Wayne Easter on Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

With regard to the proposed closure of the prison farms run by Correctional Services Canada (CSC): (a) how many CSC prison farms currently exist and where are they located; (b) what was the rationale for establishing the Prison Farm Program at its inception, and what was the rationale for the location of the farms; (c) how much revenue does each CSC farm generate; (d) what is the value of the each CSC farm property; (e) have any audits or evaluations on specific farm operations, or the CSC Prison Farm Program in general, been conducted, and if so, what did they conclude; (f) has CSC, any government department, or any external organization conducted studies or evaluations of the CSC Prison Farm Program and if so, what did they conclude; (g) with regards to CSC’s statement that the proposed closures are the result of few prisoners securing agriculture-related jobs after their release and that the farm program fails to reflect the realities of the employment world and the current needs of the labour market, (i) what evidence does the government have to support this statement, (ii) does the government have statistics or other information regarding prisoners’ employment after release within the agriculture sector, and if so, what are they; (iii) does the government have information regarding the overall employment rate of prisoners post-release, in all sectors, who have participated in the Prison Farm Program, and if so, what is it; (h) was a cost-benefit analysis conducted of the prison farms program before the decision to terminate the program was made, and if so, when was it conducted and what did it say; (i) has the government or any organization collected statistics on the recidivism rates of offenders that take part in the Prison Farm Program, and if so, what do they say; (j) how much food currently produced by the Prison Farm Program is sold back to CSC for prisoners’ consumption, and what does the Prison Farm Program do with any remaining output; (k) what is the cost to CSC of buying food from the prison farms as compared to outsourcing; (l) has the government been receiving quotes from vendors that will replace the food provided to CSC by the prison farms, and if so, when were those quotes received, how much were they for, and what are their details; (m) with regards to the abattoirs operated by the CSC, (i) how many are there and where are they located, (ii) what is the operational cost of each abattoir, (iii) how much income does each abattoir generate, (iv) how many outside clients use the abattoirs, (v) has the government conducted any analysis of the cost to the local communities of shutting down the abattoirs, and if so, what did they find; and (n) with regards to an independent panel appointed to review the operations of CSC, as part of the government's commitment to protecting Canadian families and communities, did they study the Prison Farm Program, and what were their findings?