Saskatchewan Pen, Prince Albert
The right to vote!
Edgeley, Saskatchewan - Friday, November1, 2002 - by: Christine Whitaker
$68,985 per year	The other day I heard a radio report which quoted the cost of keeping a single prisoner in a Saskatchewan Correctional Centre as $126 per day - a total of $45,990 per year. The cost of maintaining a person in a Federal Penitentiary is rather more, at $189 per day, or $68,985 per year.
total costs	Presumably these are the total costs of guarding, housing, feeding and clothing the inmates, as well as providing for their dental care, eye glasses, education and recreation.
more than earnings	The interesting thing about these statistics is that, as a high school teacher, my annual salary over the years would have kept one inmate in a provincial correctional centre, but that I never earned enough to provide a similar place in a federal penitentiary.
$14/day	After a lifetime of earning my living and making what I hope has been a positive contribution to society, I am now retired and rapidly reaching the magic age when that same society will reward me for my efforts. This reward, which we call the old age pension, will enrich me by the princely sum of approximately $14 per day - and I will continue to be responsible for providing my own lodging, food, clothing, dental and eye care, and any educational or recreational activities I wish to pursue.
their say	In the meantime, the Canadian Supreme Court has decreed that those in federal penitentiaries must be allowed to vote in federal elections, thereby having their say in how the government should use the tax dollars of working people.
	It seems to me that something is seriously wrong with this scenario.
	Christine Whitaker
Reference:
	Saskatchewan Penitentiary, Prince Albert
	Supreme Court backs prisoners' right to vote, November 1, 2002, CTV news
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