.
Before arriving at the conclusion that these farms should be shut down, there could have been an attempt to make the necessary improvements. But rehabilitation simply isn't part of the genetic makeup or ideology of this government which, on the contrary, has an ideology similar to that of the Republicans in the United States. It is clear that, in their case, the results are not particularly convincing. It would be very much in their interest to look at the exceptional rehabilitation rate in Quebec, in particular. Criminals must be severely punished; that is clear. However, rather than keeping them in prison or imposing the death penalty, as is the case in some U.S. states, I think they should be reintegrated into society, where possible, and become productive members of society.
There is no prison farm in my riding, but there is a farm school. Problem students go there to learn about work on the farm. There are all kinds of animals. Doing that work does not necessarily mean these young people will end up working in the farm industry later on, but it does give them an opportunity to learn discipline. On the farm, schedules are very important in terms of caring for the animals. Caring for animals is a tremendous responsibility. And a farm is an exceptional place to learn that kind of discipline. The young people there have no choice: they are working with living beings, with nature and they have to come to terms with all of that. The results are very rewarding.
As a member of this Committee, I would like to visit a prison farm, as the motion proposes, to see with my own eyes what goes on there. I have no doubt that people will talk about improvements that should be made. I am in favour of the idea of our looking at this, but before we shut them all down and throw the baby out with the bath water, I think we should take our responsibilities and go and see what goes on at these prison farms.
So, I support this motion.