Nobody in prison seems to support the Conservative government these days - not even the guards. The Union of Correctional Officers recently came out for the Liberals, or the NDP, or pretty much any party that won't keep packing prisons like piñatas.
It's a good reminder that all the Conservative posturing about standing up for victims has created its own set of victims.
Sentencing more prisoners to longer sentences - often leaving them sharing bunks - has left guards dealing with combustible situations that only seem to be getting worse as the political posturing continues.
Steven Blaney, our Minister of Public Safety, recently said all convicted criminals belong behind bars.
It's the type of statement that fails to distinguish between multiple murderers and someone who gets caught shoplifting cookies.
We don't endorse coddling prisoners. In fact, we think convicts should be treated the same as they'd be treated in Texas - with the drug and mental health treatment programs that helped lower the crime rate and averted a budget crisis.
Those who don't object to the Conservatives' commitment to incarceration on the grounds of morality might object on the grounds of fiscal responsibility.
Corrections expenses went up 33 per cent from 2002 to 2012, according to a Fraser Institute study. The crime rate dipped 27 per cent over the same period and it continues to drop, both in terms of frequency and severity.
At this stage in Canada's history, locking up more people ought to be a crime.
