Opponents argued the decision was made without properly considering the essential skills the farms taught the participating inmates. “There’s so many reasons why the farms were a good idea.”The land the Kingston prison farms sat on is now rented out to local farmers by the federal government. “The land is there, and we’re determined to restore the prison farm.” A group of farmers and others protesting the closures banded together and bought some of the prison farm cattle auctioned off by the federal government. In the 2009-2010 fiscal year, 716 inmates were employed in the prison farm program, Corrections said.

Source: National Post July 11, 2016 12:25 UTC