Saw our prison farms public meeting

Feb 05, 2014

Back in 2009 a small group of farmers many from the township of South Frontenac banded together to take a stand against the Harper government's decision to close six prison farms across Canada. The farms operated as rehabilitation and employment training programs for inmates; two of them included the Frontenac and Pittsburgh Institutions. The group grew to include members of other community groups and organizations and eventually formed the Save Our Prison Farm campaign. Its members lobbied the governments decision for 18 months made headlines on August 8 and 9 in 2010 when following the closures they and hundreds of supporters gathered outside of the Frontenac Institution on Bath Road in Kingston to protest the removal of the farms dairy herd. Over those two days of protests, 24 protesters were arrested but the recent event in Kingston on January proves that their fight is far from over.

Following the August protests, the group has purchased 24 cows from the Frontenac Institutions original herd. Jeff Peters of the SOFP informed the audience of over 200 at the recent Kingston event that the SOPF campaigners have also obtained ”a promise in writing from representatives of the Liberal and NPP governments that should they be elected, that they would reinstate Canada's prison farm programs.” It was at the SOPF event held at the Memorial Hall at Kingston's City Hall on January 30 that members of the SOPF campaign sought to bring attention to three of those arrested at the 2010 protests, Jamie Masse, Andrew McCann and Patrick Thompson who made court appearances in Kingston on the following morning on January 31. The three arrestees were to be represented in Kingston court pro bono by lawyers John Norris and Mira Conway and the essence of their appeal was that the three's actions in no way mitigated their charges of criminal mischief as legally defined in the criminal code but rather fall within the limits of peaceful disobedience. The SOPF members also aimed to shed light on the trend by the current government to “silence public voices in Canada”. The event included an introduction via song by famed Canadian activist and award winning singer song writer Sarah Harmer which was followed by a panel discussion about the ongoing “need for active and engaged citizens”. NFU Local president Dianne Dowling who hosted the event along with Jeff Peters, (the latter of whom was also arrested at the 2010 protests) introduced the event and reminded listeners that the SOFP campaign was a great learning experience. “We thought we were doing what we needed to do in a democracy, to have our voices heard but that was not enough to stop the closures and further it was an education regarding how our courts operate”, Dowling said at the event. Following her words the five panelists each had a chance to address the audience.

'Til The Cows Come Home

The first panelist to speak was Clarke Mackey, co-producer of a documentary film titled Til' The Cows Come Home, which centres on the SOPF campaign and the Kingston protests. Clarke ran a ten minute trailer of the film that included numerous interviews with SOPF members, former inmates and prison farm workers, and famed Canadian author Margaret Atwood who was also involved in the Kingston protests. The hour long documentary film will be released this spring and will be premiered in Kingston in June likely at the Screening Room and in Clarke's words, “just in time for the next federal election”.

Civil Disobedience

Author, farmer, activist and SOPF member Aric McBay spoke next about the importance of civil disobedience and he opened his address by defining the term as “disobeying authority when authority is wrong; and breaking the law when the law is wrong.” He cited the fact that the rights we have today “are rights that people have fought, struggled and died for.” While the tactics for winning these rights have been diverse, McBay cited how historically it was the suffragettes, civil rights activists in the US in the 1960's, and the over 30,000 workers at the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919, and others who each won new rights for citizens. “In all of these cases people died and dedicated tremendous commitment and hard work to establish the cornerstones of our democracy which today, unfortunately, are quickly being eroded.” McBay gave examples of this erosion citing the Harper Governments recent back to work legislation of Canada Post strike in 2011, and Air Canada strike in 2012 and the governments ongoing attack of free speech through their silencing of scientists and attack on peaceful protesters like those that occurred at the G20 Summit in Toronto in 2010. McBay highlighted what he sees as the truths of change. “Those in power don't change because they want to; they change because they have to. They change because activists get together, organize and create a political force.” He added, “The reason we (the SOPF campaigners) are still here, four years later is because the root issues behind the prison farm campaign are ongoing.” McBay stressed the importance of shifting from the Bystander effect to the Bandwagon effect, and from advocacy to action. “ He closed by saying he feels optimistic and he encouraged concerned citizens to take immediate action in three ways: by 1) writing to a prisoner, 2) materially, by supporting civil disobedience through donations or by showing up at trials for those who have been unlawfully charged and 3) by actively participating in civil disobedience oneself

Activism-a personal path

Lisa Gibson spoke about her choice to found the “Save the Frank and Marjorie Meyers Farm” group on Face book, a group that now has garnered over 51,000 supporters. Gibson said that she was moved to act after hearing of the personal plight of 85 year old farmer Frank Meyers of Trenton and his wife Marjorie whose farm was recently expropriated by the Canadian government with the understanding that the land was needed by the Department of National Defense to expand the military base at CFB Trenton. Gibson, a single mother, former business owner and a long time bereavement counselor, recalled reading about the Meyers' plight in an October article in Macleans magazine. “There was just so much that was wrong and having been in the bereavement sector for over 22 years, I knew that taking away something from someone who is 85 years old, something that has made them get up every morning is just plain wrong.” Currently Gibson is organizing supporters to gather at the Meyers farm to curtail the land deal which Frank Meyers insists he was bullied into agreeing with by government officials.

The current code of silence

Retired Queens professor of environmental geology and long time social justice activist Lee Smith spoke next about what he called the trend by the current Canadian government of cutting research budgets and grants to scientists and silencing them. Smith spoke first of the St. Andrews Biological Station in New Brunswick that was founded in 1898 by the University of Toronto and that was taken over by the federal government in 1934 as their federal research fishing station. “The research done there was always oriented towards preserving and enhancing the natural environment of the fisheries so that the fisheries would survive to feed the human race,” Smith said. Ten years ago the station was enhanced and Smith maintained that the facility, “came to be known as the location of the best fisheries research library in all of Canada and arguably in all of North America.” Smith said it was “a shock when two years ago, it was announced that the library would be closed, the two librarians fired without notice and the contents of the library bagged and sent to storage in a ware house.” Smith cited a second, more recent example of a similar case, that of the state of the Canada Centre for Inland Waters, located in Hamilton, which Smith cited as “the premiere research station in Canada and one of three premiere stations in North America studying the science of inland lakes.” With a famed international reputation and once with a staff of over 500 people, that number has been cut to 350 and is falling.” As a third example Smith spoke of the Experimental Lakes Area located in north western Ontario , another internationally renowned centre of research. The federal government announced its closure months ago which Smith said was likely because, “they (the scientists) might have been looking a bit too closely at what happens when you dump mine waste into fresh water lakes and streams.” Premiere Wynn has since announced that the Ontario Government has stepped in and taken over the centre. But Smith said that prior to that announcement, documents at the facility had been destroyed. Smith pointed to the positive effects that a “rational government”, one which allows research to lead the way can do in helping to save a number of our important natural resources. He cited the research that he and a number of his students did in the 1970's that led to the saving of Sandbanks area in Prince Edward county which had been slated to be taken over by a concrete company. Smith ended his address by stating that his father who worked in the environmental sciences decades ago, would today “not be able to speak and keep his job?” He ended by pointing to the huge portrait of Sir Sir John A. MacDonald that hangs in Memorial Hall and in his finest Scottish accent spoke what he thought might be the words of the former prime minister if he could see what is happening to Canadian science and scientists today, “You vandals! What are you doing to my country?”

“Resistance leads to existence”-Bob Lovelace-has the last word

Queens University Professor Bob Lovelace had the last words of the evening and spoke of being inspired by his own students this year who he said “understand that it is up to them to solve their own problems rather than leaving decisions in the hands of the powers that be.” He spoke of his concerns about growing police violence in this country when he viewed videos of the G20 conference protests in Toronto. “The way in which the police were organized months in advance to carry out what basically looked like a battle plan; the way they used facial recognition to arrest people is something new.” Lovelace said he was also struck in those same videos by “the passivity of the Canadian public”, who he felt simply stood by and let it happen. “I have never seen that in any other place in the world. It's indicative of Canada.” He added that people (in the videos) instead of participating, chose instead to observe using their cameras to record the events.”That's a serious problem and we have to look at that in terms of our activism and to train ourselves not to engage in that sort of passivity simply allowing violence to take place around us.” Lovelace cited the change in Canada from a nation that once strove together to build community where people once worked together for that common goal which he said sadly is no longer the case. He stressed the fact that the Canadian Law does however in fact support democracy by respecting among other things, “fair procedure for those subject to criminal proceedings, respect for the Crown and police discretion, and respect for the separation of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government.” He added, “It takes a thinking mind and intelligence to govern a country.”

Lovelace then summed up the messages he gained from each of the panelists at the event. Of Clarke Mackey, Lovelace said he heard the message in the film of how prime minister Harper “would rather not train inmates to be farmers, than train them to be inmates.” Of Aric McBay Lovelace said, “Civil disobedience is absolutely essential because it connects us with the real people and reminds of our duty to stand up for ourselves. Activism is about taking the power out of the hands of those privileged with power.” Of Lisa Gibson Lovelace said, “Wow! You brought us todays struggle for the Meyers farm....and reminded me of the fact that a personal experience overshadows our activism... It's not just the act of taking on dragons or despots but taking on the timidity of the silence that's inside of us.”

Of Lee Smith, Lovelace said he was reminded of the fact that the fight is universal. “It's something that every Canadian should be involved inand to to understand and see that we are methodically being dumbed down. The first tenant of the approach to activism is research.” Lovelace closed the evening with the reminder that “listening, watching and talking are just the prelude to action.”

Regarding the appeal of the three arrestees that took place at the Superior Court of Ontario in Kingston on January 31, Andrew McCann one of those appealing his charges of criminal mischief said that though he could not predict the judgment (that will be presented in a few weeks time), he did feel that justice Johnston of Brockville was “very engaged with the question of whether or not our actions were within the limits of tolerance in our democratic society, “ which McMann stressed was the whole point of the appeal.

“There has never been a question of whether or not we broke the letter of the law but rather that we did so peacefully and as a final and last resort after lobbying the government for 18 months and exhausting all of the other possible avenues open to us.The heart of the matter and why we decided to appeal the verdict is less about the prison farms specifically but more about whether peaceful action by citizens should be criminalized.”