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Today's donation goes to the Covid-19 Prisoners Emergency Support Fund, organized by the Toronto Prisoners' Rights Project:
https://www.torontoprisonersrightsproject.org/get-involved-and-support
I have long been shocked by news stories about the deplorable conditions inside Canadian prisons, exacerbated of course by the pandemic. Just this week, I learned of major staff shortages in the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre, resulting in detainees waiting months just for routine medical attention. And I suspect the cases we hear about are just the tip of the iceberg. These are people in congregate settings with multiple health concerns, at high risk of contracting Covid-19. Chances are, their families and friends have not been allowed to visit or even communicate with them by phone, e-mail or other means and may have no idea of the extent of the crisis. And yet, it is in the best interests of everyone, not only the detainees themselves, that appropriate care and treatment be available to them, whether inside or within the community.
It's also well known that indigenous and BIPOC people are overrepresented in the prison population as well as in the correctional system and the public welfare system in general so this issue, like the Coronavirus itself, is one with many spinoffs and tentacles!
https://www.torontoprisonersrightsproject.org/get-involved-and-support
I have long been shocked by news stories about the deplorable conditions inside Canadian prisons, exacerbated of course by the pandemic. Just this week, I learned of major staff shortages in the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre, resulting in detainees waiting months just for routine medical attention. And I suspect the cases we hear about are just the tip of the iceberg. These are people in congregate settings with multiple health concerns, at high risk of contracting Covid-19. Chances are, their families and friends have not been allowed to visit or even communicate with them by phone, e-mail or other means and may have no idea of the extent of the crisis. And yet, it is in the best interests of everyone, not only the detainees themselves, that appropriate care and treatment be available to them, whether inside or within the community.
It's also well known that indigenous and BIPOC people are overrepresented in the prison population as well as in the correctional system and the public welfare system in general so this issue, like the Coronavirus itself, is one with many spinoffs and tentacles!
