Hunger, violence, inequality and a new underground prison economy to supplement inadequate diets resulted from an attempt to cut prisoner costs by pennies
My son was in prison for several months in Montreal for having drugs in his possession. Smart kid with 2 university degrees, but an opioid addict for a couple of years. Working on recovery. Anyway, I have MANY complaints about Bordeaux prison in Quebec but food is not in the top ten. Prisoners play poker and chess for ramen noodles, tea (some literally smoke it in place of tobacco) or extra fruit. Not ideal, but it was a thriving economy that sort of worked. In the meantime, drones drop drugs into the exercise yard and the guards don't do a damn thing. Because unions are so powerful in Quebec, I'm assuming it's because interrupting drug supplies is not in their damn collective agreement. At visits, we had to communicate by phone through a glass screen but most of the phones were broken, so we shouted at each other. Visitors were treated very poorly, as just more complainers. I don't understand this level of disrespect, especially in a low-risk facility like my son was in. The inmates were not murders, they were just dumb-ass addicts with sad but loving families who really gave a shit about them.
My son was in prison for several months in Montreal for having drugs in his possession. Smart kid with 2 university degrees, but an opioid addict for a couple of years. Working on recovery. Anyway, I have MANY complaints about Bordeaux prison in Quebec but food is not in the top ten. Prisoners play poker and chess for ramen noodles, tea (some literally smoke it in place of tobacco) or extra fruit. Not ideal, but it was a thriving economy that sort of worked. In the meantime, drones drop drugs into the exercise yard and the guards don't do a damn thing. Because unions are so powerful in Quebec, I'm assuming it's because interrupting drug supplies is not in their damn collective agreement. At visits, we had to communicate by phone through a glass screen but most of the phones were broken, so we shouted at each other. Visitors were treated very poorly, as just more complainers. I don't understand this level of disrespect, especially in a low-risk facility like my son was in. The inmates were not murders, they were just dumb-ass addicts with sad but loving families who really gave a shit about them.
Good article. How can anyone look at that food and feel “professionalism and pride”!?