On the state of corrections institutions in Canada

On April 29 2024 in downtown there were three protests taking place at the same time. One of which, has already been posted to RAIR Foundation, the anti IRI (Islamic Republic of Iran) protest that took place at the Peace Monument on Elgin St. That protest was mostly expat Persians and while there was a wide diversity of opinions within the group, none of them liked the Mullah’s regime and where very clear about it.

But there were two other protests that took place a few blocks away on Parliament Hill that we did not expect. One, a group of expat Vietnamese who with a Canadian Senator, held a demonstration for two reasons, one of which was very refreshing. Quite unlike the Muslims, the Vietnamese actually wanted to show appreciation to Canada for bringing them in when the US let China win the Vietnam war for communism, and also to make a point about how badly treated the people who ended up stuck in Vietnam are treated by the Communists. Those photos and video are not yet processed, although we can maybe put one photo at the end of this post.

And there was a third, and even more surprising protest.

Corrections officers, or the people who work in Canada’s prison system, held a 24 hour vigil on Parliament Hill to try and raise awareness about the worsening conditions in Canada’s penitentiaries. These conditions are entirely because of Trudeau policies that remove tools that the correctional officers can use to keep prisoners safe from each other, and of course keep the guards safe from the inmates. Watch this interview with two men. The first, the President of the Union for Correctional officers, and then one of the guards we talked to on the street in front of the Hill’s gates. His English was very poor, so please forgive his terminology and language. But his reveals are quite spectacular.

The entire time I was talking with these officers, I could not help but think about various passages in the Gulag Archipelago. One of the themes throughout the various memoirs which make up the 3 volumes of the book, was how thieves, criminals actually, where given a higher status in society than the regular working person. The hated colonialist capitalist.

For some reason, all I heard from these gentlemen made me think of the societal structure as described by Solzhenitsyn in his opus magnum.

As usual, for the best aesthetics please click the little gear at the bottom right of the play window and select highest quality.

The interviews at the anti-IRI protest earlier that day:

A photo of the Vietnamese appreciation ceremony to Canada