Tuesday August 10, 2010
Free Condoms for Canada’s Prisoners Questioned
By Patrick B. Craine
OTTAWA, Ontario, August 10, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A leader in Canada’s pro-family movement is demanding answers from the Canadian government in light of a report that they have been spending tens of thousands of dollars per year to distribute free condoms in the country’s federal prisons.
“Something is seriously wrong with the system if people who are incarcerated are involved in these sexual activities,” said Gwen Landolt, national vice president of REAL Women. “How is this permitted to go on?”
The government spent approximately $120,000 on condoms for the 14,000 inmates in 50 federal prisons between 2008-2009 and 2009-2010, QMI Agency reported Friday. Nearly half of those funds were allocated to Ontario prisons.
According to QMI, the government began distributing condoms for free in 1994 in response to a report on AIDS in Canada’s prisons. They also reported that some of those prisons now spending the most on condoms are those that offer rehabilitation to sex offenders.
Landolt said that distributing condoms avoids the central problem leading to AIDS.
“AIDS is a tremendously serious health issue,” she emphasized. “They should be dealing with the problem, not trying to deal with the consequences. They should be monitoring the inmates to prevent them from carrying on this activity which is causing the AIDS.”
Landolt said that condoms “only encourage the inmates to be involved with this dangerous activity.”
“Why are they not regulating such activity in the prisons?” she asked.
Contact Information:
Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety
Suite 306, Justice Building House of Commons
Ottawa. Ont. K1A 0A6
Ph:(613) 992-3128
Fx:(613) 995-1049
E-mail: [email protected]