Public Safety committee  I would say there are a lot of skills going on at the farm to benefit the community, because a lot of guys come with a lot of baggage when they come to camp. Even though you're in a work-sharing program and you're not a threat to public safety anymore--or you wouldn't be in minimum--there is still baggage going on, where there's animosity.

Public Safety committee  So that's being taught. I think that's a very valuable tool and it is a good reintegration process.

Public Safety committee  Yes--life skills.

Public Safety committee  Yes.

Public Safety committee  I ended up getting all my trades in the other institutions but I never had a chance to demonstrate them. When I wanted to finish off in the related trades that I needed to continue, they all disappeared, and I was wondering what was going to happen before we got through our sentences.

Public Safety committee  Well, I think I'd be the same guy today, but I don't know if I could have utilized the tools that I have. It's the respect that you're taught and the courtesy that you give to each other on the farm. Sometimes when you're not working in the barn, there's a spot you can go to and make a garden.

Public Safety committee  Thank you.

Public Safety committee  I've been out 19 years now.

Public Safety committee  I've had different jobs, yes. That's why you heard me say that when I see a farmer, I see a jack of all trades. I've done numerous jobs. I've been in welding shops where somebody had become ill, and I got called in and worked for three months while the guy was recuperating. Then I had to leave, and it was sad to leave.

Public Safety committee  To drive any vehicle on the property, you need to have your driver's licence, even if you're plowing the fields. It's part of the reintegration. It's a tool. It makes the guy feel.... I watched guys drive up and down those farm fields and look back and feel a day of accomplishment.

Public Safety committee  No, I'm just saying that it wouldn't be wise to go right out to the street; you wouldn't have a job. What they've done is that if you want to drive a tractor on the farm, you have to get your driver's licence. Do you see what I'm saying? It's heavy equipment. These guys drive some pretty heavy equipment around there for snowplowing and working around the wall on the outside and keeping all the snow away so the farm trucks and everything else can move, so the staff can get into the institution.

Public Safety committee  It is.

Public Safety committee  I served 10 years in the federal system on a life sentence. I've been on full parole now for 19 years.

Public Safety committee  I served about seven and a half of it before I hit the minimum. That's what I was just trying to say, because when you're working in the higher security, the work hours are not there. Even though you're learning the trade, you're not able to demonstrate your ability on machinery.

Public Safety committee  Yes, I was two years on the farm. I went into working on a committee to do other things because then I was moving towards my reintegration. I was ready. I completed the stuff that I needed on the farm. I had a good work ethic, and it led me into a work release that allowed me to go out and work.